According to the international recommendations (IAEA, 2007) on nuclear emergency matters, the practical goals of emergency response are:

• To regain control of the situation

• To prevent or mitigate consequences at the scene

• To prevent the occurrence of deterministic health effects in workers and the public

• To render first aid and to manage the treatment of radiation injuries

• To prevent, to the extent practicable, the occurrence of stochastic health effects in the population

• To prevent, to the extent practicable, the occurrence of non-radiological effects on individuals and among the population

• To protect, to the extent practicable, property and the environment

• To prepare, to the extent practicable, for the resumption of normal social and economic activity.

The goals of emergency response are most likely to be achieved in accor­dance with the principles for intervention by having a sound programme for emergency preparedness in place as part of the infrastructure for protec­tion and safety. The practical goal of emergency preparedness is to ensure that arrangements are in place for a timely, managed, controlled, coordi­nated and effective response at the scene and at local, regional, national and international levels to any nuclear or radiological emergency.

Nuclear emergency preparedness is a long and continuous process that begins with the selection of the site to build a nuclear facility, giving due consideration to the circumstances — geographical, demographic, geological, hydrological, agricultural and social — that characterize the selected loca­tion, continues during the design and construction phase with the imple­mentation of emergency systems and procedures, and is completed while the plant is in operation through the maintenance plan operability.