6.1.2 The requirement for operational support and press briefing centres

Following the accident to the Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island (USA) in March 1979, the opportunity was taken to review the emergency procedures at CEGB nuclear sites. This review indicated that the existing emergency arrangements were adequate for the pro­tection of the public and for incidents of short dura­tion. However, if an incident were to be prolonged beyond a few hours it was evident that the overall responsibility of the site emergency controller would be too great and that additional support would be necessary; for example, for the coordination of off­site activities and for the provision of adequate public information. Certain specific areas were identified as requiring particular attention:

• Managerial responsibilities during an emergency.

• Liaison with external organisations.

• Public relations and news media information.

• The radiation dose received by members of the public.

The arrangements introduced for meeting these re­quirements are as follows.

Operational support centre (OSC)

The first two requirements have been met by the introduction of Operational Support Centres, situated at distances of between 5 and 20 miles from each CEGB nuclear site. In an emergency, a senior CEGB man­agement team would attend the OSC and would be responsible for the coordination of all off-site activi­ties including radiation surveys and liaison with the police, local authorities and government departments, and agencies for the protection of the public and the control and assessment of any effects of the accident. The site emergency controller would remain respon­sible for all on-site actions but could look to the OSC for additional support and advice.

The OSC would be directed by a senior CEGB manager (designated OSC controller) who would be assisted by a team providing operations, engineering, health physics, medical, public relations, administrative and clerical support. The CEGB Director of Health and Safety together with the Principal Health Physicist and Principal Inspector from the Health and Safety Department would attend the OSC to give specialist advice to the OSC controller.

Representatives from outside organisations having responsibilities in the event of an emergency would also be present at the OSC to give and receive advice from the OSC controller, and to act as liaison offi­cers between the OSC and the bodies they represent.

The following criteria have been adopted for the location of OSCs and for the facilities provided. Operational support centres are:

• Located outside the planned evacuation area.

• Close enough to the power station to enable easy transfer of personnel.

• Far enough from the power station to avoid traffic congestion near the site.

• Within reasonable distance of the headquarters of local police and the district and county authorities.

• At or near centres of population having hotel ac­commodation.

Operational support centres have:

• A number of offices for senior CEGB personnel and their supporting staff, and for representatives from outside organisations.

• Reliable telephone links with the power station, CEGB headquarters and the public telephone system.

• Telex and facsimile transmission equipment.

• Secretarial, typing and photocopying facilities.

• Facilities for the control and coordination of off­site radiological surveys.

• Facilities for helicopters.

Press briefing centre (PBC)

Events at Three Mile Island indicated that the ori­ginal arrangements for press briefing in CEGB emer­gency schemes would be inadequate to cope with the high level of public and news media interest during and after a nuclear incident. It was further evident that there must be a single authoritative source of information on the course of events. Press briefing centres with adequate facilities for a large number of reporters have therefore been established for each nuclear power station. Here, CEGB public relations personnel can prepare press statements and the OSC controller together with the government technical ad­viser and other specialists can hold press conferences.

Consideration of the requirements for the location and facilities of both OSCs and PBCs showed that there were a number of common factors, e. g., the presence of senior management, the need for secure telephone links, etc. Press briefing centres have, there­fore, with one exception, been established at or ad­jacent to each operational support centre. The ex­ception is in the South West where the geographical disposition of sites has made it possible for a single operational support centre to serve three nuclear power stations. In this case individual press briefing centres have been established near each site.