INSTITUTE NEWS

An interagency seminar "The problems of public informing in case of radiological incidents in megalopolis"

An interagency seminar "The problems of public informing in case of radiological incidents in megalopolis" was held at IBRAE RAN on December 9, 2015.

The seminar on situational response and mitigation of the consequences of nuclear and/or radiological terrorism was organized by IBRAE RAN within the framework of the program of activities in 2015, approved by the Russian side of the Working Group of the UNO Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT).

The seminar was attended by representatives of the Department of non-proliferation and arms control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, EMERCOM of Russia, Rospotrebnadzor, Ramzaev NIIRG (St. Petersburg), the Center of Emergency Psychological Aid of EMERCOM of Russia, Burnazyan FMBC of FMBA of Russia and VCMK "Zaschita." The leading experts of IBRAE RAN in the field of radiation protection S.V. Panchenko and M.N. Savkin, as well as the experts in the field of emergency information and risk communication E.M. Melikhova and I.L. Abalkina took part in the seminar.

R.V. Aarutyunyan, Deputy Director of IBRAE RAN, welcomed the guests. E.M. Melikhova, the head of laboratory of IBRAE RAN, presided over the seminar. S.A. Zelentsova, the representative of Ramzaev NIIRG, made a presentation on public information after radiation accidents. Then the participants addressed a specific scenario of radiation incident in megalopolis, and discussed the problems of preparation of messages to inform the public about radiation hazards and protective measures and the issues of timely response to public concern. The information cards on protective measures, developed at IBRAE (sheltering in the buildings and protection against radioactive iodine), were presented to the participants of the seminar. The cards are intended for compiling the press releases and answering the questions of public and journalists. The seminar ended with a business game "Hotline of EMERCOM": the psychologists of the Center of Emergency Psychological Aid of EMERCOM and the experts in radiation safety and risk communication prepared the answers to typical questions from residents concerned about information of radiation accident in social networks.