FANR opens emergency centre

ABU DHABI: The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the nuclear regulator in the UAE, inaugurated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The  Emergency Operations Centre will be key in ensuring FANR’s emergency preparedness and readiness to respond to any nuclear or radiological emergencies in the UAE. This comes to streamline FANR’s mission to protect the public and the environment from radiation  risks.

The inauguration of the Emergency Operations Centre was attended by FANR Chairman, Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi, FANR senior management and other senior officials  such as the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA), Critical Infrastructure & Coastal Protection Authority (CICPA), Abu Dhabi Police and other key stakehold

The organizational structure of Emergency Operations Centre comprises of multiple functions that include nuclear assessment, radiological assessment, nuclear security  team, communication team and others. The structure of the centre includes highly qualified and trained employees who are able to assess nuclear or radiological accidents

FANR’s EOC is a state-of-the art centre equipped with advanced technologies that enable it to advise and coordinate with national entities and the International Atomic  Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the effective response efforts in case of any nuclear or radiological accident .

The Emergency Operations Centre will shoulder key roles per the UAE nuclear law, which mandates FANR to establish measures for emergency preparedness and response.  The centre will provide technical advice to government entities in case of an accidents including radiation protection, precautionary action to support protection of the public and the environment.

 FANR is part of UAE’s Barakah’s off-site Nuclear Power Plant  Emergency Response Plans, which includes a number of national and local entities responsible for response to the incident commander (Abu Dhabi Police) in case of a nuclear accident.

The UAE is part of international conventions such as the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and request of assistance, which designates FANR’s as UAE National Warning Focal Point, competent authority for domestic and abroad for nuclear or radiological emergencies that notifies the IAEA.