RANET

RANET is the abbreviation for Response and Assistance Network and is part of the emergency response of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is based on the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency ( English Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency ). The network was founded in 2000 by the General Conference of the IAEA, in resolution GC (44) / RES / 16. Germany has officially been involved in RANET since August 2013. The joint reporting and situation center has the role of coordination, under the direction of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief . Among other things, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection and the Institute for Radiobiology of the German Armed Forces are charged with providing active support in the crisis area and with data analysis.

organization

RANET is a network of contracting states organized through a support agreement. The contracting states are in a position to provide or request specialized support from appropriately trained personnel upon request. A State Party can request assistance from the IAEA in the event of a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency. The aid is then organized on an ad hoc basis by the IAEA and the contracting states using the local emergency response resources available to them. A special alarm organization and special contingents for RANET use are not provided.

aims

The main goals of RANET are:

The IAEA's capacity to provide assistance and advice, to strengthen, and / or to coordinate assistance as specified under the Assistance Convention (often referred to as the Assistance Convention).
The emergency preparedness to support and responsiveness for nuclear and radiological emergencies / events among the IAEA member states.
To minimize the impact of a nuclear emergency.

Tasks of the contracting states

States parties participating in RANET are responsible for providing qualified professionals, equipment and materials to assist another state in a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency.

Alerting

In the event of an emergency, the alarm routes are regulated within RANET. When a state has a radiological emergency, it sends a request for help to the IAEA. The IAEA can request help directly from other member states or compile its own assessment mission to clarify the situation and determine the need. If the activation of RANET is deemed necessary, a national warning point , which can be reached around the clock and informs the competent authorities in the supporting state, is alerted to the possible support states. The competent authorities and the NAC coordinator (NAC: National Assistance Capabilities ) coordinate the provision of assistance together with the IEC ( Incident and Emergency Center ) of the IAEA. Assistance that is available and available is requested; the deployment takes place according to an action plan ( Assistance Action Plan ) agreed between all those involved , which is intended to keep the risk to the persons involved as low as possible.

mission

A relief mission is conducted by a group of qualified professionals to assess the situation, provide medical care, surveillance or other special assistance in the event of a nuclear or radiological event or emergency. A deployment may involve an external team deployed on site ( Field Assistance Team , FAT), External Based Support (EBS), i. H. Act as assistance from a remote facility or a combination of several such teams ( Joint Assistance Team , JAT). A deployment can include plant-related tasks, classic emergency protection, sampling, laboratory activities, the application of numerical dispersion models, radioecology , public health protection, decontamination , medical and psychological pre- and post-operative care, dose determination, as well as tasks such as those carried out in Germany by the central support group of the federal government for serious cases of nuclear-specific hazard prevention (source search, mobile search).

activities

During the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, no assistance was requested from Japan through RANET.

The Capacity Building Center was opened in the city of Fukushima in May 2013 . Here the IAEA carries out exercises and conferences to increase nuclear emergency preparedness and responsiveness as part of RANET. The center is supported by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Fukushima Prefecture .

In the ConvEx -2b exercise , the use of RANET was practiced on the basis of a simulated nuclear power plant accident in Slovenia.

During the RANET exercise ConvEx 2013, a terrorist scenario involving the use of a so-called dirty bomb was practiced in Morocco.

From November 17 to 21, 2014, an international workshop on nuclear emergency protection took place in Fukushima as part of RANET. Employees from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection were also involved.

Individual evidence

[EPR-RANET-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g IAEA Response and Assistance Network (EPR-RANET 2013), IAEA, Vienna 2013, (132 pages)

[WEHMED-2] H. Dörr and V. Meineke (2014): INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR MEDICAL RADIATION MANAGEMENT: THE RESPONSE ASSISTANCE NETWORK (RANET) OF THE IAEA, WMM, Volume 58, Issue 5/2014, pp. 159–161

[3] IAEA Response System website .

[4] IAEA RANET Capacity Building Center in Fukushima Begins Work

[5] Annual report 2012 of the Swiss National Warning Center