Over 10,000 personnel participated

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Kalpakkam Centre, conducted a ‘site emergency exercise’ on Monday as part of its emergency preparedness plan.

The objective of the exercise is to check the preparedness of centre and the plant management to meet any remote emergency situation.

The Kalpakkam Centre consists of the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), the under-construction Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) and the fast reactor fuel cycle facility, among others.

The drill, which was conducted as surprise exercise, was overseen by the Kalpakkam Emergency Committee headed by MAPS Station Director R. Satyanarayana, a press release said. The drill involved participation of more than 10,000 personnel at the site and evacuation of over 6,500 personnel using departmental buses; the rest were evacuated in their own vehicles. “The evacuation was accomplished within a time span of 120 minutes (two hours) and the entire site emergency exercise was completed in 150 minutes,” the release said.