International experience with a multidisciplinary table top exercise for response to a PWR accident
- John Lakey Associates, Kent (United Kingdom)
Table Top Exercises are used for the training of emergency response personnel from a wide range of disciplines whose duties range from strategic to tactical, from managerial to operational. The exercise reported in this paper simulates the first two or three hours of an imaginary accident on a generic PWR site (named Seaside or Lakeside depending on its location). It is designed to exercise the early response of staff of the utility, government, local authority and the media and some players represent the public. The relatively few scenarios used for this exercise are based on actual events scaled to give off-site consequences which demand early assessment and therefore stress the communication procedures. The exercise is applicable in different cultures and has been used in over 20 short courses held in the USA, UK, Sweden, Prague, and Hong Kong. There are two styles of support for players: a linear program which ensures that all players follow the desired path through the event and an open program which is triggered by umpires (who play the reactor crew from a script) and by requests from other players. In both cases the exercise ends with a Press Conference. Players have an initial briefing and are assigned to roles; those who must speak at interviews and at the Press Conference arc given separate briefing by an expert in Public Affairs. The exercise runs with up to six groups and the communication rate reaches about 30 to 40 messages per hour for each group. The exercise can be applied to test management and communication systems and to study human response to emergencies because the merits of individual players are highlighted in the relatively stressful conditions of the initial stage of an accident. For some players the exercise is the first time that they have been required to carry out their task in front of other people.
- OSTI ID:
- 394039
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9607135-; ISSN 0017-9078; TRN: 96:028718
- Journal Information:
- Health Physics, Vol. 70, Issue Suppl.6; Conference: 41. Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society, Seattle, WA (United States), 21-25 Jul 1996; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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