From Monday 12 February to Friday 16 February 2024, the INEX 6 exercise was carried out at the Ministry of Health. The participants in the exercise focused on the management of recovery after the radiation accident through moderated discussion. The activity, attended by representatives of several departments and organizations, was coordinated by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic and the Office of Nuclear Supervision of the Slovak Republic.
Representatives of ministries and other bodies tested the reconstruction of the country after a radiation accident. The baseline scenario was based on the fictitious incident of an accident in the transport of radioactive material and the subsequent State response following such an exceptional radiation event. Within four modules, participants addressed the impact on health, food safety, decontamination and recovery and management of waste.
The Director General of the Department of Health Crisis Management, Ildikó Kukan, believes that such a radiation event will never happen, but the experience of past years shows us that we cannot say with certainty that no disaster will ever happen. –From my point of view, it was crucial in one place to bring together each one of the stakeholders, to define the scope of the competences that we have and how these competences can be combined, mentioned Kukan and stressed the importance of crisis communication and coordination between national forces. Director General of the Crisis Management Section of the MV SR Ervin Erdélyi and Director General of the Section for Supervisory Activities and International Relations The office of nuclear supervision of the Slovak Republic Mikuláš Turner thanked everyone involved at the end for their commitment throughout the week.
Upon completion of the exercise, the departments and organisations concerned shall evaluate its progress and draw up a final report on its implementation. The report will serve to develop an evaluation questionnaire and to evaluate the exercise in terms of national and international evaluation. The analysis of the questionnaire replies will serve as an input to the subsequent OECD/NEA international workshop to evaluate the exercise. Report on implementation and evaluation of exercise INEX 6 in the Slovak Republic will be submitted for discussion of the Slovak Government.
The INEX series of international emergency exercises is organised by the Nuclear Energy Agency at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA) and is gradually taking place in 25 countries, including the Slovak Republic.
