EGPC Plenary attendees outside the BMLUK headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The NEA Expert Group on Public Communication (EGPC) met for their sixth plenary meeting to take stock of progress on group activities and plan work ahead for the upcoming year in Vienna, Austria, on 7-9 October. Participants outlined plans to publish a tabletop self-assessment exercise on trust for nuclear regulators and discussed future continuation of crisis communication exercises using the social media simulator from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the event hosted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) of Austria.
Topical presentations were shared by the host organisation, BMLUK, on the regulatory responsibilities regarding radiation protection and radon monitoring in Austria, as well as international instruments such as the Aarhus Convention and Espoo Convention. A panel session on the risk communication and trust in other sectors, focusing on health and food safety sectors, featured speakers from United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the World Health Organization, the European Food Safety Agency and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection.
EGPC attendees on a tour of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant.
As part of activities, participants had two visits: IAEA headquarters and Zwetendorf nuclear power plant.
At the IAEA, the expert group visited radiological protection facilities, where the organisation monitors radiation exposure of individuals traveling to nuclear facilities and other radioactive sites. The IAEA was also hosting an internal emergency exercise, where EGPC participants were able to observe crisis communication activities.Â
This allowed participants to visit most of the facility, including the operator room, reactor core, spent fuel pool and turbine room. All of which would be controlled for radiological protection in a working facility.
