Voluntary radiation measurement team meets for exercise in Porvoo on 31 August

About 30 members of the voluntary radiation measurement team will participate in the training and practice weekend from 30 August to 1 September 2024. The practical exercise will be held on Saturday, 31 August at Kokonhalli, Porvoo (Jääkiekkotie 3). Traffic to the venue will be directed to the Kokonhalli parking lot, and the hall will be closed to the public and other activities during the exercise.

The exercise involves establishing a measurement site and practising the measurement of radioactivity in people. In addition, the exercise develops cooperation between the actors with regard to the arrangements for the evacuation and registration of people. The exercise will not pose any danger to the participants of outsiders.

"The exercise we are organizing is a so-called full-scale exercise involving other official and voluntary actors. The exercise simulates the aftermath of a serious nuclear power plant accident, where radiation measurements of people evacuated from the surroundings of the nuclear power plant ensure that they have not been significantly exposed to radioactive substances released into the environment. Such a situation is very unlikely, but we find it important to prepare for it nonetheless," says Jukka Kupila, director of the exercise from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority.

In addition to the measurement team and STUK, various operators from the wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa and East Uusimaa Voluntary Rescue Service Vapepa in cooperation with the Finnish Red Cross will also participate in the exercise. The City of Porvoo and the Non-military Service Centre support the arrangements for the exercise. In total, there will be about 120 participants in the exercise.

"Joint exercises between different operators bring versatility to the training, and the group representing evacuated citizens involved in the exercise give the participants the opportunity to test the effectiveness of arrangements related to the guidance and measurement of larger numbers of people," says Kupila.

The previous exercise was held in November 2019 at Nurmijärvi.

Wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa at the heart of operations

In extreme radiological hazard scenarios, an accident at the nuclear power plant could also lead to the evacuation of the population from the locally contaminated area. In the situation of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, the Itä-Uusimaa rescue service would lead rescue operations. The role of the Eastern Uusimaa welfare region would also be significant.

"All evacuation decisions are always made in efficient cooperation between the authorities. If the authorities decided on evacuations, the rescue services would arrange evacuation transports for those who have no other means of exiting the area. The first refuge for people being evacuated would be an evacuation centre set up by the wellbeing services county," says Juha Alander, Emergency Response Manager of the wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa.

The emergency social services of the wellbeing services county would play an important role in establishing evacuation centres together with the volunteers in the region. In addition to the emergency services, the exercise will also involve people from the emergency social services and crisis services and the security sector, in cooperation with the City of Porvoo.

The radiation measurement team strengthens Finland’s measurement capacity in the event of a radiation hazard

The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), in co-operation with the National Defence Training Association of Finland (MPK) and the National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA), has trained and equipped a radiation measurement team to support STUK and other authorities. There are currently more than one hundred trained volunteers. STUK is responsible for organising regular training and exercises so that the volunteers’ competence is at a good level.

"As the number of people committed to the team increases, so does the need for various types of further training and refresher training. The activities are also constantly being developed, which means that there may be changes to the methods and information systems used. However, the team has a great sense of cooperation and a lot of expertise, which is why we can always brainstorm our next steps together with our volunteers," says Principal Advisor Jukka Kupila.

"The volunteers significantly contribute to STUK’s preparedness and national radiation measurement capacity, and we are extremely grateful for each volunteer."

For more information on the voluntary radiation measurement team, please visit STUK’s website: stuk.fi/en/the-voluntary-radiation-measurement-team-strengthens-finland-s-measurement-capacity

Further information:

• Principal Advisor Jukka Kupila, Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority
  tel. 09 759 88 323, jukka.kupila@stuk.fi
• Media contacts, tel. +358 10 850 4761
• Juha Alander, Emergency Response Manager, Rescue Services Management, wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa, juha.alander@itauusimaa.fi, tel. 0404843182

General instructions on radiation hazard situations are available on STUK's website: https://stuk.fi/en/actions-in-a-radiation-hazard-situation