Iran planning nuclear radiation drills

Head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali announced on Wednesday that Iran plans to stage exercises in the near future to increase its readiness for confronting nuclear contamination and hazards. "We will stage nuclear contamination and hazads drills for 20 days between Mordad (which starts on July 23rd) and Shahrivar (which starts on August 23) this (Iranian) year to increase our preparedness," Jalali told FNA. He said that the main goal of such drills is strengthening the country's civil defense power and preparedness to confront emergency situations. The Nuclear Safety and Security Department of the IAEA in a recent visit to Iran approved the standard safety levels of all Iranian nuclear sites and installations, and lauded the country's measures and special efforts in this regard. "We realized that Iran's safety system responsible for inspecting Iranian nuclear facilities and installations acts very well and is strong," Head of the IAEA's Nuclear Safety and Security Department Olena Mykolaichuk said in March 2012. "I, as the head of the (inspection) team, assure the Iranian society that Iran's installations are safe…," Mykolaichuk added. She also stressed that her team has visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran and inspected the safety and security control system at the installations. Many nations utilizing nuclear power have special institutions overseeing and regulating nuclear safety. Internationally the IAEA works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power, industry, and military uses. In addition, there are safety issues involved in products created with radioactive materials.