As the Unit 1 of Barakah Nuclear Power Plant become commercially operationally this year, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) has been building and maintain its emergency preparedness and response system to address any nuclear or
radiological emergency that might occur in the UAE.
FANR, the UAE's independent nuclear regulator, has been playing a key role in developing the UAE's Emergency Preparedness and Response System in collaboration with national and international entities, which was praised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its robustness and effectiveness.
In early 2019, FANR officially inaugurated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. This comes to streamline FANR's mission to protect the public and the environment from radiation risks. FANR's EOC is a state-of-the art centre equipped with advanced technologies that enable it to advise and coordinate with national entities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the effective response efforts in case of any nuclear or radiological accident .
The Emergency Operations Centre will shoulder key roles per the UAE nuclear law, which mandates FANR to establish measures for emergency preparedness and response. The centre will provide technical advice to government entities in case of an accidents including radiation protection, precautionary action to support protection of the public and the environment. FANR is part of UAE's Barakah's off-site Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Response Plans, which includes a number of national and local entities responsible for response to the incident commander (Abu Dhabi Police) in case of a nuclear accident.
The UAE is part of international conventions such as the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and request of assistance, which designates FANR's as UAE National Warning Focal Point, competent authority for domestic and abroad for nuclear or radiological emergencies that notifies the IAEA through FANR EOC the. FANR also, among national entities, plays a key role in participating to respond to nuclear or radiological incidents that might occur in the GCC region under the umbrella of the GCC Emergency Management Center, which is based in Kuwait.
FANR's EOC organizes and takes part in exercises and drills to build national capacity to assess nuclear or radiological emergencies in cooperation with national and international stakeholders. Since its establishment in 2009, FANR has developed and issued regulations and guidelines related to emergencies to ensure the protection of the public and the environment from radiation risks during emergencies as per the UAE Nuclear Law and international standards.