The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) on Wednesday said it would, on October 22, conduct a full-scale nuclear safety regulatory emergency exercise at the Koeberg power station, in the Western Cape, to test the effectiveness of the Integrated Koeberg Nuclear Emergency Plan.

During the exercise, the NNR would evaluate and assess the integration and response arrangements of the various role-players to a simulated emergency scenario.

"As the competent authority in South Africa, the NNR takes nuclear safety regulation very seriously and, by conducting these regulatory emergency exercises, it helps us to sharpen our ability to respond to an emergency scenario, as well as to further improve South Africa’s preparedness in the unlikely event of nuclear or radiological incidents and emergencies,” NNR CEO Dr Bismark Tyobeka said.

The NNR said emergency exercises were periodically organised as part of training for emergency teams and to test resources and organisational structures with a view to identifying and strengthening any weak points.

In accordance with sections 5 and 7 of the National Nuclear Regulator Act, the NNR also conducted regulatory emergency exercises at the Koeberg and Pelindaba sites to test and evaluate the effectiveness of the emergency plans, which also took into account lessons learned from previous exercises and in-house drills.