The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

Reviewing and testing of emergency plans

12.—(1) An operator who has prepared an emergency plan pursuant to regulation 10 shall, at suitable intervals not exceeding 3 years, unless otherwise agreed by the Executive—

(a) review and where necessary revise the plan for which they are responsible; and

(b) test that plan, taking reasonable steps to arrange for all those with a role in the plan to participate in the test to the extent necessary to ensure that the plan is effective.

(2) Where the Executive has arranged for the preparation of an off-site emergency plan pursuant to regulation 11, it shall, at suitable intervals not exceeding 3 years, unless otherwise decided by the Executive—

(a) arrange for the review and where necessary revision of the plan; and

(b) arrange for the testing of the plan, taking reasonable steps to arrange for all those with a role in the plan to participate in the test to the extent necessary to ensure that the plan is effective.

(3) The test required by paragraph (2)(b) need not extend to testing the off-site emergency plan, so far as it extends to the outline planning zone, unless a test is necessary in order to review or revise the plan, as required under paragraph (2)(a).

(4) The Executive may only agree that the review and test required under paragraph (1) may take place after the expiry of a three year period if—

(a) the operator has sent a written request for such an extension of time to the Executive; and

(b) the written request is sufficient to demonstrate that the circumstances of the request are reasonable and exceptional.

(5) A review required under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take into account—

(a) changes occurring in the work with ionising radiation to which the plan relates;

(b) changes within the emergency services concerned;

(c) new knowledge or guidance, whether technical or otherwise, concerning the response to radiation emergencies;

(d) any material change to the assessment on which the plan was based since it was last reviewed or revised;

(e) any relevant information derived from an assessment of or a report about the effectiveness of an emergency plan required by regulation 16(6); and

(f) any relevant information derived from a report into the outcome of an earlier test as required by paragraph (9).

(6) In determining how the off-site emergency plan is to be tested, the Executive shall cooperate with—

(a) the operator; and

(b) the emergency services.

(7) A review or test of the plan, required by this regulation, shall take into account any lessons learned from—

(a) past emergency exposure situations, whether at the operator’s premises or not; and

(b) the United Kingdom’s participation in emergency exercises at national and international level.

(8) The test of the plan required by paragraphs (1)(b) and 2(b) shall be adequate to test the ability to implement the plan in question, but the operator or the Executive, as the case may be, may for the purpose of determining the extent of that test, bear in mind—

(a) the length of time since the last test of the plan;

(b) the extent of the testing undertaken on the last occasion;

(c) any activation of the plan as a response to a radiation emergency since the last test; and

(d) any revisions of the plan made by the review required under paragraphs (1)(a) and 2(a).

(9) After completion of the test required by paragraph (1)(b), the operator shall—

(a) prepare a report on the outcome of the test within 3 months of the conclusion of the test; and

(b) send the report to the Executive within 28 days of its completion.

(10) After completion of the test required by paragraph (2)(b), the Executive shall—

(a) prepare a report on the outcome of the test within 3 months of the conclusion of the test; and

(b) send the report to the operator within 28 days of its completion.