Preparedness exercise a joined effort of many actors
Last week, the Island of Olkiluoto and surrounding areas were populated by a significantly larger than usual number of official uniforms, boats, and other vehicles of authorities. The reason for this was the OLKITURVA-24 preparedness and security exercise organised on 1-3 October.
The exercise was designed for practicing cooperation in a challenging authority-led situation as well as ensuring that all required preparedness and security arrangements are in place in Olkiluoto to safeguard nuclear safety.
Inside the power plant area, the actual main day of the exercise was Wednesday when an emergency drill was held in the area combined with the evacuation by sea of a group of employees who took part in the exercise on a voluntary basis.
- From Olkiluoto, a little more than a hundred individuals were involved in this, explains TVO’s Senior Corporate Security Expert Anni Lähdeoja, who had also contributed to the planning of the exercise.
In addition to the Emergency Response Organisation of Teollisuuden Voima, the organisers of the exercise included, among others, the Police Departments of Southwest Finland and Helsinki, the Finnish Border Guard, the Wellbeing Services County of Satakunta, and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland.
Evacuation by sea a special feature of the exercise
The detailed content of the exercise is not for public knowledge, but what can be told is that this time the exercise scenario was a police-led situation where unauthorised persons had entered the plant area. The purpose of the exercise was to practice cooperation between the Olkiluoto Emergency Response Organisation and the authorities on one hand, and the evacuation of personnel, for example, on the other hand.
- We have assembly and evacuation exercises on a regular basis, but this was the first time that personnel were taken away from the island by sea. The evacuation was carried out in cooperation with the Border Guard. This exercise proved our ability to implement also this type of action and cooperation, Lähdeoja says.
All in all, Lähdeoja is satisfied with the course of the exercise.
- We will later convene for a more detailed debriefing of the exercise together with the authorities to assess any needs for improvement that came up during the exercise. As far as TVO is concerned, however, I can already say that the exercise went well. Naturally, in a large-scale exercise with many different actors and operational approaches, some development needs are also always identified. And that is, of course, the very objective of exercises.
Safety and security related exercises are held regularly in Olkiluoto. A police-led exercise like the one implemented this time takes place every three years, as does also an exercise led by the Rescue Services.
Some action photos from the exercise:
Text: Ville Kulmala
Images: Johanna Innola and Tapani Karjanlahti