Russia Completes Nuclear Training Center

Russia has completed the final stage of a U.S.-sponsored training center in Moscow for preparing emergency responders to handle nuclear and radiological accidents and attacks, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said yesterday (see GSN, June 29).

The Emergency Management Training Center first opened in 2004 under management of the Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom.  In specialized classrooms, students conduct “tabletop” emergency response drills using computers, communication links, projection displays and software.

In the last construction stage, builders refurbished and equipped a conference hall as well as two training rooms and two support rooms, giving the facility a new total of four training rooms and three support rooms.

The center now offers eight different training courses and provides emergency response training to 600 people each year.

“NNSA is … assisting Rosatom in developing the training manuals and curriculum for the center, including developing computer-based simulation programs for different emergency situations, and computer software for lectures, presentations, exercises and training,” according to a press release.

“Both the United States and Russia recognize the critical need to be as well-trained and prepared as possible in order to effectively respond to emergency situations — especially when nuclear and radiological material is involved,” said NNSA Associate Administrator Joseph Krol in the release.

“We have had a very successful, long-term nuclear emergency response partnership with Russia and the improvement of this training facility is another example of our cooperation efforts,” he said (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Nov. 1).

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