GCC radioactive pollution workshop kicks off

KUWAIT, Dec 8 (KUNA) -- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Emergency Management Center based in Kuwait on Monday launched a three-day training workshop on a radioactive pollution accident at a water desalination plant.
The practice was chosen following discussions between the GCC Center board of directors and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the great importance of water plants for the GCC, Center Chairman Adnan Al-Tamimi told the opening ceremony.
The three-day event will simulate a radioactive accident at a water desalination plant.
He added that the last meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council in Doha approved the regional plan to make the necessary preparations for countering potential radioactive and nuclear events.
According to Al-Tamimi, the Emergency Management Center will implement the plan in case of any radioactive of nuclear pollution in any of the GCC countries.
He stressed that the Center is responsible for promoting the plan, considering remarks by the GCC states, in cooperation with the IAEA.
This is not the first example of cooperation between the IAEA and the GCC Center, the Center's representative at the IAEA Marc Vidricaire said. A similar one was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for preparations to face a nuclear emergency.
Vidricaire referred to a "fruitful" meeting held in Vienna last March between the GCC Center and the IAEA, noting that they came to Kuwait to work on the level of national strategies.
In addition to Kuwait, the IAEA is working on preparations for potential radioactive and nuclear events in the UAE, Vidricaire said.
The Emergency Center was founded by a decision of the 103rd session of the GCC Ministerial Council, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July, 2007, with a view to enhancing the preparedness of the GCC countries to address any nuclear emergency in the region.
The Kuwait-based center serves as a modern radioactive early warning mechanism and a seismological and meteorological observatory. (end) hrz.aas.msa