Airport staff preps for radiation emergencies

Hundreds of employees at the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) participated in the ‘Radiological Emergency Mock Drill’ at the ‘Cargo Terminal’ in Shamshabad recently.

The exercise, which was conducted as per the National Disaster Management Authority, was organised in association with National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and stakeholders from Central and State government.

“This was done with a focus to ascertain response and preparedness based on detection, protection and decontamination of radioactive consignments in case of any incident during movement of such hazardous material at the airport premises – thus saving precious lives and properties,” said a statement from GHIAL.

A scenario was enacted at the cargo terminal, wherein emergency was invoked after the information of some radioactive consignment getting exposed to fire at the cargo terminal. As per the Airport contingency plan, critical zones were invoked to address the crisis situation and effectively handled in coordination with various agencies.

Commenting on this exercise, SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL said, “The participation in the NDRF led Radiological Emergency Mock Drill has reinforced our capabilities and commitment to meet any crisis situation. The learnings from the exercise would help us in addressing any radiation emergencies at the airport.”

The exercise ended with a debrief session, which included sharing of observations and explanations from various stakeholders who participated in the event.

Chairing the session Dr S Murali, Head Emergency Preparedness and response section of Department of Atomic Energy said, “GHIAL and the other stakeholders have expedited the mock drill with absolute precision. Communication and coordination play a vital role during any incident situation. We appreciate GHIAL and other stakeholders for their flawless coordination”.