54 countries and 5 international organizations join in a worldwide exercise in nuclear emergency management

As part of ongoing international cooperation to deal with possible nuclear emergencies, on 22-23 May 2001, an extensive international nuclear emergency exercise will be carried out at the Gravelines NPP. The main objectives of the exercise are to test existing national and international procedures and arrangements for responding to nuclear emergency, co-ordinate the release of information and assess the effectiveness of advisory and decision making mechanism. The IAEA has specific responsibilities under two international conventions related to emergencies involving ionizing radiation - the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency