Nuclear hazard scenarios for Austria. Comparative assessment of nuclear hazard scenarios for planning purposes by the Austrian army

In order to provide for an optimum protection of the population in case of a wide-spread contamination, in particular in case of a reactor accident, the determined deployment and co-operation of various organizations and institutions of the federal and provincial governments is required. In scenarios where civil authorities have reached the limit of their deployment, a special role is attributable to the Austrian Army which may take over important tasks in that case and is the only Austrian institution who is able to perform these tasks for a prolonged period of time. To be able to perform this task in a reliable and optimum way, the potential accident scenarios and the resulting possible consequences on the Austrian territory are assessed and described. This should enable those responsible in the Austrian army to assess the required capacity of resources. Furthermore, comparisons with other wide-spread contamination as well as their causes are presented and possible trends in the future are discussed. In addition, the scenarios elaborated in the study shall serve as a base for further investigations of the possibilities of the Austrian Army with its equipment and personal training to give optimal assistance to the Austrian state and its citizens in catastrophic situations. They shall serve further as base for further investigations of possible improvements in the equipment and the training status as well as a possible extension of the utilization of existing measurement and operational equipment at disposition to the Austrian Army. (author)