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Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation
  • News article
  • 10 January 2025
  • Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, Joint Research Centre
  • 2 min read

Georgia strengthens response to radiological and nuclear emergencies interagency tabletop exercise

Scientist (radiation supervisor) in protective clothing and gas

 

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) materials play critical roles across various sectors, offering significant benefits to society, the environment, and the economy. Radiological materials are extensively utilized in medical diagnostics and treatment. However, these materials can pose significant hazards if mishandled, lost, abandoned or exploited for malicious purposes, lading to the occurrence of radiation emergencies that can have adverse consequences on the environment, public health, and human life.

To ensure robust preparedness and mitigation of these risks, it is crucial to enhance countries capabilities in managing radioactive materials by adopting a comprehensive approach to prevent, respond and recover from potential radiological incidents.

In a proactive endeavour to enhance national preparedness and response capabilities for CBRN risk mitigation, Georgia completed a tabletop exercise on responding to a nuclear and radiological emergency

Held on 4 December 2024, the national tabletop exercise aimed to strengthen the country's preparedness and response in case of nuclear and radiological transboundary incidents. The exercise helped the participating agencies to manage this type of emergency at the national level and improve the inter-agency coordination mechanism. 

The event was interactive and dynamic. The participants discussed the rights and responsibilities of the relevant Georgian agencies during a nuclear and radiological national emergency. They also talked about their various needs, and at the same time, discussed the solutions for the existing gaps and challenges. 

Georgia TTX on Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Response December 2024
© State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG)

CBRN Coordinating Council & CBRN Threat Reduction Strategy

The exercise was lead by the Georgian Interagency Coordinating Council for Combating CBRN threats, with the support of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG), which is the chair agency of the council. 

The exercise was moderated by the members of the secretariat of Coordinating Council. They explained the objectives of the exercise to the participants and highlighted that the CBRN Threat Reduction Strategy, as well as the corresponding national action plan (2024-2026), stipulates the conduct of similar events. In this sense, it was emphasized that the State Security Service will continue to work with the council members to conduct national table and field-top exercises.

The exercise was hosted by the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, which showed a good example of interagency cooperation. The representatives of the State Security Service, National Security Council, Ministries of Internal Affairs, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Environmental Protection and Agriculture, IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia, Labor, Health and Social Protection, Finance, Economy and Sustainable Development, Regional Development and Infrastructure attended the event. 

Details

Publication date
10 January 2025
Authors
Service for Foreign Policy Instruments | Joint Research Centre
CBRN areas
  • First response
  • Post incident recovery
  • Protection of material/facilities
  • Public and infrastructure protection
  • Public health impact mitigation
  • Safety and security
CBRN categories
  • Radiological
  • Nuclear
CoE Region
  • SEEE - South East and Eastern Europe