EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IN CASE OF A HYPOTHETICAL ACCIDENT WITH NUCLEAR POWERED VESSEL TRAVERSING SUEZ CANAL

Egypt has unique problem the, Suez Canal, there is a major problem concerning the passage of the nuclear powered and possibly nuclear armed vessels and submarines through the canal several times each year escorted by Egyptian vessels. The passages of these vessels and submarines have been subject to a political agreement with the government of Egypt and their passage is not under the regulatory control of the Egyptian regulatory body. In spite of all safety precautions that are taken, in the nuclear powered vessels and submarines from the point of view of the rugged design of the reactor plant, multiple safety systems, fully trained and capable crew and operation with exceptional consideration for safety, also their sophisticated safety systems are designed to protect not only the ship and its personnel but also the public and environment. Nevertheless a potential for a serious accident may does arise, even though its probability is minimal. These accidents could also involve incineration of a single nuclear warhead in a ship- board fire. The Government of Egypt has established a national radiological emergency plan inorder to deal with any radiological accidents which may arise inside the country. Suez Canal passes through a zone of considerable business, agriculture and industrial activities. According to Suez Canal authority regulations, it is not allowed for the nuclear powered vessels to be landed in port. The motivation of the present paper was undertaken to discuss a hypothetical fire accident scenario occurred in a single nuclear warhead on board of a nuclear powered vessel during its passage along the Suez Canal close to Port Said City. Such an accident would produce a radioactive cloud containing plutonium-239. In this type of accidents contamination and causality zones could extend to several kilometers from the accident site. The accident scenario and emergency response actions taken during the different phases of the accident are going to be presented and discussed. The paper is going to highlight on the importance of public awareness for populations located in densely populated areas along the Suez Canal Bank.