A “mock contamination containment” drill was held on Friday around the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the southern province of Bushehr, IRNA reported.
“The two-day drill, which is being conducted within a 5-kilometer radius of the plant, involves three stages,” a provincial military commander said on Saturday, explaining, “The first one was a an indoor (crisis-management) meeting held yesterday, the second is a practical exercise now underway at the site of the plant, and the third will be carried out within the city.”
Given the strategic importance of the country’s only nuclear power plant and petroleum refineries located in the province, as well as oil export terminals on the adjacent Khark Island, it is essential to “establish and strengthen the civil defense infrastructures in the province”, Lieutenant General Fathollah Jamiri noted.
“The Bushehr nuclear power plant has been constructed according to the highest safety standards,” the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander said, adding, “However, by international law, holding such counter-nuclear radiation drills is a necessity in the countries owning the nuclear technology.”
The Bushehr plant, located 5 kilometers south of the provincial capital of Bushehr, came online in 2012 and enjoys an electricity generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
