With one large nuclear power plant at its territory (Barakah in UAE) and nuclear plants or other nuclear installations in neighbouring countries/region, the Gulf cooperation council’s (GCC) Member states (MS) (UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait) are committed to ensure nuclear safety in the territory of all its Member States. However, GCC identified the possibility of being affected by radiological or nuclear releases. In such a case, the GCC MS authorities would need to decide on appropriate response measures to protect the population and environment. The need to strengthen and integrate further radiological monitoring and harmonized emergency preparedness, the GCC asked the European Union (EU), though its project “Enhancing the capabilities of the GCC’s EMC in preparedness for and response to a nuclear or radiological emergency” to actively support the improvements in this area.

The project supported the installation of the JRODOS, one of world’s premier decision support systems, in the GCC’s Emergency Management Centre (EMC) in Kuwait. JRODOS has been developed over the last two decades in a collaborative effort between the EU MS and the EU, through the EU’s framework scientific research. At present, JRODOS is the tool of choice for the decisions support for radiological emergencies in numerous EU MS and other countries internationally.

Within the project, JRODOS was customized for GCC conditions, training of operators and decision makers provided and procedures developed to underpin its operation. Numerous exercises from small scale (on line) exercises to desktop command and control exercises for each country were prepared, effectively as seeing the capabilities of end users. It included the assistance provided by JRODOS to the GCC during the IAEA ConvEx-3 exercise in October 2021. A long-term training plan was established and the training material, including a Train-the-trainers’ course developed. 

The project that is being concluded now established the central JRODOS facility at the GCC EMC, where each of the GCC countries has its own server and the data base, effectively specialising JRODOS for nationally focused operation.  At a later stage, (when completed) the output of the GCC-RDEP will be provided to JRODOS, enhancing the reliability of prognosis and the effectiveness of the decision making.

The project results shall be seen as especially supportive to enhanced engagement between the EU and GCC on Structured Security Dialogue, as well as the humanitarian affairs cooperation.

The project was implemented by the EU Contractor ENCO of Austria, who possesses wide experience in the nuclear and radiological safety as well as in EP&R. KIT of Germany, the developer of JRODOS, acts as a subcontractor.