A Comparative Analysis of International Atomic Energy Agency General Safety Requirements Part 7 against the Lessons Learned from the 11 September 2001 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon

A necessary component of any emergency program is the review of existing preparedness and response arrangements against exercises and real-world emergencies to identify improvements. In this paper, such a review has been conducted on the 26 Requirements in the International Atomic Energy Agency General Safety Requirements Part 7 Standard for nuclear emergency preparedness and response programs by comparing it to the recommendations and lessons learned from the Arlington County, After-Action Report on the Response to the 11 September 2001 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon. The results of the comparison indicate which Requirements and specific paragraphs within the Requirements are the most frequently inferred. From this, the relative importance of the Requirements can be determined and areas for improvement identified. This analysis has highlighted the high importance of the six Requirements on Infrastructure in ensuring a successful response. In some cases, budgetary constraints related to the preparedness for an unlikely event may limit the ability of response organizations to fully realize these Requirements; however, without having these fundamental infrastructure components in place, the other Requirements, particularly the Functional Requirements, will be difficult to achieve. This analysis also highlighted areas where Requirements could benefit from elaboration, specifically the need for mental health support for response workers and the application of an established and agreed upon command structure. Given that the Requirements were published nearly 10 y ago, the findings described in this paper could be used to improve it as part of a routine revision cycle.