Do not be alarmed if you see emergency vehicles near Point Lepreau over the next two days.
It is the site of a full-scale nuclear emergency exercise called Synergy Challenge.
Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson with the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, told our newsroom about 1,000 people from more than 35 agencies and organizations are taking part.
“It’s focused on the recovery side of a nuclear emergency,” Downey told our newsroom. “In 2015, there was Exercise Intrepid that focused on the response portion.”
Tomorrow marks the beginning of exercise Synergy Challenge in NB, the first recovery-based exercise at a Canadian nuclear power plant. @NB_Power pic.twitter.com/xL7qBTgDdf
— CNSC (@CNSC_CCSN) October 2, 2018
Such exercises are held every three years as part of Point Lepreau’s licensing requirements.
Downey said the exercise will help ensure agencies can co-ordinate in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident.
“It involves a lot of people, in terms of residents, it involves a lot of territory and a lot of agencies that would be called to participate in the case of a real emergency,” he said.
Downey said residents should expect to see increased vehicle traffic on area roads during the exercise on Wednesday and Thursday.
(Photo: Government of New Brunswick/submitted)
