Nuclear war preparations: FOI release

Information requested

1. Please can you tell me what plans exist for dealing with a radiological event, or nuclear war?
2. Are KI and radiation sickness medications plentiful enough and can be handed out to the populace in time to be effective? Bearing in mind the low population density outwith the cities.
3. Where are the public bunkers located, and how timely will be the call to get to these bunkers, taking into account the travel time for the rural population?

Response

1. Please can you tell me what plans exist for dealing with a radiological event, or nuclear war?
   
   The Scottish Government has an ‘all risks’ approach to responding to the consequences of major incidents at a national level. Individual sites also maintain site-specific plans.
   
   The preparation and response to emergencies is underpinned by The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 ("the Act") and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 ("the Regulations"). These regulations form the legal basis for emergency preparedness in Scotland. The Act seeks to minimise disruption in the event of an emergency and to ensure that the UK is better prepared to deal with a range of emergencies and their consequences.
   
   This legislation outlines the key organisations responsible for ensuring the effective management of emergencies in Scotland. These are category 1 responders (including local authorities, police, fire, ambulance and health boards) and category 2 responders (including electricity operators, gas suppliers, Scottish Water and Health and Safety Executive).
   
   The Act and the Regulations place a number of legal duties upon Category 1 responders. For more information on responders and their legislative duties please see the following chapter of Preparing Scotland CHAPTER 2 - Legislation | Ready Scotland
   
   Resilience in Scotland takes an ‘all-risks’ approach and is based on the doctrine of Integrated Emergency Management (IEM). Whilst emergencies can be caused by a wide range of factors, the effects will often share identical or similar consequences.
   
   The aim of IEM is to develop flexible and adaptable arrangements for dealing with emergencies, whether foreseen or unforeseen and regardless of cause. It is based on a multi-agency approach and the effective co-ordination of those agencies. It involves Category 1 and Category 2 responders (as defined in the Act) and also the voluntary sector, commerce and a wide range of communities.
   
   More information on Scotland’s approach to preparing for and responding to civil emergencies can be found at Philosophy, Principles, Structure and Regulatory Duties | Ready Scotland
    
2. Are KI and radiation sickness medications plentiful enough and can be handed out to the populace in time to be effective? Bearing in mind the low population density outwith the cities.
   
   The National Risk Register 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (Chapter 4) published by the UK government, sets out the wider context of preparedness and response arrangements that are in place for:
    

• Industrial Accidents, which may lead to an accidental release of Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) material into the environment.
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear attacks which may impact upon the UK.
  
  This includes reference to government maintained stockpiles and confirms that arrangements are in place for how these would be distributed in an emergency. For reasons of National Security, neither the Scottish nor UK governments publish detailed information relating to the types or volumes of medical countermeasures that are held in national stockpiles or on specific distribution arrangements.
  
  Your correspondence referenced potassium iodide in relation to a nuclear event and to put this in context the release of radioactive iodine is not associated with the detonation of a nuclear device and potassium iodide is not therefore a recognised clinical countermeasure for this type of incident.
  
  Potassium iodide is an appropriate clinical countermeasure should there be a release of radioactive iodine, typically for an incident involving a nuclear reactor. As a mitigation, all residents within the Detailed Emergency Planning Zone (DEPZ) which typically extends to approximately 3km around nuclear reactors in Scotland, are provided with a supply of potassium iodide tablets, and local plans are in place to cover emergency arrangements for those visiting such areas.
   

3. Where are the public bunkers located, and how timely will be the call to get to these bunkers, taking into account the travel time for the rural population
   
   There are no public bunkers located in the UK. This is a reserved matter; The Cabinet Office (Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS)) is the Lead Government Department in this area and any further information should be requested from CCS.

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