Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Kalpakkam Centre has many units functioning at Kalpakkam such as Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) under Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) (under commissioning by BHAVINI), BARC Facilities, etc. As per Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) regulations, Off-Site Emergency Exercise in Integrated Command, Control & Response (ICCR) mode is conducted at Kalpakkam DAE Centre once in three years as part of its Emergency Preparedness plan. This exercise was conducted today 17th July 2026 in the emergency planning zone surrounding Kalpakkam site with the initiating event from PFBR, in accordance with regulatory requirements before going to power operation of the reactor.  PFBR achieved the historic milestone of first criticality recently on 6th April 2026, marking the start of the second stage nuclear power programme. 

The exercise was conducted in the public domain by District Disaster Management Agency (DDMA) under the leadership of District Collector, Chengalpattu, Dr. M Veerappan, I.A.S., who is also the Incident Commander. Technical inputs for exercise were provided by Kalpakkam Emergency Committee (KEC) headed by Shri S B Selvakumaran, Station Director, Madras Atomic Power Station who is also the Site Emergency Director (SED) and Shri AlluAnanth, Station Director, PFBR. The objective of this exercise is to check the preparedness of District Administration and the DAE Site Management in meeting any emergency situation, despite the fact that such an occurrence is most unlikely in a Nuclear Power Plant because of the "Defence in Depth" philosophy in the design and operation of the plant.

The ICCR mode off-site emergency exercise was conducted without disturbing the normal life of general public in the district. The entire scenario and the event timelines were kept as complete surprise in order to enhance the realism in the response of officials of both DAE and District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). Adequate care was taken to keep the public well informed of the exercise through press/media.

During the exercise, an incident scenario at Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor leading to off-site emergency was enacted in a highly compressed timeframe. KEC authorities implemented protective actions at Kalpakkam site. After the event escalated, SED declared off-site emergency and notified the incident commander (District collector, Chengalpattu). DDMA took charge of handling the off-site scenario. Based on the prevailing weather conditions, protective actions and necessary control measures were implemented by DDMA based on the advice of SED in the affected sectors surrounding the Kalpakkam site. After the situation was brought under control, the early phase was concluded and in the later intermediate phase of the exercise, the national level Radiation Emergency Response Director (from BARC, Mumbai) advised and guided the district administration in managing the response actions. Poonjeri and Mamallapuram and other Villages were covered in the exercise. NDRF,

District officials from Revenue, Rural development, Police, Health, Fire & Rescue Services, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Transport, and Public Relations participated in the exercise.

The exercise was carried out in accordance with Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Plans of DAE and DDMA. Around 15 senior officials from NDMA, SDMA, AERB, NDRF, NPCIL and BHAVINI observed the exercise and expressed overall satisfaction with the conduct of the exercise during the feedback session.

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