U.S., China share nuke emergency plans

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The United States and China have held a meeting on nuclear emergency response cooperation.

"U.S. and Chinese experts shared nuclear emergency response capabilities with multiple other countries during a Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Radiation Emergency Response Workshop," the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said in a statement Friday.

"The workshop, conducted in Beijing, China this week, was opened by Chinese Ambassador Xiaodi Hu, director general of the arms control department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Under Secretary for Counter Terrorism Dr. Steven Aoki. The goal of the workshop was to demonstrate the best ways countries can both prevent and respond to acts of nuclear terrorism," the NNSA said.

The NNSA said it "worked with the China Atomic Energy Authority -- CAEA -- to conduct briefings on U.S. emergency response capabilities, and to exchange some best practices among the other participating countries. Fifty-five representatives from 15 countries attended the Workshop. Field exercises were also held, where many search techniques and other capabilities were demonstrated."

"This was a great opportunity for the United States, China, and many other countries to learn from each other the best ways to respond to a possible nuclear terrorist attack," said NNSA Associate Administrator for Emergency Operations Joseph J. Krol from China. "It s always reassuring to see how many different countries are a part of the global war on terror."

"The Radiation Emergency Response Workshop is a nuclear and radiological terrorism response capabilities demonstration that supports the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. The workshop was designed to improve the capabilities of participants to deal with nuclear or radiological devices, and the way to respond in the event of a nuclear or radiological incident," the NNSA said.

The NNSA describes itself as "a separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing."