This Safety Guide supports Member States in developing arrangements for communicating with the public and media and coordinating official information in the response to a nuclear or radiological emergency. These arrangements facilitate the successful implementation of protective actions and the delivery of consistent messages. Specifically, the Safety Guide describes the infrastructure and processes needed to provide useful, timely, truthful, consistent, clear and appropriate information to the public in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency; respond to incorrect information and rumors; and respond to requests for information from the public and from the news and information media. It will help ensure effective and uniform public information and media communications arrangements during nuclear and radiological emergencies. The guidance is applicable for such emergencies, irrespective of the initiator, whether that be natural event, human error, mechanical or other failure, or a nuclear security event.

The aim of this publication is to provide practical guidance for public information officers on the preparation for and response to a nuclear or radiological emergency.

This publication provides guidance and recommendations on arrangements to be made at the preparedness stage, as part of overall emergency preparedness, for the termination of a nuclear or radiological emergency and the subsequent transition from the emergency exposure situation to either a planned exposure situation or an existing exposure situation. It elaborates the prerequisites that need to be fulfilled so that responsible authorities can declare the nuclear or radiological emergency ended and it gives detailed guidance on adapting and lifting protective actions. This publication, jointly sponsored by 10 international organizations (FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ILO, IMO, INTERPOL, OECD/NEA, UN OCHA, WHO and WMO) is intended to assist Member States in the application of IAEA Safety Standards Series Nos GSR Part 3 and GSR Part 7.