The General Directorate of Civil Protection, under the Ministry of Interior, carried out this Monday at 11:00 a.m. the first drill of the mass alert system for mobile phones (ES-Alert) for a nuclear emergency in the closest influence area to Vandellòs II. It had never before been put into practice alongside the Catalan nuclear power plants. Without yet having information from telecommunications operators and surveys of residents, there are doubts about the arrival of alerts in some dark areas, without coverage or with deficiencies, within the first ten-kilometer radius of the plant.
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“We will analyze the data; the idea when a drill is carried out is to implement actions, but I cannot anticipate something that is still maturing,” explained Elisabet Romero, sub-delegate of the central government in Tarragona, in the first assessment of the drill. The sub-delegate highlighted that, pending detailed information that should serve to update the coverage map and possible deficiencies, alerts have reached the five municipalities in the first area: Vandellòs i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant, Mont-roig del Camp and Pratdip, in Baix Camp, l’Ametlla de Mar (Baix Ebre) and Tivissa (Ribera d’Ebre).
The territory demands solutions in areas without coverage or with poor alert reception near Vandellòs II
This involves a population of about 30,000 residents, to which tourists and people on the move for work reasons must be added. They would be the first to be informed in case of an accident at the Vandellòs II nuclear power plant, the most vulnerable population in an emergency.
“There are dark spots where there is no coverage or coverage is poor, and it will be very good that these are detected thanks to the drill; this is where we want to focus so that the Government solves it or grants us subsidies so that we can do it ourselves,” warns Assumpció Castellví, mayor of Vandellòs i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant. The City Council’s concern focuses on black spots detected in the core of Vandellòs, where there are also problems with radio and television coverage; in Masboquera and Masriudoms, La Almadrava and l’Hospitalet de l’Infant.
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Nuclear emergency plan
The central government is committed to carrying out a drill with the involvement of the population and security forces
“We hope they listen to us for once; we have already reported it to the Síndic de Greuges de Catalunya. It is the responsibility of Civil Protection,” adds Mayor Castellví.
Another long-standing demand from municipalities near Catalan nuclear power plants is the carrying out of a large emergency drill, with the involvement of the population, to update the nuclear emergency plan (Penta). The sub-delegate of the Spanish Government hinted yesterday that it will be carried out before the end of 2026, although she wanted to dissociate it from the Síndic de Greuges report warning of the nuclear territory’s poor preparation in case of emergency.
This Wednesday, the same drill for sending mass alerts to mobile phones will be carried out in the area of the Ascó nuclear power plant (Ribera d’Ebre).
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