[Scan-DC] VOPEX 2006

[RICHARD ROWLAND]

VOPEX 2006
VOPEX is the acroynm for Virginia Operational Plan Exercise.Today it was a 
simulated radiological emergency at the North Anna Nuclear Power Station. 
The drill exercise had government and state representatives and included the 
counties of Caroline, Hanover, Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania. Each and 
every radio communication began and ended with, "This is a drill, this is a 
drill message". The exercise began with radiation exposure to a worker's arm 
and back. Shortly afterwards 2 other worker's were being treated for 
contamination. The injured were transported by the Mineral Rescue Squad to 
the Medical College of Virginia. (This was perhaps just an offsite transport 
simulation). As the drill unfolded it seemed to role play around a ruptured 
steam generator, linkage, valves, penetrations and a turbine tripping. The 
steam generators are actually located in the reactor containment and the 
turbine is in the turbine building, a separate structure. Linkage and valves 
can be found in multiple places. Penetrations were mentioned, a penetration 
is where a wire, pipe or line passes thru the containment wall or another 
building wall.  Although none were observed,  there were teams tracking, 
following and measuring rad levels of an imiginary  flume across Louisa, 
Orange, Hanover and Spotsylvania Counties. Caroline County was not heard 
from at least by me.

Communications were many and each began and ended with, "This is a drill, 
this is a drill message".

North Anna Talkgroups
3248 First Aid Team
6448 Health Physics rad monitoring
6480 Health Physics rad monitoring
8048 Offsite teams one & two
8080 On site monitoring team
8112 Equipment maintenance
8848 (Could not identify)
9648 Security, entrance gate, sally port
16464 Equipment maintenance
16496 "LEOF" mentioned several times ???

Participating agencies
155.895 [ 91.5 ] EOC Ch-1 repeater Mobile Lab
155.820 [ 91.5 ] EOC Ch-3 simplex
155.955 [173.8] Louisa County EMS patient transport & rad monitoring
155.895 [192.8] Orange County EMS rad monitoring

TG 00-087 Spotsylvania County EDACS Disaster Tac, rad monitoring
TG 02-044 Hanover County EDACS Countywide Ch-3, Beaverdam Command, rad 
monitoring

Richard Rowland
RichRowl at worldnet.att.net