Langfang Holds 2026 Unscripted Radiation Accident Realistic Emergency Exercise

On September 22, the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Langfang City, Hebei Province, together with the Guangyang District People's Government of Langfang City, held the 2026 unscripted radiation accident realistic emergency exercise at a nuclear technology utilization unit within its jurisdiction. This exercise resolutely rejected formalism, adopting throughout a “no preset script, no prior rehearsal” double-blind mechanism, strictly following the basic principles of “unscripted, realistic, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei joint prevention and control,” comprehensively testing extreme response and handling capabilities under sudden nuclear and radiation safety incidents.

The exercise simulated a general radiation accident, with the scenario set as a nuclear technology utilization unit within the jurisdiction discovering during an inventory check that one Category IV radioactive source and one Category V radioactive source had been accidentally lost. After the dangerous situation occurred, the enterprise involved reported in a standardized manner to the competent authorities at the first opportunity and activated its on-site preliminary emergency response plan; the municipal and district governments and relevant departments acted immediately upon orders; the Guangyang District People's Government quickly established an emergency command headquarters, and elite forces from multiple departments including ecology and environment, public security, health, publicity, and cyberspace administration rapidly assembled and entered the site in wartime status, simultaneously establishing a battlefield command hub.

Given Langfang's special geographical location in the core hinterland of the Beijing-Tianjin corridor, the exercise closely relied on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei radiation safety integrated joint prevention and control mechanism, rapidly coordinating with the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Daxing District, Beijing, and the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Wuqing District, Tianjin, to carry out cross-regional collaborative emergency response. Under the realistic situation without the constraints of a pre-arranged script, all stages including on-site source search and monitoring, containment and source tracing, medical decontamination and screening, public opinion guidance, and cross-provincial border information notification were coordinated and advanced in strict accordance with statutory plan divisions of labor. All participating units connected closely, and handling was decisive and orderly, successfully locating and collecting the simulated out-of-control radioactive source within the specified time, resolving potential environmental risks.

This exercise effectively tested the agility of the territorial radiation accident emergency command and organization system, the effectiveness of horizontal joint operations among departments, and the practical capability of in-depth collaborative handling with neighboring provinces and municipalities, providing real data and scenario support for further addressing shortcomings in emergency response and dynamically optimizing plans at all levels. The activity was advanced using a trinity model of “on-site realistic handling, video link observation, and on-site expert evaluation.” Responsible persons from the Radiation Safety Management Division of the Hebei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment and from ecology and environment departments of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding cities observed on-site; the expert evaluation group conducted embedded assessment throughout and gave high praise, proposing long-term construction suggestions on further improving specialized radiation emergency equipment allocation and cross-border normalized connectivity.