Crisis Management Training at Nuclear Facilities: Simulations in Bomb Threats

Barton, Laurence; ,

Crisis Management Training at Nuclear Facilities: Simulations in Bomb Threats

by Laurence Barton, Univ of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1993

Abstract:

Substantial enhancements to the study of the theoretical and applied foundations of crisis management have been achieved in recent years. Whereas risk managers study 'the probability that a harmful consequence of a particular event will occur during a given time,' crisis management explores unexpected, potentially negative events with short or long-term implications involving injury to life or property. In this regard, crisis management focuses on the mitigation of organizational after-shock; risk management is preventative in scope. While the risk management function of nuclear facilities has been addressed widely in the literature, comparatively little has been written that addresses the myriad, interdisciplinary challenges associated with managing organizational disarray. The issue of crisis management has assumed paramount importance in recent years due to unexpected geopolitical events (e.g., Persian Gulf War), rampant violence facing organizations (e.g., mass shootings in Killeen, Texas and several U.S. Post Offices) and an acceleration of serious crises impacting large organizations (e.g., Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez, NASA Challenger disaster). Without question, the public is increasingly demanding that organizational managers possess a fundamental understanding of crisis management and its principal underpinnings: effective public communication regarding the event and a return to normalcy, employee and public safety and evacuation measures, and other mitigation measures that will protect life and property.

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