An international framework facilitates the development and maintenance of capabilities and arrangements for preparedness and response to nuclear and radiological incidents and emergencies. The IAEA and the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies are the prime interagency coordination mechanism in emergency preparedness and response.
The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency are the main legal instruments on emergency preparedness and response and form the legal basis for the international EPR framework. They place specific obligations on the States Parties and the IAEA.
The IAEA Safety Standards dealing with emergency preparedness and response, along with a range of technical guidance documents and tools, provide requirements, recommendations, guidelines and good practices for building a sound level of emergency preparedness and effective emergency response.
These arrangements are the practical means by which the IAEA, its Member States and other international organizations maintain emergency preparedness and effectively respond to any nuclear and radiological incident or emergency.