Proposing a Demographic Approach to Enhancing Evacuation Simulations (PRISM)

IAEA GSR Part 7 (Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency) outlines standards for emergency preparedness and response planning. In this document, Requirement 5 specifies that strategies must consider vulnerable populations (e.g., children, pregnant women) during an emergency, while Requirement 10 emphasizes the importance of having information about special population groups and specific facilities in such situations. Additionally, consistent with the IAEA Safety Standards Chapter 4, the document provides detailed references to specific requirements and response strategies, highlighting the critical role of effective emergency response in the event of a radiological accident. Building upon previous research, which developed an evacuation simulation tool (PRISM: Platform for Radiological Integrated Simulation), real-time monitoring of resident evacuations during radiological emergencies became possible. This simulation examined residents' behavior in the event of a radiological accident at a nuclear power plant, focusing on assessing evacuation times and quantifying the impact of radiation exposure. This study aims to incorporate age and age-related considerations into an already developed simulation (PRISM). The focus is on capturing the differential impacts of age on evacuation behavior, with specific attention to various age groups such as children (e.g., pupils at school or at home), adults, and the elderly. A selected nuclear power plant will serve as the basis for a literature review on age-specific evacuation behavior. Subsequently, age-related parameters-such as variations in movement speeds and decision-making patterns-will be integrated into the simulation to demonstrate how these factors are reflected in evacuation processes. This integration highlights the changes in evacuation dynamics compared to a baseline scenario that does not account for age-related differences.