The Junta approves the RADIOCyL plan for radiological emergencies

The Regional Government of Castilla y León has approved the Special Civil Protection Plan for Radiological Risk in Castilla y León (RADIOCyL), the instrument that establishes the organization and mechanisms for the mobilization of human and material resources in the event of radiological emergencies. This was done through Agreement 150/2026, of October 22, adopted by the Governing Council at the proposal of the Second Vice Presidency and published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) No. 207, of October 26, 2026, in section I (Other Provisions), starting on page 80.

Regulatory framework and scope

The plan is based on Law 17/2015, of July 9, on the National Civil Protection System, and the Basic Civil Protection Standard approved by Royal Decree 524/2023, of June 20, which mandates the creation of special plans for radiological risk due to its specific technical-scientific methodology. It is also supported by the Territorial Civil Protection Plan of Castilla y León (PLANCAL), approved by Decree 4/2019, of February 28, and the Basic Civil Protection Planning Guideline for Radiological Risk (DBRR), approved by Royal Decree 1564/2010, of November 19, repealed effective July 11, 2023, but still applicable until the instrument replacing it is approved.

The text consists of nine sections and three annexes, including the templates for incident notification and for the activation and deactivation of the plan at the provincial and regional levels. The agreement also empowers the head of the highest single-person superior body competent in civil protection to issue the implementing provisions.

Direction, phases, and action groups

The direction of the plan corresponds, at the provincial level, to the head of the Territorial Delegation of the Regional Government, and at the regional level, to the head of the Department competent in civil protection matters, who may delegate to the General Directorate of the sector. The response is graded in three phases:

• Alert and monitoring phase (pre-emergency), with Operational Situation 0, in which risks are limited to the facility.
• Emergency phase, with operational situations 1, 2, and 3; the latter requires a declaration of national interest by the Ministry of the Interior.
• Recovery phase, until the restoration of basic services.

The plan is activated starting from Operational Situation 1. Its structure includes the Steering Committee, the Advisory Committee, the Information Office, the Operational Coordination Center (CECOP) —which becomes CECOPI from situation 2 onwards—, the Castilla y León 1-1-2 Emergency Center, the Advanced Command Post (PMA), and eight action groups: Intervention, Security, Healthcare, Logistical Support, Technical Support, Social Assistance, Psychological Assistance, and Radiological.

Facilities and radiological criteria

The plan identifies five groups of radiological emergencies, although in Castilla y León there are only facilities susceptible to groups II, III, and IV, with the possibility of group V emergencies due to accidents occurring outside the national territory. Facilities include the fuel element factory of ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas, S.A. in Juzbado (Salamanca), the Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant in Valle de Tobalina (Burgos) —under decommissioning and owned by ENRESA since July 17, 2023, with an Individualized Temporary Storage facility of 49 containers and a capacity for 60— and the Quercus Plant in Saelices el Chico (Salamanca).

The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) acts as the Radiological Emergency Management and sets the reference level between 20 and 100 mSv; by default, it is established at 100 mSv for nuclear emergencies and 20 mSv for radiological ones. A zone I or urgent measures zone is delimited starting from 5 mSv/h, and a zone II or alert zone from 100 μSv/h. The main urgent measures are sheltering, radiological prophylaxis, and evacuation.

Implementation and municipal plans

Implementation begins with the approval of the plan and includes public dissemination, training of responders, provision of resources, and verification through exercises and simulations. Maintenance provides for annual training in radiological protection and a review of simulations at least every two years. City councils with facilities requiring internal and external planning levels must develop a Municipal Action Plan against radiological risk, which will be integrated into RADIOCyL when it is activated.

The file includes the favorable report from the Citizen Protection Commission dated May 7, 2025, and the certificate dated June 3, 2026, from the secretary of the permanent commission of the National Civil Protection Council. The agreement is signed by the president, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, and by the second vice-president, María Isabel Blanco Llamas.

Castilla y León previously relied on the PENBU for the external response level at Garoña; the RADIOCyL now assumes this management and extends coverage to radioactive facilities, mobile equipment, and orphaned sources—a risk distributed throughout the territory rather than concentrated in a single site.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 207, October 26, 2026, section I (Other Provisions), p. 80 (official reference: BOCYL-D-26102026-207-17).