All Irish homes are to be sent a leaflet advising people how to protect themselves in the event of radioactive fallout.
Although it has no nuclear power stations, the Government is concerned about wind-borne fallout from an accident at a British plant or a terrorist strike on the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing complex in northwest England.
Stable iodine in tablet form will also be distributed in coming weeks to all families.
The tablets may be effective in preventing thyroid cancer, especially in children, if there is exposure to radioactive fallout.
Dublin began a review of plans for dealing with a variety of emergencies, including nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, following the September 11th atrocities in the US.
It was discovered that most of the existing stocks of iodine tablets that had been distributed in 1991 had since been dumped because they were beyond their "best before" date.
If an emergency is declared following a major nuclear accident or terrorist attack abroad which could lead to fallout reaching Britain, people are advised to remain indoors at home, at school or at work. The leaflet also warns against eating contaminated foods.
However, it says it does not envisage a nuclear accident abroad giving rise to the need for the evacuation of people in Ireland.
AFP