With the vigorous development of the nuclear industry, the perfection and professionalization of China’s nuclear emergency response system are becoming increasingly crucial. The national nuclear emergency response system is divided into three levels: the national level, the level of provinces (autonomous regions or centrally administered municipalities) with nuclear installations, and the level of operators of nuclear installations. Nuclear emergency response organizations in prefecture-level cities play an indispensable role within the provincial nuclear emergency response organizations and are the vanguard force responsible for off-site nuclear emergency response, with advantages such as familiarity with the off-site environment and rapid response initiation. As the number of nuclear power units increases, especially with a single prefecture-level city hosting multiple nuclear bases, the existing nuclear emergency response capabilities and systems in prefecture-level cities urgently need to be updated and strengthened. Through in-depth research on the nuclear emergency response organization systems, professional team capabilities, and emergency response resource allocation of a typical prefecture-level city and its county-level cities, issues such as incomplete organizational systems, unclear interface relationships, unprofessional talent teams, and imperfect resource allocation have been identified, which affect the effectiveness of emergency response. To address these challenges, a systematic enhancement of nuclear emergency response capabilities in prefecture-level cities was proposed from four aspects: institutional system, core capabilities, team mechanisms, and resource allocation. The perfection of the institutional system is the foundation, the strengthening of core capabilities is the key, and the soundness of team mechanisms is the safeguard. Prefecture-level cities should promote the systematization, specialization, and standardization of nuclear emergency response capability construction with a task-oriented, coordinated, and compatible philosophy and principles, thereby solidifying the cornerstone of China’s nuclear safety.

With the vigorous development of the nuclear industry, the perfection and professionalization of China’s nuclear emergency response system are becoming increasingly crucial. The national nuclear emergency response system is divided into three levels: the national level, the level of provinces (autonomous regions or centrally administered municipalities) with nuclear installations, and the level of operators of nuclear installations. Nuclear emergency response organizations in prefecture-level cities play an indispensable role within the provincial nuclear emergency response organizations and are the vanguard force responsible for off-site nuclear emergency response, with advantages such as familiarity with the off-site environment and rapid response initiation. As the number of nuclear power units increases, especially with a single prefecture-level city hosting multiple nuclear bases, the existing nuclear emergency response capabilities and systems in prefecture-level cities urgently need to be updated and strengthened. Through in-depth research on the nuclear emergency response organization systems, professional team capabilities, and emergency response resource allocation of a typical prefecture-level city and its county-level cities, issues such as incomplete organizational systems, unclear interface relationships, unprofessional talent teams, and imperfect resource allocation have been identified, which affect the effectiveness of emergency response. To address these challenges, a systematic enhancement of nuclear emergency response capabilities in prefecture-level cities was proposed from four aspects: institutional system, core capabilities, team mechanisms, and resource allocation. The perfection of the institutional system is the foundation, the strengthening of core capabilities is the key, and the soundness of team mechanisms is the safeguard. Prefecture-level cities should promote the systematization, specialization, and standardization of nuclear emergency response capability construction with a task-oriented, coordinated, and compatible philosophy and principles, thereby solidifying the cornerstone of China’s nuclear safety.