Emergency Planning Zones

The philosophy of public health protection used by the AEC and pursued ever since, is the use of multiple independent barriers, each a significant shield for the public. The last barrier involves the removal of people from the area over which the radioactive plume is expected to pass, interdiction of food supplies and the use of prophylaxis to reduce the iodine dose. Blood 

Emergency class Plant criteria Release of activity Response 

suai event (UE) Indication of potential plant degradation None Notification and infonnation 

irea emergency (SAE) Actual or likely failure of plant safety. Small - within Federal guidelines Activation ot FOC, deploymem ut euiervcricy monitoring and communication teams 

General emergency (GE) Actual or imminent substantial core degradation loss of containment possible Releases reasonably expected to exceed Federal guidelines Recommendatiort-s to evacuate/shcltcr lor. i 2-mile radiu.s. t.lidler downwind expected to -.L-cior. lo ovo miles 

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Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) People are allowed to reside in this zone, but a emergency plan must be established to handle an accidental release. 

Sorensen, J. and Carnes, S. (1992). An approach for deriving emergency planning zones for chemical munitions emergencies, /. of Hazardous Materials, 30, pp. 223-242. 

State and local governments, with support from tlie Federal government and utilities, develop plans that include a plume emergency planning zone with a radius of 10 miles from the plant, and an ingestion planning zone within a radius of 50 miles from the plant. 

Residents within the 10-niile emergency planning zone are regularly disseminated emergency information materials (via brochures, the phone book, calendars, utility bills, etc.). These materials contain educational information on radiation, instructions for evacuation and sheltering, special arrangements for the handicapped, contacts for additional information, etc. Residents should be familiar with these emergency information materials. 

Because TA-V includes Category 2 reactor and hot-cell facilities, the TA-V EPP is based on accidents with the potential for moderately severe consequences. The Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) that is consistent with those radiological consequences is defined by a radius of 3000 m. As a result, the EPZ is entirely within the Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB). The area closest to TA-V is controlled during an emergency by the roadblocks that are established to control vehicle traffic through the area. 

The designation of an emergency-planning zone around each plant in which provisions have been made to notify the public promptly, e.g., with sirens, and implement evacuation and sheltering of the public... 

Emergency planning zones, for which detailed plans will be developed for given emergency response strategies... 

The preparations include establishment of emergency planning zones around these facilities. There are two zones. The plume emergency planning zone (plume EPZ) typically includes the area within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. Within is zone, preparations are made to promptly implement sheltering and evacuation. The second zone, called the ingestion zone, extends out to 50 miles. Within this zone, detailed preparations are made to protect the food supply. 

Passive safety together with low risk of fission product release could enable siting close to population centres. There may be no need for an emergency planning zone. 

The USNRC headquarters Operations Centre has developed a system which can receive and display plant post-accident information from power plant computers. Each commercial nuclear power plant is required to have an Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) which is a direct electronic transmission of selected plant parameters from the licensee s onsite computer system to the NRC Operations Center in the event of an emergency. Other system users include NRC regional offices and States within the plume exposure pathway emergency planning zone upon the request of the States. The number of parameters for each site is variable but must include data points from four types of plant conditions reactor core and coolant system conditions reactor containment conditions radioactivity release rates ... 

The IRIS safety-by-design philosophy improves safety and offers the technical basis for licensing with reduced or eliminated off-site emergency planning zone. 

Potential for licensing with reduced emergency planning zone offers prospects for reduced infrastructure costs, i.e. reduced capital investment, as well as reduced operating costs. 

The basic philosophy is that there shall be no identifiable accident that would result in the need to evacuate or shelter people living near the emergency planning zone of 400 meters. The design shall be that an ALARA target of 10% of the regulatory limit for all AOO and DBA shall be attainable for both the public and the personnel. The NNR limits for the public are ... 

The tendency of lead to retain bulk EPs, thereby reducing the source term to containment, limits the potential for release of radionuclides and may reduce the requirements for emergency planning zones and emergency evacuation plans. 

A similar issue arose at Seabrook, though the outcome was different. The plant is located in the state of New Hampshire, but the ten mile emergency planning zone extends across the state line into Massachusetts. By the time that construction of the plant was completed, Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis,... 

Example of a plume emergency planning zone with boundaries and evacuation routes determined by roads 1 5.3-18... 

The teams should have instruments designed to monitor all radioactive material (iodine, cesium, strontium, and tellurium) that may be released during an accident. If air samples are taken, their analysis could take several hours. Monitoring teams typically will be dispatched into the emergency planning zone (EPZ) within an hour after initiation of a severe release. 

Preparations for potential nuclear power plant emergencies are extensive. The discussion in this section is limited to those aspects of preparedness that affect the NRC s role of monitoring protective actions. This includes organizational responsibilities, emergency detection and classification, Emergency Planning Zones, licensee response centers, and the response of state and local organizations. 

Plume and ingestion Emergency Planning Zones have been established around each nuclear reactor plant site. These Emergency Planning Zones were established so that the public can be notified to implement appropriate protective actions in an efficient and a timely manner in the event of a real emergency. 

The plume exposure Emergency Planning Zone is that area requiring possible immediate action to reduce risk to the public in the event of an accident. It is an area approximately 10 miles in radius around the power plant. This size is based primarily on the following considerations. 

It is unlikely that any immediate protective actions would be required beyond the plume exposure pathway Emergency Planning Zone. The zone is sufficiently large that protective actions within it provide for substantial reduction in early health effects (injuries or deaths) in the event of a worst-case core melt accident. 

The boundaries of the plume Emergency Planning Zone take into account local features such as roads, rivers, lakes, peninsula, etc. that may extend the zone beyond 10 miles. The boundaries are selected to assure the existence of adequate evacuation routes as illustrated in Figures 5.3-3 and 5.3-4. 

Extensive provisions are made for action within the emergency planning zone. These include... 

Emergency Planning Zone (about 50 miles in radius, which also includes the 10-mile radius plume exposure Emergency Planning 2k)ne) was selected for the following reasons ... 

Except for the most severe accidents, immediate action is not critical for food and agricultural produce because of the additional time involved when compared to the time frame associated with the plume exposure Emergency Planning Zone. Preplanned actions for the immersion pathway Emergency Planning Zone ordinarily will be implemented by local agencies at the direction of state agencies. 

Licensees are required to develop evacuation time estimates for the plume-exposure Emergency Planning Zone (10-mile radius). These estimates are based on various models and must be used with caution. These models have not been validated against evacuations and are subject to large uncertainties. 

During the initial phase of the event, the specific location of the local off-site officials with the authority and responsibility to take action varies. The conununications system between the licensee and off-site officials should accommodate this need. This is very site-and/or state-specific. In some cases, there are duty officers and 24-hr manned centers, and in others there are local police stations. Once the local emergency organization has been activated, it will establish a local Operations Center. It should be noted that at some sites there are several (2 to 20) local governments within the plume Emergency Planning Zone and that each might have a center. 

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