Emergency preparedness for nuclear power plants in the USA

ABSTRACT

Nuclear power reactors require on-site and off-site emergency preparedness as well as proper siting and engineered features to protect the health and safety of the public. As a result of the accident at Three Mile Island, it became clear that the protection provided by siting and engineered safety design features must be bolstered by the ability to take protective measures during the course of an accident. As a result of Commission action a final rule containing 16 standards, effective 3 November 1980, was published. It provides that no new operating licence will be granted unless the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NCR) can make a favourable finding that the integration of on-site and off-site emergency planning provides reasonable assurance that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in the event of a radiological emergency. In the case of an operating reactor, if it is determined that there are such deficiencies that a favourable NCR finding is not warranted and if the deficiencies are not corrected within four months of that determination, the Commission will determine whether the reactor should be shut down or whether some other enforcement action is appropiate. In any case, where the Commission believes that the public health, safety, or interest so requires, the plant will be requires to shut down immediately. Emergency planning considerations must be extended to emergency planning zones, and these shall consist of an are of about 10 miles in radius for exposure to the radioactive plume that might result from an accident in a nuclear power reactor and area of about 50 miles in radius for food that implement their emergency plan, a 'management oversight and risk tree' (MORT) approach was developed and used by NRC appraisal teams at all operating facilities and those close to licensing. Since April 1981, over 250 emergency preparedness exercises have been observed and annual inspections conducted at US commercial nucler power generating facilities. As a results of this experience, licensees have generally progressed from a basic ability to implement their plan to a systematic demonstration of their emergency preparedness capabilities. Almost five years have elapsed since the inception of the upgraded emergency preparedness regulatory programme, and the NCR is evaluating the resources committed to the programme to determine if modifications are appropiate. Our goal is to ensure continued adequate readiness capability to protect the public health and safety in the event of an accident. (AU)