Response to a nuclear plant incident in Wisconsin
How a nuclear power plant incident could affect your county
October 14, 2009
Purpose
• Notification procedures during a nuclear power plant event
• Introduction to basic radiological emergency preparedness terminology
• Summary of early-stage (post incident) decision making
• Identify potential issues– Agricultural– Political
“Risk” County
• Counties in which emergency planning is needed to ensure the health and safety of the public in the event of a radiological release
• Within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant
• Wisconsin has 3 risk counties
Ingestion County• Counties in which it is
estimated that the health and safety of the general public could be affected through ingestion of radioactively contaminated food and water
• Within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant
• 21 counties in Wisconsin qualify as an “ingestion county”
Emergency Classification Levels (ECLs)
GeneralEmergency
Site Area Emergency
Alert
Notification of Unusual Event
Seve
rity
What happens in the event of a nuclear plant incident?
WEM Duty Officer
Within 30 minutes of an “initiating condition,”the power plant notifies the State (Il) and risk counties
Calls plant to verify legitimacy and discuss
plant conditions
State Radiological Coordinator
Makes notifications to ingestion
counties, regional director,
administrator
GeneralEmergency
Site Area Emergency
Alert
Notification of Unusual Event
Response phase
Actions taken at each ECL
State and risk counties make notificationsDuty Officer monitors situation
Discretionary activation of State and county Emergency Operations Centers
Livestock advisory within 10 miles (stored feed & water) issued; field teams staged
Evacuation or shelter-in-place orderedRisk county agricultural holds issued
Ingestion county ag holds issued, field sampling begins
Ag holds modified in appropriate counties as field sampling progresses
~0 to 3 Days
Days to Months
Recove
ry phase
Radiological release
Plume-phase (Emergency phase)
• Airborn radiological release is imminent or occurring
• Acute health effects limited to ≤10 miles from nuclear power plant
• Immediate health dangers are:– inhalation of radioactive particles– acute external exposure
Intermediate phase
• Initial plume phase actions completed– Evacuation or sheltering
• Assessment of long term consequences– Computer modeling– Sampling
• Consequences and recommendations based on deposition
Relocate
• “The removal or continued exclusion of people (households) from contaminated areas to avoid chronic radiation exposure.”
– FEMA, “Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program Manual (Draft),” May 18, 2009
Evacuate
• Occurs when little information is available
• Immediate health risk is high (acute exposure)
• Protective Action Guidelines (PAG) is 1 Rem over 96 hours
• Occurs within 10 miles of a nuclear plant
What’s the difference?
Relocate• Occurs after field-
verified data is available
• Immediate health risk is low (chronic exposure)
• Threshold is an exposure of > 2 rem in the first year
• Occurs within or beyond 10 miles of a nuclear plant
Post-plume Deposition
• Radioactive materials are deposited on the ground
• Chronic health effects could extend up to 50 miles
• Not an immediate public health risk• Some external exposure from
particles (“ground shine”)• Health risk is primarily through the
ingestion of food or water
Ingestion-phase• Focuses on preventing the ingestion
of radioactively contaminated food and water
• Restrictions are put in place– Agricultural holds– Hunting, fishing and trapping bans
• Consumer recommendations are conveyed– Food washing / peeling– “Do not eat…”– Bottled water
• Extensive sampling plan is developed and implemented
What is a “sampling plan?”
• A strategy on where & what to sample (i.e. water, milk, vegetables)
• Sampling priorities are determined• Federal, state & counties collaborate
on the prioritization – Predominate agricultural markets– Time of year
• Based on limited resources– Field sampling teams– Laboratories
Predictive Models vs. Field Sampling
• Initial evacuation and ingestion areas will be based on a projection (computer models)
• Projections are based on assumptions:– A given radiological release time (i.e. 4 hours)– A constant wind speed (i.e. 5 mph)– Individuals staying in an area for a given timeframe (i.e.
96 hours without leaving)
• Will apply to:– plume evacuation– ingestion deposition
• Refining the areas will be based on field data– “Fly overs”– Field sampling
Exercise
Farthest Extent of RASCAL predictive model
Exercise
Potential Issues
• Prioritization of sampling
• Contamination levels
• Public Perception
• Consumer Confidence
• Insurance and aid
How much is too much contamination?
• FDA has guidance on pre-determined level• Called “Derived Intervention Level” (DIL)
– Varies by isotope and food product
• If it’s below the DIL but above background…– Political issue– ANI reimbursement issue
• Two radioactive isotopes are of primary concern:– Iodine 131 (half life of 8 days)– Cesium 137 (half life of ~30 years)
Public Perception
• Public information and education is crucial
• General public’s distrust of government and industry
• Response organizations must be unified
Consumer Confidence
• May not be based in reality:– What did Oprah do to the beef
industry?– Did the “Swine flu” affect the pork
industry?
• May be based on fear:– Peanut butter– Tomatoes
American Nuclear Insurers (ANI)
• American Nuclear Insurers (ANI) is a joint underwriting association created by some of the largest insurance companies in the United States
• $300 million policy for damages to bodies & property (real & personal)
• ANI does not take ownership of contaminated property– Up to the owner and/or government to handle
• Covers expenses directly related to evacuation (i.e. transportation, food and lodging)
• Loss of wages covered– Only as a result of the evacuation order
– If a business permanently closes, wages are not covered
• Permanent relocation expenses are not covered• Governmental costs are covered (what is above normal operational
costs, directly related to the incident)– Transportation, food, sheltering, law enforcement
– Reimbursement period includes entire span of evacuation order, plus additional 30 days after the order has been lifted.
Federal Aid
• FEMA is still figuring out all the aid the federal government would make available
• Joint Field Office, Disaster Recovery Centers
• Eligible for aid, when no other means of compensation is available.
Any questions?
? ! ? ! ? ! ? !? ! ? !