Information Notice 1992-08, Revised Protective Action Guidance for Nuclear Incidents
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY AND SAFEGUARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
January 23, 1992 NRC INFORMATION NOTICE NO. 92-08: REVISED PROTECTIVE ACTION GUIDANCE FOR
NUCLEAR INCIDENTS
Addressees
All fuel cycle and materials licensees authorized to possess large quantities
of radioactive material.
Purpose
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information
notice to notify addressees of recent revisions to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Manual of Protective Action Guides and Protective
Actions for Nuclear Incidents (PAG Manual). It is expected that recipients
will review the information for applicability to their operations and consider
actions, as appropriate, to update emergency response procedures. Suggestions
contained in this information notice are not new NRC requirements, and no
written response is required.
Description of Circumstances
On October 15, 1991, EPA revised Chapters 1, 2, and 5, -and added a new
Appendix C to its PAG Manual. The EPA's transmittal letter to emergency
response planners is attached. EPA revised this manual to incorporate new
dose units and to expand the scope of the manual to include nonreactor
facilities, although the primary focus of the manual is still nuclear power
reactors.
Discussion
The revisions update the PAG Manual in several important ways. The most
important revision is the use of committed effective dose equivalent units, to
express the protective action guides, instead of using whole-body dose units.
This revision allows the use of a total dose that includes: 1) external ex- posure from airborne radioactive material; 2) internal exposure from inhaled
airborne radioactive material; and 3) external exposure from radioactive
materials deposited on the ground.
Another important revision clarifies what offsite protective actions are most
suitable. EPA emphasizes that, for most incidents, under normal conditions, evacuation of the public should be initiated at a projected dose of 1 rem.
Sheltering the public may be used as an alternative to evacuation, under
certain circumstances.
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IN 92-08 January 23, 11992 An important factor to consider when preparing for an emergency is that most
incidents involving radioactive materials at nonreactor facilities are likely
to occur quickly and with little warning. Therefore, any necessary offsite
protective actions must be taken quickly to be effective. Usually, there will
not be enough time for complicated dose projections or lengthy consultations, during an incident. Licensees should be prepared to recommend offsite
protective actions to local officials immediately after an incident occurs.
This can only be accomplished by evaluating potential consequences during the
planning process and having preliminary recommendations for offsite protective
actions ready for use before an incident occurs.
Chapter 2 of the PAG Manual also provides guidance for controlling doses to
emergency workers onsite and should be discussed with those offsite emergency
workers (i.e., firemen, etc.) likely to respond to your facility during an
emergency.
Requests for copies of the PAG Manual can be directed to Allan C.B. Richardson
(ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460.
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact one
of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate regional office.
/dL
Ace,
Richard E. Cunningham, Director
Division of Industrial and
Medical Nuclear Safety
Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards
Technical contacts:
Kevin M. Ramsey, Nl:SS
(301) 504-2534
W. Scott Pennington, NFISS
(301) 504-2693 Attachments:
1. Letter from EPA Announcing Revision of the PAG Manual
2. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information Notices
3. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
I
Attachment 1
IN 92-08 January 23. 1992 ,50 sots'.
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
20480
OCT I 5 1991
OFFICE OF
AIR AI0 RADIATION
Dear Emergency Response Planner:
Enclosed are revised pages for your copy of the Manual of
Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear
Incidents. This Manual provides the Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) recommendations, pursuant to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's regulations under 44 CFR Part 351, for the
levels of radiation exposure at which action should be taken to
protect members of the public in the event of a nuclear accident.
These revisions replace the 1980 versions of Chapters 1, 2 and 5, which were reprinted and distributed in February 1990, and add a
new Appendix C. The balance of the Manual, which contains the
Protective Action Guides (PAGs) for relocation and a reprint of
"Recommendations for Accidental Radioactive Contamination of
Human Food and Animal Feeds," published by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in 1982, should be retained as is.
Previous
versions of the Title Page, Preface, and Table of Contents should
also be discarded and replaced by the enclosed new versions.
If
you do not have the complete manual, please advise us, and we
will send you a new copy.
These new Chapters update the 1980 Guidance for the early
phase of a nuclear incident in several important ways.
First, they adopt current health physics practice for dose units.
The
principal PAG for protection against an airborne radioactive
plume is now expressed in terms of the committed effective dose, rather than the previous whole body dose.
This more general unit
encompasses the risks from all radionuclides, and the PAG now
addresses doses from all significant pathways. Chapter 5 contains extensive new tables which address important pathways
for all of the radionuclides that are likely to be significant at
nuclear incidents, for both commercial and Federal facilities.
Second, we have clarified the language regarding use of the
PAG range.
Guidance for protective actions is, we believe, most
useful when the complexity of judgments required of decision- makers at the time of an incident is minimized.
The guidance
clarifies that the upper end of the PAG range is intended for use
to accommodate special groups in the population and abnormal
circumstances present at the time of an incident.
It is not
intended to accommodate differing views on the level of risk from
a given dose, or on the risk level at which protective action
should be initiated under normal circumstances.
Finally, the
Attachment 1
IN 92- 08
January 23 , 1992 2
limits for workers exposed during the response to an incident
have been refined.
These revised recommendations are intended to be phased into
use in an orderly fashion.
In the case of Nuclear Regulatory
commission (NRC) licensees, a period of time consistent with
their implementation of the new 10 CFR Part 20 regulations is
envisioned.
The NRC will be advising its licensees, in due
course, on appropriate steps to carry this out.
At that time, the State emergency management agency and the State agency
responsible for radiological protection should jointly work with
NRC and their licensees to ensure a coordinated implementation.
In the meantime, plans and procedures developed based on current
guidance are acceptable.
It is anticipated that the substantive
change to most plans developed using the current guidance will be
to the dose projection methodology, and revision to other major
planning provisions will not be required at most of NRC's
licensed facilities.
In the case of Federal facilities, these
recommendations are appropriate for use in any new, or at the
time of revision of any existing, emergency response plans.
It is our hope that these expanded and updated
recommendations will prove useful in implementing your emergency
response functions.
We will appreciate you advising us of your
experience in applying these recommendations, including any
problems encountered.
We are continuing work to develop PAGs for
drinking water and, in cooperation with FDA, revised PAGs for
food. When this development is completed, and one or two years
experience has been gained in the application of these
recommendations, EPA intends to propose all of these PAGs to the
President for formal incorporation into Federal Radiation
Protection Guidance.
In this sense, these current PAGs must
still be regarded as interim recommendations.
Requests for
additional copies of the PAG Manual, and any questions regarding
this revised Protective Action Guidance should be directed to
Allan C.B. Richardson (ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
20460.
Sincerely, Marg' T. Oge
Ac tng Directi
Office of
Radiation Programs
Enclosures
Attachment 2
January 23, 1992 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED
NKSS INFORMATION; NOTICES
Information
Date of
Notice No.
Subject
Issuance
Issued to
91-86
91-84
91-71
91-66
91-65
91-60
91-49 New Reporting Requirements
12/27/91 for Contamination Events at
Medical Facilities
Problems with Criticality
12/26/91 Alarm Components/Systems
Training and Supervision
11/12/91 of Individuals Supervised
by an Authorized User
d
(1) Erroneous Data in
10/18/91
- Nuclear Safety Guide, TID-7016, Revision 2, (NUREG/CR-0095, ORAL/
NUREG/CSD-6 (1978)) arn
(2) Thermal Scattering
Data Limitation in the
Cross-Section Sets Provided
with the KENO and SCALE Codes
Emergency Access to
10/16/91 Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Disposal Facilities
False Alarms of Alarm
09/24/91
Ratemeters Because of
Radiofrequency Interference
Enforcement of Safety
0&/15/91
Requirements for Radiographers
All licensees authorized
to use byproduct materials
for human use.
All Nuclear Regulatory
Coamission (NRC) fuel
cycle licensees, interim
spent fuel storage licens- ees, and critical mass
licensees.
All IfiC r.iecic4l licensees.
All fuel cycle licensees, critical LAss licensees, interim spent fuel storage
licensees, and all holders
of operating licenses or
construction permits for
test, research, and nuclear
power reactors.
All NRC licensees.
All Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission (NRC) licensees
authorized to use sealed
sources for industrial
radiography
All Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission (NRC) licensees
authorized to use sealed
sources for industrial radi- ography.
.Attachment 3 IN 92.08
. .
January.23, 1992
Page. 1 of 1
LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED
NRC INFORMATION NOTICES
Information
Date of
Notice No.
Subject
Issuance
Issued to
92-07
92-06
92-05
92-04
92-03 Rapid Flow-Induced Erosion/-
Corrosion of Feedwater Piping
Reliability of ATWS Mitiga- tion System and Other NRC
Required Equipment Not
Controlled by Plant Tech- nical Specifications
Potential Coil Insulation
Breakdown in ABB RXMH2 Relays
Potter & Brumfield Model
MDR Rotary Relay Failures
Remote Trip Function
Failures in General Electric
F-Frame Molded-Case Circuit
Breakers
Relap5/Mod3 Computer Code
Error Associated with the
Conservation of Energy
Equation
Cable Damage Caused by
Inadequate Cable Installa- tion Procedures and Controls
Hydrogen Enbrittlement of
Raychem Cryofit Couplings
New Reporting Requirements
for Contamination Events at
Medical Facilities
01/09/92
01/15/92
01/08/92
01/06/92
01/06/92
01/03/92
01/03/92
12/27/91
12/27/91
All holders of OLs or CPs
for pressurized water
reactors.
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactor:
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactors
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactors
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactors
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactors.
All holders of OLs or CPs
for nuclear power reactors.
All holders of OLs ur CPs
for nuclear power reactors.
All licensees authorized
to use byproduct materials
for human use.
92-02
92-01
91-87
91-86 OL = Operating License
CP = Construction Permit.
IN 92-08 January 23, 1992 An important factor to consider when preparing for an emergency is that most
incidents involving radioactive materials at nonreactor facilities are likely
to occur quickly and with little warning. Therefore, any necessary offsite
protective actions must be taken quickly to be effective.
Usually, there will
not be enough time for complicated dose projections or lengthy consultations, during an incident.
Licensees should be prepared to recommend offsite
protective actions to local officials immediately after an incident occurs.
This can only be accomplished by evaluating potential consequences during the
planning process and having preliminary recommendations for offsite protective
actions ready for use before an incident occurs.
Chapter 2 of the PAG Manual also provides guidance for controlling doses to
emergency workers onsite and should be discussed with those offsite emergency
workers (i.e., firemen, etc.) likely to respond to your facility during an
emergency.
Requests for copies of the PAG Manual can be directed to Allan C.B. Richardson
(ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460.
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact one
of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate regional office.
.0ginal signed by jyohv fi-fiM
k-
Richard E. Cunningham, Directb
Division of Industrial and
Medical Nuclear Safety
Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards
Technical contacts: Kevin M. Ramsey, NMSS
(301) 504-2534
W. Scott Pennington, NMSS
(301) 504-2693 Attachments:
1. Letter from EPA Announcing Revision of the PAG Manual
2. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information Notices
3. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
Editor/NMSS
EKraus
1/09/92 OFC :IMOB
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DATE :1/14/92
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OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
IN 92- January , 1992 An important factor to consider when preparing for an emergency is that most
incidents involving radioactive materials at nonreactor facilities are likely
to occur quickly and with little warning. Therefore, any necessary offsite
protective actions must be taken quickly to be effective. Usually, there will
not be enough time for complicated dose projections or lengthy consultations, during an incident.
Licensees should be prepared to recommend offsite
protective actions to local officials irmiediately after an incident occurs.
This can only be accomplished by evaluating potential consequences during the
planning process and having preliminary recommendations for offsite protective
actions ready for use before an incident occurs.
Chapter 2 of the PAG Manual also provides guidance for controlling doses to
emergency workers onsite and should be discussed with those offsite emergency
workers (i.e., firemen, etc.) likely to respond to your facility during an
emergency.
Requests for copies of the PAG Manual can be directed to Allan C.B. Richardson
(ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460.
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact one
of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate regional office.
Richard E. Cunningham, Director
Division of Industrial and
Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS
Technical Contacts: Kevin M. Ramsey, NMSS
(301) 504-2534
W. Scott Pennington, NMSS
(301) 504-2693 Attachments:
1. Letter from EPA Announcing Revision of the PAG Manual
2. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information Notices
3. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
Editor/NMSS
EKraus
1/09/92 OFC
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DATE :1/14/92
- 1/ lf/92
1/14/92
- 1//i/92
- 1/ /9
- 1/1-192
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
IN/NUCLEAR INCIDENTS
IN 92-
January , 1992
Page 3 of
Requests for copies of the PAG Manual can be directed to Allan C.B. Richardson
(ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20 O.
This information notice\\.requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about the information in this notice, please con t one
I
of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate regional office.
Richard E. Cunningham, Director
\\
Division of Industrial and
Medical Nuclear Safety, NMSS
Technical Contacts: Kevin M. Ramsey-* NMSS
(301) 504-2534 X
W. Scott Penningto n NMSS
(301) 504-2693 Attachments:
1. Letter from EPA Announcing Revision of the\\PAG Manual
2. List of Recently Issued NMSS Information No~tices
3. List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
Ed&
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1/q /92 OFC
- IMOB
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- IMSB
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NAME :KRamsey/ll
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DATE :1/ /92
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- 1/ /92
- 1/ /92
- 1/ /92
- 1/ /92
OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
IN/NUCLEAR INCIDENTS
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FOR IN 92-0s, REVISED PROTECTIVE ACTION GUIDANCE FOR NUCLEAR INCIDENTS."
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