Information Notice 1991-72, Issuance of a Revision to the EPA Manual of Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents

Issuance of a Revision to the EPA Manual of Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents

ML031190481
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	11/19/1991
From:	Rossi C Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-91-072, NUDOCS 9111130118
Download: ML031190481 (5)

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

7 WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 November 19, 1991 NRC INFORMATION NOTIICE 91-72: ISSUANCE OF A REVISION TO THE EPA MANUAL OF

PROTECTIVE ACTION GUIDES AND PROTECTIVE ACTIONS

FOR NUCLEAR INCIDENTS

-

Addressees

.

o o

All holders of op~erating licenses or construction permits

for nuclear power.

'reactors.

Purpose

information notice

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing thisChapters 1 2, and 5 to notify addressees of the recent issuance of the revised Agency (EPA) Manual

and'a new Appendix C to the U.S. Environmental Protection Incidents.

of Protective Action Guides and Protective Actions for Nuclear requirements;

not NRC

Suggestions contained in this information notice are

therefore, no specific action or written response is required.

Description of Circumstances

5 and a new

On October 15, 1991, EPA issued revised Chapters 1, 2, andProtective Actions for

Appendix C of its Manual of Protective Action Guides and

manual to

Nuclear Incidents (cover letter attached). EPA revisedforthis dose units and to

incorporate in it the current health physics practice

include nuclear incidents for both

expand the applicability of.the guidance-to

commercial and Federal facilities.

ways. The most

The revisions update the 1980 EPA Guidance in several important committed effective dose

important feature of this revision is that it uses the

for the plume instead

equivalent to express the protective action guides.(PAGs) for the contribu- of using a whole body dose. This revised approach accounts

tion from the following:

1. External exposure to the plume

in the

2. The committed effective dose equivalent from inhaling particulates

plume

materials

3. Four-day exposure to external gamma radiation from deposited

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IN 91-72 November 19, 1991 Using the committed effective dose equivalent

apply to incidents involving the release allows the revised guidance to

other than commercial nuclear power plants. of radioactive material at facilities

One other important feature of this revision

protective actions most suitable for the is the clarification made on the

plume PAG range. EPA emphasized that

for most incidents, under normal conditions, public should be initiated at a projected evacuation of members of the

may be used as an alternative to evacuation dose of 1 rem. Sheltering the public

under abnormal circumstances.

The NRC will publish guidance for applying

ance in conjunction with EPA and the Federaland implementing the revised guid- (FEMA). The implementation schedule for Emergency Management Agency

be in phase with the implementation of the this revised guidance is expected to

of the Code of Federal Regulations. To recently revised Part 20 of Title 10

avoid

actions, the licensee may wish to coordinate confusion in taking protective

local agencies regarding any future revisions its activities with State and

supporting a reactor facility. to the various emergency plans

Requests for copies of the PAG Manual can

be directed to Allan C.B.- Richardson

(ANR-460), Office of Radiation Programs, Environmental

Washington, D.C. 20460. Protection Agency, This information notice requires no specific action or written response.

you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contactIf

of the technical contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear one

Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.

har E.R iosi, Director

Division of Operational Events Assessment

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical contacts: N. Prasad Kadambi, NRR

(301) 492-0841 A. Mohseni, NRR

(301) 492-0925 Attachments:

1. Letter from EPA Announcing Revision of

2. List of Recently Issued NRC Information the PAG Manual

Notices

co¢W me -P44,~.

xASSA ~ -

.1 Attachment 1 IN 91-72 November 19, 1991 rs'o So,, UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

WASNITON, D.C. 2460

OCT I 5 1991 OFCE OF

AM AWCRATOI1N

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 1962, 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

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 /D

Actkhg Direct4( Office of

Radiation Programs

Enclosures

Attachment 2 IN 91-72 November 19, 1991 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED

NRC INFORMATION NOTICES

Information Date of

Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to

91-71 Training and Supervision 11/12/91 All NRC medical licensees.

of Individuals Supervised

by an Authorized User

91-70 Improper Installation of 11/4/91 All holders of OLs or CPs

Instrumentation Modules for nuclear power reactors.

91-69 Errors in Main Steam Line 11/1/91 All holders of OLs or CPs

Break Analyses for Deter- for pressurized-water reactors.

mining Containment Parameters

91-68 Careful Planning Signifi- 10/28/91 All holders of OLs or CPs

cantly Reduces the Potential for nuclear power reactors.

Adverse Impacts of Loss of

Offsite Power Events During

Shutdown

90-51, Failures of Voltage-Dropping 10/24/91 All holders of OLs or CPs

Supp. 1 Resistors in the Power for nuclear power reactors.

Supply Circuitry of Electric

Governor Systems

91-67 Problems With the Reliable 10/21/91 All holders of OLs or CPs

Detection of Intergranular for pressurized-water reactors.

Attack (IGA) of Steam

Generator Tubing

91-66 (1) Erroneous Data in 10/18/91 All fuel cycle licensees,

"Nuclear Safety Guide, critical mass licensees, TID-7016, Revision 2," interim spent fuel storage

(NUREG/CR-0095, ORNL/ licensees, and all holders

NUREG/CSD-6 (1978)) and of operating licenses or

(2) Thermal Scattering construction permits for

Data Limitation in the test, research, and nuclear

Cross-Section Sets Provided power reactors.

with the KENO and SCALE Codes

OL = Operating License

CP = Construction Permit