ML20135B916
| ML20135B916 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/28/1989 |
| From: | Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | Curtis J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135B134 | List:
|
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9703030266 | |
| Download: ML20135B916 (3) | |
Text
" I UNITED STATES
,4,f y g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
'E WASHING T ON, D. C. 20555 5
July 28, 1989 N N k.....
4 HEMORANDUM FOR: Comissicner Curtiss FROM: James M. Taylor, Acting Executive Director for Operations SUEJECT: NRC POSITION ON STOCKPILINC POTASSIUM IODIDE: DIFFERING PROFESS 10t:AL OPINION l
This is in response to your memorandum dated June 22, 1989 in which you requested the staff's views on the concerns regarding Potassium Iodide raised by Mr. Peter Crane.
i The NRC staff position on the use of Potassium Iodide (KI) as a thyroid 1 l
radioprotector was published in a Federal Register Notice dated July 14, 1985. The position was developed by FEMA with NRC, EPA and DOE participation l and concurrence, and states:
"While valid arguments may be made for the use of KI, the l l
preponderance of information indicates that a nationwide requirement for the predistributton or stockpiling for use i' by the general public would not be worthwhile. This is based on the ability to evacuate the general population and the cost effectiveness of a p nionwide program which has been analyzed by the NRC and DOE National Laboratories (NUREG/CR-1433). While the use of KI can clearly provide l l
additional protection in certain circumstances, the assessment of the effectivenes: of KI and other protective actions and their iL;-imentation problems indicates that the decision to
' use KI (ar.;/or other protective actions) should be made by the states and, if appropriate, local authorities on a site specific 4
basis.*
The Food and Drug Administration has found K! use as a thyroid blocker for radiciodine to be safe end effective, and the NRC and FEMA recomend that licensees and State authorities maintain a supply of KI for use by plant ,
workers and institutier.alized persons in the event of a nuclear accident (NUREG-0655). However, it should be observed that KI protects only the thyroid, and only if it is administered in appropriate doses, before or shortly after a release of radiciodine. Other protective s'easures such as sheltering and evacuation may be necessary to protect against uptake of other radionuclides and external radiations, and may provide more effective protec-4 tion than use of KI.
M n!" g!g PDR
Commissioner Curtiss 2
~
The staff again considered the issue of stockpiling KI in NUREG-1251, "Impli. :
- cations of the Accident at Chernobyl for Safety Regulation of Comercial Nuclear Power Plants in the United States." The staff concluded that there were no new reasons to revise the agency's position as stated above. The staff i now advises me that its analyses indicate the iodine releases in postulated I accidents would be even lower than they were predicted to be at the time the FEMA /NRC position was established.
Mr. Crane's DP0 which urges that NRC change its position has been assigned to the Office of Research for resolution according to established agency proce-dures(NRCManualChapterNRC-4125). The specific questions raised by Mr.
Crane about the bases of the agency's position (e.g., the adequacy of NUREG/CR-1433) will be addressed during this process. Any additional infor-mation developed during this review, will be provided to the Comission upon completion of the DP0 process.
Original Signed Bfi
'3mes it Taylor .
l James H. Taylor Acting Executive Director ,
for Operations ;
cc: Chairman Carr Comissioner Roberts Commissioner Rogers SECY OGC See next page for Distribution
- See previous concurrences 0FFC:RPHEB:DRA* :RPHEB:DRA*:DD:DRA* :D:DRA* :DD/GI/RES*:D:RES* :EDO NAME:Roecklein :DCool :ZRoszteczy:BMorris :TSpeis :EBeckjord :JTaylor DATE:07/14/89 :07/14/89 :07/14/89 :07/14/89 :7/14/89 :7/14/89 :7/ /89 0FFICIAL RECORD COPY
l l
3 Comissioner Curtiss i DISTRIBUTION: [ COMMISSIONER]
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- ..* OCT : a ng) l'EMORANDUM FOR: Hugh L. Thompson, Jr., Deputy Executive Director for Nuclear Materials Safety, Safeguards, and Operations Support FROM: Eric S. Beckjord, Director '
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
SUBJECT:
STATUS IN PROCESSING DIFFERING PROFESSIONAL OPINION (DPO) ON STOCKPILING POTASSIUM I0DIDE In response to your memo of October 11, 1989 to me on the above subject, I have reviewed the status of this DP0 review. There have been delays primarily due to the need to obtain and evaluate additional information on the dose level needed to ablate the thyroid gland, the cost of thyroid nodule treatment, and the incidence of thyroid cancer af ter exposure to Iodine-131.
Our desire to evaluate this information thoroughly in order to permit a resolution of the DP0 at the lowest possible level has contributed to this delay.
We understand that Harold Denton has provided Mr. Crane with some information on the iodine release resulting from the Chernobyl accident. We would like to review this information for its relevance on this topic.
We plan to meet one more time with Mr. Crane to review this latest information and project completion of this DP0 by the end of November, 1989.
{
.m- d Ji) ic S. Beckjord,' Director t.
Of fice of Nuclear Regulatory Research cc: J. Taylor J/ M-2 2 f O-/E'd__