Protective Action Guides for Radiological/Nuclear Incidents

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Protective Action Guides for Radiological/Nuclear
Incidents

• November 1, 2005
• Craig Conklin
• Department of Homeland Security

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Background

• TOPOFF 2 Highlighted Lack of Consensus on
  Clean-up Levels
• Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDD) and
  Improvised Nuclear Devices (IND) Preparedness
  Working Group Takes Lead to Resolve Clean-up
  Issue
• Efforts Coordinated With
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Homeland Security Council

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Consequence Management Subgroup

• Department of Homeland Security
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Department of Energy
• Department of Defense
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• Centers for Disease Control

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Sources of Guidance

• National Council on Radiation Protection and
  Measurements
• International Commission on Radiological
  Protection
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• Health Physics Society
• American Nuclear Society
• State Programs
• Academia

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Existing Federal Guidance

• Manual of Protective Action Guides and
  Protective Actions for Nuclear Incidents
• Accidental Radioactive Contamination of Human
  Food and Animal Feeds Recommendations for State
  and Local Agencies
• Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in
  Radiation Emergencies

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Existing Protective Action Guides

• Early Phase
• Sheltering
• Evacuation
• Administration of Potassium Iodide
• Intermediate Phase
• Relocation
• Food and Water Interdiction
• Late Phase
• Site Restoration and Clean-up

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PAG Principles

• Prevent Acute Effects
• Reduce the Risk of Chronic Effects
• Require Optimization to Balance Protection With
  Other Important Factors
• Ensure That Actions Taken Result in More Benefit
  Than Harm

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Protective Action Guides (PAGs)

• Are NOT Absolute Standards
• DO NOT Define Safe or Unsafe Levels of
  Exposure or Contamination
• DO Represent Approximate Levels at Which the
  Protective Actions Are Justified
• DO Provide Flexibility to Be More or Less
  Restrictive Based on the Unique Characteristics
  of the Incident and Local Considerations

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Guidance Objectives

• Aid Decision Makers in Protecting
• The Public
• First Responders
• Other Emergency Workers
• Balance Social and Economic Impacts
• Timely Return to Normalcy Critical for Minimizing
  Adverse Impacts

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PAGs for RDDs and INDs

• Limit Responder Exposure 5 rem (or greater)
• Sheltering 1-5 rems
• Evacuation 1-5 rems
• Administration of KI FDA Guidance
• Relocation 2 rems 1st year, 500 mrem/yr in
  subsequent years
• Food Interdiction 500 mrem/yr
• Drinking Water 500 mrem/yr (EPA basis under
  development)
• Clean-up - Optimization

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Operational Guides

• Access Controls During Emergency Response
  Operations
• Relocation Areas
• Critical Infrastructure Utilization in Relocation
  Areas
• Temporary Access to Relocation Areas for
  Essential Personnel
• Transportation and Access Routes
• Property Control for Release of Property to
  Non-impacted Areas

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Clean-up/Recovery Strategy

• Due to Extreme Range of Potential Impacts
  Workgroup Determined That a Strict Numerical
  Approach Was Not Useful
• Site-specific Remediation and Recovery Strategies
  Should Be Developed Using Principals of
  Optimization
• Must Include Appropriate Stakeholders in Decision
  Making Process

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Optimization

• Flexible Process for
• Determining Societal Objectives
• Developing and Evaluating Options
• Selecting the Most Acceptable Option

• Public Health and Welfare
• Public Acceptability
• Costs and Resource Availability
• Technical Feasibility

• Long-term Effectiveness
• Projected Land Usage
• Size of Impacted Area
• Type of Contamination

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Process Overview

• Goals
• Transparency
• Inclusiveness
• Effectiveness
• Key Characteristics
• Flexibility
• Scalability
• Iterative

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Process Implementation

• Takes Place At/Near Incident Location
• Utilizes Following Teams/Work Groups
• Decision Making Team (DMT)
• Recovery Management Team (RMT)
• Stakeholder Working Group (SWG)
• Technical Working Group (TWG)
• Federal, State and Local Representation

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Decision Making Team

• Membership
• Secretary of Department of Homeland Security
• Governor of Affected State
• Local Mayor, County Executive, Etc.
• Responsibilities
• Make Final Clean-up Decision(s)
• Commit Funding and Resources
• Resolve Difficult Issues or Elevate Them to the
  President

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Recovery Management Team

• Membership
• Selected by the Decision Making Team
• DHS Representative
• State and Local Officials
• Federal/state Lead Technical Agency
• Co-chaired by State and DHS Official
• Responsibilities
• Provide Oversight and Guidance
• Ensure Effective Wok Group Interaction
• Ensure Effective Community Involvement
• Prioritize Options for the Decision Making Team

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Stakeholder Working Group (SWG)

• Membership
• Selected by Recovery Management Team
• Federal, State, Local and Tribal Representatives
• Non-government Organizations
• Exact Selection and Balance Is Incident Specific
• Co-chaired by State or Local and DHS Official
• Responsibilities
• Represent Local Needs and Desires
• Provide Input on Site Restoration and Proposed
  Clean-up Options

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Technical Working Group (TWG)

• Membership
• Selected by Recovery Management Team
• Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Subject Matter
  Experts
• Co-chaired by State and Federal Lead Technical
  Agencies
• Responsibilities
• Provide Expert Input on Economic and Technical
  Issues
• Consider Input From Stakeholder Working Group
• Review Analyses Performed by Lead Technical
  Agencies
• Provide Reports to Recovery Management Team

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Recovery Process

• TWG Develops Options Based on SWG Input
• TWG Briefs RMT and SWG on Options Feasibility,
  Costs, Strengths and Weaknesses
• TWG Forwards Sound, Reasonable and Balanced
  Recommendation(s) to RMT
• RMT Transmits Recommendation(s) to the Decision
  Making Team for Final Action

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Recovery Process (cont)

• Decision Making Team Informs Public Of Process,
  Recommendations Analyzed And Final Decision
  Seeks Public Comment
• Public Comments Are Considered And Incorporated
  As Appropriate
• Final Decision Is Then Implemented
• Effectiveness Of Operations Continually Evaluated

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Future Activities

• Scheduled to be Published in Federal Register
• 60-day Public Comment Period
• Publish Final Guidance in Late 2006

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Closing Statements

• Primary Goal Is Provide a Flexible Approach for
  Responding to RDD/IND Incidents
• This Is Not a Rejection of Other Cleanup
  Methodologies or Approaches
• This Guidance Is Not Intended to Be Used for
  Cleanups Conducted Under Other Programs

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Questions?