Areas Around Nuclear Facilities Should Be Better Prepared for Radiological Emergencies

There are 43 states with sizable nuclear facilities, but there is only limited assurance of adequate protection for workers and nearby residents, in case of a serious accident. Although most facilities are prepared for radiological releases within their boundaries, known deficiencies cast doubt on whether the public would be protected should a nuclear release extend to the outside. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Energy (DOE) own or regulate all such facilities in the United States. NRC has the primary responsibility for assisting state and local governments to develop emergency response plans and requiring the review of state plans to determine the inclusion of essential preparedness elements. Although only 10 states have fully adequate plans, licensing of nuclear facilities is continuing in the other states as well because federal law does not require states to adopt peacetime nuclear emergency plans.

Of the 41 states with some sort of plan, 9 have conducted full-scale tests, 16 have held partial drills, and the remaining 16 have not tested their plans. Judging from problems found with the plans tested, untested plans would probably be ineffective in an emergency situation. Around DOD and DOE facilities, emergency preparedness is practically nonexistent because of no sense of risk to the community or from fear of violating security policies. In a nuclear emergency it is vital that state and local authorities be notified promptly, an eventuality for which neither DOD nor DOE has tested its communications systems adequately. Nor has DOE simulated accident conditions, tested its plans, or made an overall review of emergency plans. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been established to combine the major responsibilities for emergency planning and focus state and local emergency preparedness efforts.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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