This Safety Report provides up to date detailed guidance on actions to be taken in preparation for, and following, an earthquake at a nuclear power plant, taking into account the gained knowledge and experience of Member States from the occurrence of strong earthquakes that affected nuclear power plants up to 2010. The publication is a compilation of available references based on related standards and proposes a more comprehensive set of criteria than the existing ones in some national regulations, based on damage and earthquake exceedance levels for dealing with situations related to plant shutdown, plant restart or plant continuing operation following the occurrence of an earthquake which may exceed the original design level. It will be a useful tool for regulatory bodies, specialists on earthquake engineering and technical support organizations.

This Safety Report provides up to date detailed guidance on actions to be taken in preparation for, and following, an earthquake at a nuclear power plant, taking into account the gained knowledge and experience of Member States from the occurrence of strong earthquakes that affected nuclear power plants up to 2010. The publication is a compilation of available references based on related standards and proposes a more comprehensive set of criteria than the existing ones in some national regulations, based on damage and earthquake exceedance levels for dealing with situations related to plant shutdown, plant restart or plant continuing operation following the occurrence of an earthquake which may exceed the original design level. It will be a useful tool for regulatory bodies, specialists on earthquake engineering and technical support organizations.

This book provides a history of emergency planning with respect to nuclear power plant accidents from the 1950’s to the 2000’s. It gives an overview of essential concepts that a working emergency planner should know, including brief overviews of the health physics and plant engineering that applies to emergency planning. Each chapter covers topics unique to radiological planning that distinguish it from planning for natural disasters. Some of the topics include processes that damage fuel, reactor source terms, basic dispersion theory, protective measures for the public and emergency worker, environmental surveys, and the essential elements of a drill and exercise program. Emergency Planning for Nuclear Power Plants is not intended as a guide to meeting regulatory requirements but provides an understanding of the essential concepts and language of radiological planning, so the planner can apply those concepts to their particular situation.

In 1986, the Three Mile Island Public Health Fund commissioned a national team of researchers to prepare an alternative emergency plan for the region around the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. This nontechnical book, addressed to emergency workers, the public and policymakers, presents the results of their research in the form of a bold plan that is applicable to any nuclear plant emergency. It builds on the principles that local knowledge is valuable, not unsophisticated, that communities are adaptive, not inflexible, and that information must be made available and accessible to the people who most need it.

Supplement 3, “Guidance for Protective Action Strategies,” to NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, “Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants,” updates the previous version of Supplement 3, “Criteria for Protective Action Recommendations for Severe Accidents,” issued July 1996. Supplement 3 provides a protective action strategy development tool based on recent technical information and is intended for use by nuclear power reactor licensees to develop site-specific protective action recommendation procedures. Offsite response organizations should use Supplement 3 to develop protective action strategy guidance for decision makers. The guidance of Supplement 3 provides an acceptable method to comply with Appendix E to Part 50, Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section IV, paragraph 3 in the use of evacuation time estimates in the formulation of protective action recommendations (PARs) for the plume exposure emergency planning zone, and provides guidance for the provisions of 10 CFR 50.47(b)(10) in the development of a range of PARs. Supplement 3 also provides guidance to support the information in NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1 that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission finds to be an acceptable method of meeting the requirements in 10 CFR 50.47(b)(7) for the development of a public information program. However, licensees may identify alternative methods of compliance with these requirements.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reexamined the role of emergency preparedness (EP) for protecting the public near nuclear power plants following the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979. The accident showed the need for improved planning, response, and communication by federal, state, and local governments to deal with reactor accidents. Although the NRC remained vigilant over the years, the events of September 11, 2001, prompted a new focus on emergency preparedness and a further review of the threat environment. The NRC now considers new threat scenarios and protections in emergency preparedness in light of the threat of terrorist attacks. Nuclear power plant owners, government agencies, State and local officials, as well as thousands of volunteers and first responders have worked together for more than 20 years to create a system of emergency preparedness and response that will serve the public well in the unlikely event of an emergency. The nuclear power plants' emergency plans include preparations for evacuation, sheltering, or other actions to protect the residents near nuclear power plants in the event of a serious incident. Since commercial nuclear power plants began operating in the United States, there have been no physical injuries or fatalities from exposure to radiation from the plants among members of the U.S. public. Even the country's worst nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island resulted in no identifiable health impacts.