This publication provides a practical resource for emergency planning, and fulfils, in part, functions assigned to the IAEA in the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. If used effectively, it will help users to develop a capability to adequately respond to a nuclear or radiological emergency.

Meant to aid State & local emergency managers in their efforts to develop & maintain a viable all-hazard emergency operations plan. This guide clarifies the preparedness, response, & short-term recovery planning elements that warrant inclusion in emergency operations plans. It offers the best judgment & recommendations on how to deal with the entire planning process -- from forming a planning team to writing the plan. Specific topics of discussion include: preliminary considerations, the planning process, emergency operations plan format, basic plan content, functional annex content, hazard-unique planning, & linking Federal & State operations.

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.

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 provides guidelines on developing emergency operations plans (EOP). It promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a hazard or threat and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans. The goal of CPG 101 is to make the planning process routine across all phases of emergency management and for all homeland security mission areas. This Guide helps planners at all levels of government in their efforts to develop and maintain viable all-hazards, all-threats EOPs. Accomplished properly, planning provides a methodical way to engage the whole community in thinking through the life cycle of a potential crisis, determining required capabilities, and establishing a framework for roles and responsibilities. It shapes how a community envisions and shares a desired outcome, selects effective ways to achieve it, and communicates expected results. Each jurisdiction's plans must reflect what that community will do to address its specific risks with the unique resources it has or can obtain.

Radioactive iodines are produced during the operation of nuclear power plants and during the detonation of nuclear weapons. In the event of a radiation incident, radioiodine is one of the contaminants that could be released into the environment. Exposure to radioiodine can lead to radiation injury to the thyroid, including thyroid cancer. Radiation to the thyroid from radioiodine can be limited by taking a nonradioactive iodine (stable iodine) such as potassium iodide. This book assesses strategies for the distribution and administration of potassium iodide (KI) in the event of a nuclear incident. The report says that potassium iodide pills should be available to everyone age 40 or youngerâ€"especially children and pregnant and lactating womenâ€"living near a nuclear power plant. States and municipalities should decide how to stockpile, distribute, and administer potassium iodide tablets, and federal agencies should keep a backup supply of tablets and be prepared to distribute them to affected areas.