Key Issues
Science Proves Potassium Iodide Unnecessary Beyond 10 Miles of a Nuclear Power Plant
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The Science of Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Planning
The NRC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies determined in 1978 that a 10-mile radius around a nuclear power plant is an appropriate emergency planning zone in the event that a reactor releases radioactive materials. The projected radiation doses from most major reactor accidents would not be a threat to public health and safety beyond the 10-mile zone, the task force concluded.
The multi-agency task force also concluded that a 50-mile EPZ protects the public from limited exposure from consuming contaminated water, milk or food. Protection of the food chain is vital in the event of a serious reactor accident. In a 2004 report, the National Academy of Sciences concluded: “[If] contaminated milk and food had been avoided, most of the resulting thyroid cancers [around Chernobyl] would almost certainly not have occurred.”
In the United States, detailed emergency plans are in place for both the 10-mile and 50-mile EPZ, and they are tested regularly by plant staff, federal regulators, and state and local emergency management officials.
Use of KI Evaluated Beyond 10-Mile EPZ
The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 states that the federal government “shall make available to state and local governments [KI] tablets for stockpiling and for distribution as appropriate to public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, in quantities sufficient to provide adequate protection for the population within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant.” The law also states that the government may waive the KI requirement if it determines there is a more effective way to protect the thyroid from exposure to radioactive iodine.
After evaluating the science and policy issues related to KI, the OSTP issued a decision on Jan. 22, 2008, invoking the waiver. “I have determined that a more effective preventive measure does exist for the extended zone covered by the Act, namely avoidance of exposure altogether through evacuation of the potentially affected population and interdiction of contaminated food,” wrote OSTP Director John Marburger. He said the probability of a release of radioactive iodine was not at issue, only the potential consequences. However, he noted, “The risk of a severe release of radioactive iodine 10-20 miles from a [nuclear power plant] is on the order of one-in-a-million to one-in-ten-million.”
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The Science of Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Planning
The NRC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies determined in 1978 that a 10-mile radius around a nuclear power plant is an appropriate emergency planning zone in the event that a reactor releases radioactive materials. The projected radiation doses from most major reactor accidents would not be a threat to public health and safety beyond the 10-mile zone, the task force concluded.
The multi-agency task force also concluded that a 50-mile EPZ protects the public from limited exposure from consuming contaminated water, milk or food. Protection of the food chain is vital in the event of a serious reactor accident. In a 2004 report, the National Academy of Sciences concluded: “[If] contaminated milk and food had been avoided, most of the resulting thyroid cancers [around Chernobyl] would almost certainly not have occurred.”
In the United States, detailed emergency plans are in place for both the 10-mile and 50-mile EPZ, and they are tested regularly by plant staff, federal regulators, and state and local emergency management officials.
Use of KI Evaluated Beyond 10-Mile EPZ
The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 states that the federal government “shall make available to state and local governments [KI] tablets for stockpiling and for distribution as appropriate to public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, in quantities sufficient to provide adequate protection for the population within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant.” The law also states that the government may waive the KI requirement if it determines there is a more effective way to protect the thyroid from exposure to radioactive iodine.
After evaluating the science and policy issues related to KI, the OSTP issued a decision on Jan. 22, 2008, invoking the waiver. “I have determined that a more effective preventive measure does exist for the extended zone covered by the Act, namely avoidance of exposure altogether through evacuation of the potentially affected population and interdiction of contaminated food,” wrote OSTP Director John Marburger. He said the probability of a release of radioactive iodine was not at issue, only the potential consequences. However, he noted, “The risk of a severe release of radioactive iodine 10-20 miles from a [nuclear power plant] is on the order of one-in-a-million to one-in-ten-million.”
Pages 1 2 3
