§ 72.32 Emergency Plan.

(a) Each application for an ISFSI that is licensed under this part which is: Not located on the site of a nuclear power reactor, or not located within the exclusion area as defined in 10 CFR part 100 of a nuclear power reactor, or located on the site of a nuclear power reactor which does not have an operating license, or located on the site of a nuclear power reactor that is not authorized to operate must be accompanied by an Emergency Plan that includes the following information:

(1) Facility description. A brief description of the licensee's facility and area near the site.

(2) Types of accidents. An identification of each type of radioactive materials accident.

(3) Classification of accidents. A classification system for classifying accidents as "alerts."

(4) Detection of accidents. Identification of the means of detecting an accident condition.

(5) Mitigation of consequences. A brief description of the means of mitigating the consequences of each type of accident, including those provided to protect workers onsite, and a description of the program for maintaining the equipment.

(6) Assessment of releases. A brief description of the methods and equipment to assess releases of radioactive materials.

(7) Responsibilities. A brief description of the responsibilities of licensee personnel should an accident occur, including identification of personnel responsible for promptly notifying offsite response organizations and the NRC; also responsibilities for developing, maintaining, and updating the plan.

(8) Notification and coordination. A commitment to and a brief description of the means to promptly notify offsite response organizations and request offsite assistance, including medical assistance for the treatment of contaminated injured onsite workers when appropriate. A control point must be established. The notification and coordination must be planned so that unavailability of some personnel, parts of the facility, and some equipment will not prevent the notification and coordination. The licensee shall also commit to notify the NRC operations center immediately after notifications of the appropriate offsite response organizations and not later than one hour after the licensee declares an emergency.¹

(9) Information to be communicated. A brief description of the types of information on facility status; radioactive releases; and recommended protective actions, if necessary, to be given to offsite response organizations and to the NRC.

(10) Training. A brief description of the training the licensee will provide workers on how to respond to an emergency and any special instructions and orientation tours the licensee would offer to fire, police, medical and other emergency personnel.

(11) Safe condition. A brief description of the means of restoring the facility to a safe condition after an accident.

(12) Exercises. (i) Provisions for conducting semiannual communications checks with offsite response organizations and biennial onsite exercises to test response to simulated emergencies. Radiological/Health Physics, Medical, and Fire drills shall be conducted annually. Semiannual communications checks with offsite response organizations must include the check and update of all necessary telephone numbers. The licensee shall invite offsite response organizations to participate in the biennial exercise.

(ii) Participation of offsite response organizations in biennial exercises, although recommended, is not required. Exercises must use scenarios not known to most exercise participants. The licensee shall critique each exercise using individuals not having direct implementation responsibility for conducting the exercise. Critiques of exercises must evaluate the appropriateness of the plan, emergency procedures, facilities, equipment, training of personnel, and overall effectiveness of the response. Deficiencies found by the critiques must be corrected.

(13) Hazardous chemicals. A certification that the applicant has met its responsibilities under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, Title III, Pub. L. 99-499, with respect to hazardous materials at the facility.

(14) Comments on Plan. The licensee shall allow the offsite response organizations expected to respond in case of an accident 60 days to comment on the initial submittal of the licensee's emergency plan before submitting it to NRC. Subsequent plan changes need not have the offsite comment period unless the plan changes affect the offsite response organizations. The licensee shall provide any comments received within the 60 days to the NRC with the emergency plan.

(15) Offsite assistance. The applicant's emergency plans shall include a brief description of the arrangements made for requesting and effectively using offsite assistance on site and provisions that exist for using other organizations capable of augmenting the planned onsite response.

(16) Arrangements made for providing information to the public.

(b) Each application for an MRS that is licensed under this part and each application for an ISFSI that is licensed under this part and that may process and/or repackage spent fuel, must be accompanied by an Emergency Plan that includes the following information:

(1) Facility description. A brief description of the licensee facility and area near the site.

(2) Types of accidents. An identification of each type of radioactive materials accident.

(3) Classification of accidents. A classification system for classifying accidents as "alerts" or "site area emergencies."

(4) Detection of accidents. Identification of the means of detecting an accident condition.

(5) Mitigation of consequences. A brief description of the means of mitigating the consequences of each type of accident, including those provided to protect workers on site, and a description of the program for maintaining the equipment.

(6) Assessment of releases. A brief description of the methods and equipment to assess releases of radioactive materials.

(7) Responsibilities. A brief description of the responsibilities of licensee personnel should an accident occur, including identification of personnel responsible for promptly notifying offsite response organizations and the NRC; also responsibilities for developing, maintaining, and updating the plan.

(8) Notification and coordination. A commitment to and a brief description of the means to promptly notify offsite response organizations and request offsite assistance, including medical assistance for the treatment of contaminated injured onsite workers when appropriate. A control point must be established. The notification and coordination must be planned so that unavailability of some personnel, parts of the facility, and some equipment will not prevent the notification and coordination. The licensee shall also commit to notify the NRC operations center immediately after notifications of the appropriate offsite response organizations and not later than one hour after the licensee declares an emergency.²

(9) Information to be communicated. A brief description of the types of information on facility status; radioactive releases; and recommended protective actions, if necessary, to be given to offsite response organizations and to the NRC.

(10) Training. A brief description of the training the licensee will provide workers on how to respond to an emergency and any special instructions and orientation tours the licensee would offer to fire, police, medical and other emergency personnel.

(11) Safe condition. A brief description of the means of restoring the facility to a safe condition after an accident.

(12) Exercises. (i) Provisions for conducting quarterly communications checks with offsite response organizations and biennial onsite exercises to test response to simulated emergencies. Radiological/Health Physics, Medical, and Fire Drills shall be held semiannually. Quarterly communications checks with offsite response organizations must include the check and update of all necessary telephone numbers. The licensee shall invite offsite response organizations to participate in the biennial exercises.

(ii) Participation of offsite response organizations in the biennial exercises, although recommended, is not required. Exercises must use scenarios not known to most exercise participants. The licensee shall critique each exercise using individuals not having direct implementation responsibility for conducting the exercise. Critiques of exercises must evaluate the appropriateness of the plan, emergency procedures, facilities, equipment, training of personnel, and overall effectiveness of the response. Deficiencies found by the critiques must be corrected.

(13) Hazardous chemicals. A certification that the applicant has met its responsibilities under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, Title III, Pub. L. 99-499, with respect to hazardous materials at the facility.

(14) Comments on Plan. The licensee shall allow the offsite response organizations expected to respond in case of an accident 60 days to comment on the initial submittal of the licensee's emergency plan before submitting it to NRC. Subsequent plan changes need not have the offsite comment period unless the plan changes affect the offsite response organizations. The licensee shall provide any comments received within the 60 days to the NRC with the emergency plan.

(15) Offsite assistance. The applicant's emergency plans shall include the following:

(i) A brief description of the arrangements made for requesting and effectively using offsite assistance on site and provisions that exist for using other organizations capable of augmenting the planned onsite response.

(ii) Provisions that exist for prompt communications among principal response organizations to offsite emergency personnel who would be responding onsite.

(iii) Adequate emergency facilities and equipment to support the emergency response onsite are provided and maintained.

(iv) Adequate methods, systems, and equipment for assessing and monitoring actual or potential consequences of a radiological emergency condition are available.

(v) Arrangements are made for medical services for contaminated and injured onsite individuals.

(vi) Radiological Emergency Response Training has been made available to those offsite who may be called to assist in an emergency onsite.

(16) Arrangements made for providing information to the public.

(c) For an ISFSI that is:

(1) located on the site, or

(2) Located within the exclusion area as defined in 10 CFR part 100, of a nuclear power reactor licensed for operation by the Commission, the emergency plan that meets either the requirements in § 50.160 of this chapter, or the requirements in appendix E to part 50 of this chapter and § 50.47(b) of this chapter shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this section.

(d) A licensee with a license issued under this part may take reasonable action that departs from a license condition or a technical specification (contained in a license issued under this part) in an emergency when this action is immediately needed to protect the public health and safety and no action consistent with license conditions and technical specifications that can provide adequate or equivalent protection is immediately apparent.

¹ These reporting requirements do not supersede or release licensees of complying with the requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, Title III, Pub. L. 99-499 or other State or Federal reporting requirements.

² These reporting requirements do not supersede or release licensees of complying with the requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, Title III, Pub. L. 99-499 or other State or Federal reporting requirements.

[60 FR 32441, June 22, 1995; 85 FR 65664, Oct. 16, 2020; 88 FR 80078, Nov. 16, 2023]