Privacy and Proprietary Material in Emergency Plans (Generic Letter 81-27)

                                UNITED STATES
                        NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
                           WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
                                     
                                JULY 9, 1981

ALL LICENSEES OF OPERATING PLANTS AND APPLICANTS FOR OPERATING LICENSES 
  AND HOLDERS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS 

Gentlemen: 

SUBJECT:  PRIVACY AND PROPRIETARY MATERIAL IN EMERGENCY PLANS 
          (GENERIC LETTER NO. 81-27) 

Copies of licensee's and applicants' radiological emergency plans and 
implementing procedures are placed in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's 
Public Document Room in Washington, D. C. and in the Local Public Document 
Room located near the plant site for review by the public. Prior to being 
placed there, these documents are carefully screened by an NRC staff office 
to remove items which involve personal privacy, such as home telephone 
numbers and home addresses. When identified, other privacy and proprietary 
materials is also removed. 

A problem has arisen, in at least one case, where internal, unlisted utility
telephone numbers in the documents have been revealed to the public. In the 
event of an emergency, telephone lines to those numbers could be Toaded with
non-essential calls which could interfere with officials dealing with the 
emergency, and could, therefore, be detrimental to the overall public health
and safety. You can avoid routine release of those numbers, and any similar 
information which is not in the best interest of all concerned. 

When emergency plans and implementing procedures, or changes thereto, are 
submitted in the future, please mark all pages which have privacy or 
proprietary material, bracket the specific information involved, and 
identify these pages in the transmittal letter. 

For those plans or procedures which have already been submitted to the NRC, 
please notify me in writing by July 31, 1981 what information, if any, 
should be deleted. If we do not hear from you by that date, we will assume 
the documents may be released to the public document rooms in their 
entirety. 

It should be noted that the above actions do not affect NRC's responsibili-
ties under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If a formal FOIA request 
for the information is received by the NRC, the NRC will have to 
independently determine at that time if the deleted material may legally be 
withheld under the Act. 

If you have any questions concerning material which may be deleted, please 
telephone Mr. John C. Carr, Chief, Freedom of Information and Privacy 
Branch, NRC, on (301) 492-8133. 

                              Sincerely, 


                              Darrell G. Eisenhut, Director 
                              Division of Licensing 
                              Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation