NRC STAFF ISSUES BULLETIN TO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR SECURITY-BASED EVENTS
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a Bulletin to companies licensed to operate commercial nuclear reactors in the United States requesting information on several components of their emergency preparedness programs.

Several NRC studies show the existing emergency planning basis can successfully deal with events, including those dealing with security, at nuclear power plants. The agency recognizes, however, that security-based incidents present issues, such as the need to relay information and protect plant personnel, where enhancements to emergency planning could be made. The Bulletin asks reactor operators for information on their emergency preparedness planning, procedures and training to be cognizant of what enhancements are planned or have been made.

"The NRC remains assured that security-based events at a nuclear power plant that could damage important equipment are very unlikely, and even if those events occur, existing emergency plans can effectively address the possible effects," said Bruce Boger, Director of the Division of Inspection Program Management in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. "While emergency planning already includes flexibility for responding to a wide range of events, enhancements for security-related events may be prudent."

Some of the areas covered by the Bulletin include emergency classifications, NRC notifications, onsite protective actions and onsite response organization augmentation. For instance, a plant could notify the NRC more quickly of security-related events, allowing the NRC to pass the information to other plants and Federal agencies. Also, a plant’s actions for protecting its onsite staff might be revised to address possible hazards during a potential or in-progress security breach.

The Bulletin requests licensees to provide a written response by Aug. 17 on several areas, including:

-- a summary discussion of any planned changes to emergency classification levels, as well as a schedule for implementing the changes, and;
-- summary discussions of programs (and any changes) for NRC notification, onsite protective actions, onsite response organization augmentation and drills and exercises.

Bulletin 2005-02, "Emergency Preparedness and Response Actions for Security-Based Events," will be available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/bulletins/2005/.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008