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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

NEI outlines U.S. nuclear emergency procedures

NEI outlines U.S. nuclear emergency procedures

The Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s trade association, released a breakdown of emergency preparedness procedures for U.S. nuclear reactors on Tuesday.

The graphic comes amid new concerns about nuclear safety in the United States, particularly from those who live near reactors. New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the Indian Point nuclear plant should be closed because a major disaster at the plant could affect New York City.

Here are some highlights from the NEI graphic:

• “If evacuation were necessary, emergency responders would initially focus on those citizens likely to be exposed to a potential radioactive release: those within a two-mile radius around the plant, as well as sector(s) five miles downwind. State and local governments make the determination and implement protective action orders for the public.”

• “In the event of a release of radiation, state and local governments will also sample water, milk, soil and crops within a 50-mile radius of a plant to determine if radiation was deposited during an incident. According to the federal guidelines for ‘worst-case’ reactor accidents, immediate life-threatening doses would not occur outside the 10-mile evacuation zone, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”

As The Hill reported last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires companies to develop emergency evacuation plans for a 10-mile radius around a reactor. But in Japan, the NRC recommended that Americans living within 50 miles of the stricken reactors evacuate.

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