The Science of Responding to a Nuclear Reactor Accident Summary of a Symposium (2014) / Chapter Skim
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2 Symposium Summary
2 Symposium Summary
Pages 6-28
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From page 6... ...
Dr. Lurie began her remarks by noting that despite significant enhancements to public health preparedness over the years, there are gaps in knowledge and practice for responding to public health emergencies including nuclear reactor accidents.
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, most knowledge about the health consequences of nuclear reactor accidents was obtained from studies of the Chernobyl accident, the most severe nuclear reactor accident in history in terms of radioactive material releases.
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• Cataracts in cleanup workers:8 Lens opacity in cleanup workers occurs at substantially lower doses than then-existing radiation protection guidelines. No incidents of acute radiation syndrome or deaths attributed to radiation have been reported following the Fukushima Daiichi accident due to protective actions taken (prompt evacuations, sheltering in place, control of milk consumption)
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:11-26, https://www.training.fema.gov/ EMIWeb/downloads/IJEMS/ARTICLES/Evacuation%20Behavior%20at%20Three%20Mile%20Island.%20Robert%20Stallings.pdf. 16 Nomura S., Gilmour S., Tsubokura M., Yoneoka D., Sugimoto A., Oikawa T., Kami M., Shibuya K., 2013, Mortality risk amongst nursing resi dents evacuated after the Fukushima Daiichi accident: A retrospective cohort study, PLoS ONE 8(3)
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Becker noted that it is crucial to learn from the largely unpublished isolated efforts that have been made to address stigma issues. How we address social, psychological, and behavioral impacts will play a large role in determining whether future efforts to manage and recover from a nuclear reactor accident are a success or a failure.
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He mentioned that, based on news reports, it appears that the Japanese government has identified some mental health impacts as compensable.23 EARLY-PHASE RESPONSE TO A NUCLEAR REACTOR ACCIDENT During the early phase of a nuclear reactor accident, response activities need to happen fast, likely with limited information related to the accident conditions and prognosis, and with little time to analyze options. Presentations related to early-phase response to a nuclear reactor accident focused on the following five activities: 1.
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The purpose of these protective actions is to minimize the health effects to members of the public. Protective actions issued at the early phase of a nuclear reactor accident include evacuations and sheltering in place and may include issuance of potassium iodide (KI)
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Dr. Irwin spoke of the difficulty of issuing an order to evacuate or shelter in place, especially when information about the status of the plant and accident prognosis is imperfect, which has been the case for previous reactor accidents.
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However, according to Ms. Milligan, the agency believes that the interdiction of food and water -- milk in particular -- within the 50-mile ingestion exposure pathway EPZ is the most effective pathway to protect those at risk during a nuclear reactor accident.
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PHEMCE is led by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. d This policy was implemented after the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
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Albert Wiley, Jr., medical and technical director, REAC/TS and head, World Health Organization Collaborating Center at Oak Ridge, discussed medical planning and response to a nuclear reactor accident. Except for the Chernobyl accident, the medical significance of radiation exposures to workers and the public from the other three major nuclear reactor accidents has been generally minimal.
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Armin Ansari, health physicist, Radiation Studies Branch, CDC, spoke about the early phase of the response to a nuclear reactor accident and population monitoring. He said that identifying people who are in need of immediate medical attention, irrespective of whether they have been exposed to radiation, takes precedence.
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He said that biodosimetry information, together with medical diagnostic information for individuals suspected or known to have been exposed to ionizing radiation, can contribute to decisions related to medical treatment strategies and radiation protection management. In case of a nuclear reactor accident, the populations that would be most served by biodosimetry assessments are the power plant workers and accident responders because these groups are at risk of being exposed to the highest levels of radiation.
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INTERMEDIATE- AND LATE-PHASE RESPONSE TO A NUCLEAR REACTOR ACCIDENT During the intermediate and late phases of an accident, there is typically more time to plan the response and analyze the options. Still, according to the symposium presenters, activities conducted during these phases that include planning for long-term follow-up and health risk studies and transition to recovery need to start as soon as possible.
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Risk projection studies can be useful to estimate the types and numbers of adverse health effects. High-quality, comprehensive, long-term follow-up studies after a nuclear reactor accident may be difficult to carry out because of concurrent events such as the earthquake and tsunami associated with the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
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Ms. Gerilee Bennett, FEMA, noted that there are federal efforts to incorporate lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi accident into the ongoing update of the Nuclear Radiological Incident Annex to the Federal Interagency Operational Plan.
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COMMUNICATIONS The symposium organizing committee invited nine experts representing the Office of the President, six federal agencies, the states, and news media to provide comments on communications during a nuclear reactor accident. The presenters offered their comments and shared experiences for different aspects of communications related to the U.S.
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Embassy in Tokyo during the Fukushima Daiichi accident to serve as an HHS technical expert in radiation dose and risk, commented that he did not always have the information or equipment that he needed. He was told that the radiation monitoring information (collected by NNSA)
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Federal and state colleagues and other stakeholders were depending on the NRC for information. If a nuclear reactor accident occurred within the United States, NRC staff would report to preassigned duty stations at the headquarters operations center and NRC regional emergency response centers as appropriate.
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Communication Between States and the Federal Government During the Fukushima Daiichi accident, members of the public in the United States turned to public health and other state departments for information and advice. However, some have claimed57 that the NRF was not followed during the accident.
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Yet, a number of symposium participants who were involved in the U.S. response to the Fukushima Daiichi accident, including Drs.
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Several symposium speakers noted that a key principle for an improved emergency response to a nuclear reactor accident is incorporating evidence-based science in the accident's impact assessments. According to these symposium speakers, incorporating evidence-based science in emergency response could better prepare the nation in responding to the immediate and long-term physical, mental, and broader societal effects of an accident; inform protective action guides and training of the responders; and improve communications.
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From page 28... ...
Regarding communication, a number of the symposium speakers commented that the Fukushima Daiichi accident revealed vulnerabilities in communication in response to an international event; interagency communication; communications between federal agencies and the state, with the public, and with the news media. Several symposium participants noted that demand for information and transparency has grown significantly and that people expect quick and broad access to data and information.
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