Emergency Preparedness

On , NRC dismisses NIRS petition to provide emergency backup power to sirens that will fail in the event of main power line failure simultaneously occurring with a nuclear accident or act of terrorism

Official NRC transcript of the Petition Review Board meeting with petitioners for backup power for emergency notification systems around nuclear power stations

When the electrical grid fails due to adverse weather or mechanical failure all too often emergency notification systems around nuclear power stations simultaneously lose all power. Electrical grid failure is potentially an initiating event for a nuclear accident and most probably the opening of an attack by terrorists on a nuke. On NIRS in coalition with 16 organizations and several county governments petitioned the NRC to take emergency enforcement action to require nuclear power station operators to provide emergency backup power sources, preferably through photovoltaic panels, for emergency notification siren systems nationwide.

NIRS’ comments in response to U.S. Health and Human Service’s issuance of inadequate draft federal guidelines dated November 08, 2004 for distributing potassium iodide (KI) as a thyroid blocking agent in the event of a nuclear accident or an act of radiological sabotage.

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) draft guidelines for Section 127 of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 outlining a federal strategy for the distribution of potassium iodide (KI) issued for limited comment.

Nuclear Monitor () Special Edition article on the issues of emergency planning following the Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979.