NRC Publishes Survey Results on Nuclear Accident Response Strategies to Protect the Public

November 17, 2008

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released today a publication
that provides new insights into how best to protect the public during
a nuclear power plant accident. The publication is based on the results of focus groups and telephone surveys conducted in the
Emergency Planning Zones (EPZs) around reactor sites. The data will
help the NRC review its regulations and guidance related to emergency
preparedness and determine if changes need to be considered to
existing protective action strategies.

Focus groups were used in 2007 to collect information that
guided the development of the phone survey. The phone survey was
administered in 2008 by Sandia National Laboratories, under contract
to the NRC, to approximately 2,500 households randomly selected in
order to obtain 800 completed, anonymous surveys.

The surveys found that a majority of the residents living within
the EPZs of nuclear power plants:

o Were generally well informed about what to do in a nuclear
power plant emergency;
o Remembered receiving emergency response information from
the nuclear power plant and kept it readily accessible;
o Recalled receiving information about evacuation and
sheltering;
o Agreed they would evacuate, shelter-in-place or monitor
for more information, if directed to do so; and
o Agreed they would support a staged evacuation, during
which some residents would shelter while others would evacuate.

The survey also found that many parents will get their children
from school even when told they were already being evacuated and that
many "special needs" residents who don't live in special facilities
had not registered for evacuation assistance.

Based on the results of the survey, the NRC, in partnership with
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is proceeding with
revision of "NUREG-0654, Supplement 3, criteria for Protective Action
Recommendations for Severe Accidents," which provides guidance for
protective action strategies for severe accidents at nuclear power
plants. NRC will seek stakeholder input during the process to revise
Supplement 3. In addition, NRC will work with stakeholders and its
federal partners, including FEMA, to address the findings of the study.

The full report, titled, "Review of NUREG-0654, Supplement 3,
Criteria for Protective Action Recommendations for Severe Accidents,"
can be found at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/contract/cr6953/vol....