HISTORY

History of Emergency Management Within the DOE System

The early years

• In the 1970s, DOE’s focus was on security and energy contingency planning

• Before 1985, there were few formal EM requirements for DOE facilities

Historical Impact ofThree Mile Island (TMI)

Accident outcomes

• In March 1979, a nuclear plant accident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, exposed weaknesses in emergency planning programs and led to re-shaping emergencypreparedness

• Emergency preparedness requirements for commercial industry were upgraded and enforced

New Standards After TMI

Changes included

• Addressing interface issues among local, state, and federal governments, and utilities

• Defining emergency planning basis

• Establishing planning standards and evaluation criteria

• Developing guidelines for Emergency Action Levels (EALs) and emergency classifications

• Establishing meteorological criteria

• Developing alert and notification guidance

New Standards After TMI (cont.)

Changes included

• Requiring emergency planning zone evacuation time estimates

• Establishing minimum onsite staffing requirements

• Requiring specific emergency response facilities

• Upgrading and coordinating Emergency Public Information (EPI) planning, including the creation of Joint Information Centers (JICs)

Impact of Bhopal—December 1984Accident outcomes

• A Union Carbide chemical facility disaster in Bhopal, India, had a tragic impact on public and worker health and safety

• The disaster was followed by a similar toxic gas release in Institute, West Virginia

• Operator error was a causal agent in both cases

• Facilities and communities were not prepared

• Public awareness of risk of sudden, accidental releases of hazardous chemicals was heightened

Resulting U.S. Changes

New Federal Regulations

• The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III requires chemical release reporting, hazardous chemical inventory reporting, emergency preparedness, and coordination between chemical facilities and communities

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation, 29 CFR 1910.120, requires emergency planning, preparedness and training, and emergency response for hazardous materials

Chernobyl—1986Accident outcomes

• Disaster in the Ukraine caused tragic and long-lasting public health consequences

• Operator error was the causal agent

• Few facts provided, and officials deliberately withheld data from the public about radiation releases

• Greater emphasis on providing emergency medical response and offsite planning and coordination

• Renewed attention on providing emergency public information (EPI)

Emergency Management Impact at Department of Energy Sites

• Emphasis placed on DOE to match commercial industry Emergency Management (EM) standards

• Site requirements for EM addressed through the DOE Order 5500 series

• Framework established for DOE planning, preparedness, and response

• Emergency preparedness became a start-up and restart issue for DOE facilities

• Formation of the Emergency Management Issues Special Interest Group (EMI SIG) network in 1986