PA State Participation in Liberty RadEx

Randolph Easton

PA BRP

Liberty RadEx

National Tier 2 Full-Scale Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD) Exercise

Sponsored by EPA Philadelphia, PA – April 2010 RDD in Urban Environment Focus on Intermediate and Recovery Phase

Activities

Liberty RadEx Timeframe

Most Exercises Focus on First Hours or Days of Response (Emergency Phase)

Liberty RadEx Will Focus on ‘Post-Emergency’ Phase Responsibilities and Coordination

Liberty RadEx Focus

Unified Command (Fed., State, Local) Federal Support to State and Local

Authorities NRF Exercise in Rad Assessment and

Hazmat Response Public Involvement in Response Planning

and Community Recovery

PA State Participation

PA Dept. of Environmental Protection– Central Office

Bureau of Radiation Protection

– Southeast Regional Office (Norristown) Radiation Protection Emergency Response Waste Program Community Relations Legal Staff

PA Radiation Protection Missions

Accident Assessment– PAG Evaluation

Relocation, Food, Water

– Integration with Federal Response– Technical Interface with State Decision Makers

Field Monitoring– Environmental Monitoring and Sampling– Integration with FRMAC

Radiation Protection Staff

Central Office– Health Physics – 22– Nuclear Safety – 6

Southeast Regional Office (Norristown)– Health Physics – 15

Southcentral and Southwest Regional Offices (Harrisburg and Pittsburgh) – 12-14 Health Physics Staff Each

PA Radiation Protection Assets

Mobile Command Vehicles (R3V)

Mobile Field Response Vehicles (F-150s)

PA Radiation Protection Assets

Portable Radiation Monitoring Instruments

Field Sampling Equipment

Radiation Measurements Laboratory

Liberty RadEx Radiological Source

2300 Ci of Cs-137 (Cesium Chloride) 3000 lbs. Explosive Wind 8 mph from 220 Degrees Particle size 0.1 to 1000 microns

Liberty RadEx Exposure Rates

Liberty RadEx Relocation Area – EPA-400

Liberty RadEx Relocation Area – PA 1st Year PAG

Liberty RadEx RDD Relocation Area

Based on PA 1st year PAG of 500 mrem Impacted Population – 61, 000 Impacted Area – 5.5 miles long by 1 mile wide (300-

600 city blocks)– Additional Buffer Zone needed

2,000,000 tons waste (100,000 truck loads at 20 tons per truck) (Based on ORD waste calculation tool developed for Liberty RadEx.

Liberty RadEx Agricultural Products Area of Concern - Ingestion

Liberty RadEx Ground Deposition Area

Exercise Issues and Challenges – Technical - PAGs

State PAGs and Federal PAGs for First Year Relocation Differ– Federal (EPA-400) – 2 rem in first year– PA State – 500 mrem in first year

Water PAGs – – DHS August 1, 2008 FR Notice - RDD and IND – 0.5 Rem Projected Dose in First Year. – New – Not used in exercise before.

Exercise Issues and Challenges – Technical - Contamination

Contamination Levels– Where does one draw ‘the lines’ on

contamination?– 500 mrem in First Year is about 8.3 uCi/sq. meter– 1 uCi/sq. meter = 22,000 dpm/100 sq. cm.

Contamination Migration– Contamination moves due to weathering– Relocates and concentrates

Exercise Issues and Challenges – Technical - Cleanup

Contamination Levels for Cleanup:– Site Specific– One oft cited number for removable

contamination is: 1000 dpm/100 sq. cm. (or about 0.05 uCi/sq. meter)

Exercise Issues and Challenges – Technical – Exposure Control

Radiation Exposure Control for Workers Entering Restricted Zone– Radiation Worker – 5 rem/year– Numerous Organizations Involved in Response– Differing Dosimetry – Differing Administrative Dose Limits

Exercise Issues and Challenges – Technical - PPE

Level of PPE required Respiratory Protection

– Air Sampling and Re-suspension Factor– Training and Physical– Equipment

PA State Issues and Challenges - Administrative

Budget Issue – What level of funding can be approved, given PA’s budget issues.

State Agencies – Reluctant to commit to participation due to uncertainty over budget and staffing.

Sources of Information on Large Scale Cs-137 Contamination Event

Chernobyl – 1986 Goiania, Brazil - 1987

Questions?

Thank you.