Science and Technology Policy Office January 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given of the determination, under Section 127(f) of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Act), to waive the requirements of Section 127(a) and (d) of the Act. Notice is also given that the Associated Decision Memorandum and an interagency technical analysis report are available on the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Web site at https://www.ostp.gov/KI. Section 127(a) of the Act directed the President to establish a Potassium Iodide (KI) distribution program, under which State and local governments could receive KI tablets for distribution to the population in the 20 mile radius surrounding nuclear power plants (NPPs). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) already has such a program for the 10 mile emergency planning zones surrounding NPPs, so Section 127(a) effectively extended that program to the 10-20 mile range. Through Section 127(f), Congress authorized the President to waive this distribution requirement if there exists ``an alternative and more effective prophylaxis or preventive measures for adverse thyroid conditions that may result from the release of radionuclides from nuclear power plants.'' On July 3, 2007, the President delegated the Section 127(f) waiver authority to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. On July 30, 2007, to help inform his decision, the OSTP Director requested the Federal Radiological Policy Coordinating Committee (FRPCC) to provide a technical evaluation of the issues surrounding Section 127. The FRPCC is an interagency organization, with membership from 17 Federal agencies, established to coordinate Federal responsibilities for assisting State and local governments in emergency planning and preparedness for peacetime nuclear emergencies. The FRPCC transmitted its final technical evaluation paper to the OSTP Director on October 23, 2007. On January 22, 2008, the OSTP Director executed his final decision pursuant to the Section 127(f) delegation. The complete Decision Memorandum, as well as the FRPCC technical information paper, is available on the OSTP Web site at https://www.ostp.gov/KI. The OSTP Director's determination waived Section 127(f) because a more effective preventive measure does exist for the extended zone covered by the Act, namely avoidance of exposure altogether through evacuation of the potentially affected population and interdiction of contaminated food. Analysis of radiological release events that could lead to adverse thyroid conditions beyond the current 10 mile zone shows that limiting or avoiding exposure to radiation through these mechanisms is practical and much more effective than the administration of KI in the proposed extended zone.