A Generation Later: TMI, Bhopal, and Chernobyl

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A Generation Later TMI, Bhopal, and Chernobyl

• Events that Shaped Emergency Management in our
  Day

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Three Defining Events

• What happened (or didn't)?
• The effect?
• The Lesson?
• Emergency management today

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Three lessons

• TMI Facility response
• Bhopal Community response
• Chernobyl International response

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Three Mile Island
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March 28, 1979
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Accident timeline

• 0400 ? Reactor trip, PORV opens
• 0445 ? LOCA still not suspected
• ? Supt. of Tech support arrives in CR
• 0600 ? Other support staff arriving
• 0615 ? Core becoming uncovered
• 0622 ? PORV block valve shut
• ? Radiation alarms
• 0700 ? SAE declared
• 0724 ? GE declared

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What happened (or didn't)?

• Crew was faced with conditions beyond their
  training experience
• Didn't understand the basic cause
• Didn't get help soon enough

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The effect?

• Loss of Coolant continued
• Core uncovered badly damaged
• Hydrogen burn in containment
• Plant was scrapped after 87 days of commercial
  operation
• 1 billion cleanup cost

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The lessons?

• Need to detect/recognize rare events
• Individuals may not fully understand the cause of
  the situation until long after
• Staff needs to take action based on indications
• Need explicit criteria for shifting to emergency
  response mode -- "Emergency Action Levels"

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Emergency Management today

• NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Rev. 1, (8/1980) Appendix
  1
• "The example initiating conditions listedare to
  form the basis for establishment by each licensee
  of the specific plant instrumentation
  readingswhich, if exceeded, will initiate the
  emergency class".
• DOE 5500.3 (8/1981) subsequent Orders
• 5500.3A (4/1991) EMG
• O 151.1 (9/1995)

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Bhopal
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Carbaryl production

• MIC 1-napthol?1-naphthyl methylcarbamate
• Onsite inventory gt 100,000 lbs
• MIC properties
• 60 minute AEGL-2 0.067 ppm
• Boiling point 39.5 C
• Exothermic reaction with water
• Other toxic reaction products (HCN, phosgene,
  HCl, NOX, CO)

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December 2-3, 1984
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Accident timeline

• 2100 Water cleaning of pipes begins
• 2200 Water enters MIC Tank 610
• 2230 Gas released from scrubber tower,
  first symptoms experienced
• 0030 Plant siren sounds, workers evacuate
• 0100?Residents flee, thousands die

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And in the community
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What happened (or didn't)?

• No warning to nearby residents
• Little community knowledge of hazard
• No local warning systems
• No planning for protection of local residents
• Responsible agencies were completely unprepared
  to manage effects of a major chemical response

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The effect

• Immediate death toll 2,259
• Confirmed deaths 3,787
• Likely 15,000 deaths severe permanent injuries

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The lessons?

• Accidental releases of toxic chemicals in
  industry and commerce can threaten entire
  communities
• August 11, 1985 -- chemical leak from UC's
  Institute, WV plant, 135 people treated.
• Community awareness and involvement in planning
  is essential to minimize the threat

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Emergency Management today

• EPA established CEPP (voluntary), 1985
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
  Act (10/1986)
• Encourages/supports State Local planning
• Provides public and local governments with info
  on chemical hazards in their communities
• Federal facilities were initially exempt
• Executive Order 12856 (08/1993) required all
  Federal agencies to comply

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Chernobyl Unit 4
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April 26, 1986
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Accident timeline

• April 26
• 0124 Reactor explosions, fire
• 0635 Fires outside reactor extinguished
• April 27
• 1400 Evacuation of Pripyat begins
• April 28
• 0600 Radioactive contamination found on workers
  arriving at Swedish NPP (Forsmark)
• 1200 Soviet government discloses the accident
• European nations ramp up monitoring response

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What happened (or didn't)?

• Belated notification of accident
• No generally accepted guidelines for
  contamination in foodstuffs
• No coordinated action on foodstuffs in commerce

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The effect

• "Arbitrary" bans on import of foodstuffs by some
  western European nations
• EC banned food imports from eastern Europe
• Austria - entire strawberry crop abandoned
• Britain - 4 million sheep restricted from sale
• Sweden - 14,000 reindeer slaughtered
• Turkey - downplayed contamination concerns
• And everything in between

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The lessons?

• "the most important lesson learned was probably
  the understanding that a major nuclear accident
  has inevitable transboundary implications and its
  consequences could affect, directly or
  indirectly, many countries even at large
  distances from the accident site."

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Emergency Management today

• Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear
  Accident (09/1986)
• Convention on Assistance in the Case of Nuclear
  Accident or Radiological Emergency (09/1986)
• International Nuclear Event Scale (1989)
• Guideline Levels for Radionuclides in Foods
  Following Accidental Nuclear Contamination for
  use in International Trade (WHO, 1989)

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Summary

• These events left specific imprints on today's
  emergency management systems and practices
• TMI - Detection, recognition, classification
• Bhopal - Toxic chemical disaster potential in the
  community
• Chernobyl - Trans-boundary implications of major
  accidents need for international cooperation