WINTER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE NEWS 2015   

Volume 7, Issue I

Office of Nuclear Security

and Incident Response

Division of Preparedness

and Response

Toll‐Free

(800) 368‐5642

Phone:

(301) 415‐7000

E‐mail:

Emergencyprepared‐

ness.resource@nrc.gov

Editor

Carolyn Kahler

Special Contributors to

this Issue:

Sally Billings

NRC staff and management from both Headquarters and the Region II office aƩended a very successful tabletop

exercise hosted by Duke Energy as part of the preparaƟons for the SE‐15 full‐scale exercise in July.  The one‐day

exercise, held in Florence, SC, provided a great opportunity to walk through an integrated response to a nuclear

power plant accident.  In fact, more than 100 parƟcipants from the private sector; nongovernmental organiza‐

Ɵons; and local, State, and Federal organizaƟons parƟcipated.  The exercise included a discussion of acƟons that

agencies would take during the Plume Exposure Pathway Phase as well as the IngesƟon Exposure Pathway Phase

of a response.  The informaƟon gained from this exercise will help to refine policies and procedures prior to the

exercise in July.

“We enjoyed the opportunity to meet face‐to‐face with a variety of emergency response officials and discuss

how we would come together as a team in the event of an incident,” said John AucoƩ, an aƩendee from the U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. “We’re also grateful for Duke Energy’s hospitality and for

providing such a great venue.”  

Southern Exposure 2015 (SE‐15) is a full‐Federal “Whole Community” exercise being coordinated with the bien‐

nial graded exercise at Duke Energy’s H. B. Robinson nuclear plant in Hartsville, South Carolina.  The exercise will

be conducted on July 21  ‐ 23, 2015.  The exercise is being planned and will be executed in close coordinaƟon

with Federal agencies, the State of South Carolina, local response organizaƟons, and the H. B. Robinson facility.

The Exercise Planning Team (EPT) consists of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Nuclear Security and

Incident Response, State of South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Duke Energy, Federal Emergency

Management Agency’s Technical Hazards Division, and the Department Of Energy’s NaƟonal Nuclear Security

AdministraƟon.  

Master Scenario Events List WriƟng MeeƟng

One of the most Ɵme consuming parts of the exercise design and development process is wriƟng the Master Sce‐

nario Events List (MSEL).  The MSEL is a chronological lisƟng of expected events, acƟons, and reacƟons by those

playing in the exercise.   It is more than just a “script,” as the elements of the MSEL help drive the exercise and

provides the construct to address exercise objecƟves.

Exercise planners reached a major milestone by recently conducƟng the MSEL WriƟng MeeƟng for SE‐15.  During

this two‐day meeƟng that was facilitated by the DOE in Florence, SC, “trusted agents” worked hard to take the

general exercise scenario and turn it into a detailed scenario  Ɵmeline.   Trusted agents are designated exercise

planners that are entrusted to not reveal scenario details to actual exercise players and are crucial to maintaining

the integrity of the exercise during the design phase.

Next steps in the MSEL design process include: 1) the construcƟon of addiƟonal MSEL items needed to support

objecƟves; and 2) the MSEL SynchronizaƟon meeƟng.  One of the purposes of the SynchronizaƟon MeeƟng is to

ensure that injects will be released to players or inserted into the exercise at specified and synchronized Ɵmes

and do not conflict with another MSEL.  ParƟcipants will also have the opportunity to verify that injects will allow

exercise parƟcipants to achieve their objecƟves.

Tabletop Exercise
FEMA’s NaƟonal Exercise Division has provided SE‐15 exercise

planners with access to the Preparedness Toolkit.  The Toolkit

provides a web‐based plaƞorm for sharing exercise planning

informaƟon.  Each SE‐15 working group has a “folder” on the

toolkit.  Exercise planners can maintain visibility on a variety of

exercise planning acƟviƟes by reviewing informaƟon stored in

the toolkit.  Access to certain parts of the toolkit is limited to

trusted agents in order to maintain the integrity of the exercise

scenario.    Exercise planners that need access to the Toolkit

should contact their working group chair.

Upcoming SE‐15 Workshops

Upcoming EP Outreach Events

April 27‐30, 2015

NaƟonal Radiological Emergency  

Preparedness Conference (Sacramento, CA)

May  18‐21, 2015

Conference of RadiaƟon Control Program  

Directors NaƟonal Conference (St. Louis, MO)

June 3‐4, 2015

Nuclear Energy InsƟtute’s Emergency  

Preparedness Forum (Denver, CO)

The Preparedness Tool Kit

Food and Agricultural Response and Recovery Issues Following a Radiological Release

This one‐day workshop will focus on the impacts to food and agricultural operaƟons in the event of a large scale release of radia‐

Ɵon to the environment. Proposed topics include acƟons that can be taken to protect the safety of the food supply; impacts on

soil, water, crops and livestock; decontaminaƟon; and strategies to reduce economic impacts on agriculture and trade.

The workshop will provide a venue for communicaƟon among all levels of government and associaƟons represenƟng the South

Carolina food and agriculture industry.

The workshop will be held in Columbia, SC on May 12, 2015.

For addiƟonal informaƟon on the Food/Ag workshop contact John AucoƩ  (USDA) at john.aucoƩ@dm.usda.gov or CharloƩe

Krugler (Clemson University) at ckrugle@clemson.edu.

NaƟonal Disaster Recovery Framework Workshop (NDRF)

This one‐day workshop is intended to provide exercise parƟcipants and planners with an overview of the NDRF.  Discussions will

address how the NDRF can be used to support the recovery from a nuclear power plant accident, with a parƟcular focus on hous‐

ing, economic recovery, and health and human services.  

The workshop will be held in Columbia, SC on May 27, 2015.  

American Nuclear Insurers (ANI) and Price Anderson Act Workshop

ParƟcipants will have the opportunity to hear speakers discuss the emergency assistance that may be provided by ANI aŌer a nu‐

clear power plant accident as well as informaƟon on the claims process.  InformaƟon on the Price‐Anderson Nuclear Industries

Indemnity Act, which governs liability‐related issues for nuclear faciliƟes in the United States, will also be provided.

The workshop will be held in Columbia, SC on May 28, 2015.   

Released by FEMA in January of 2015, this 332‐page docu‐

ment serves as the principal source of policy and guidance

for the FEMA Radiological Emergency Preparedness Pro‐

gram. It is an update to the June 2013 Radiological Emer‐

gency Preparedness Program Manual, and incorporates

changes to clarify and update guidance based on infor‐

maƟon provided through the Frequently Asked QuesƟons

CommiƩee, the NaƟonal Frameworks, and other federal

documents.

hƩp://www.fema.gov/media‐library‐

data/1422976690540‐

7cb06cc8eb4f294987b2614a54c8de91/

DHS_FEMA_REP_Program_Manual_Jan2015.pdf

New Radiological EP Program Manual