Re: TMI 20th Anniversary Event to Feature Federal, State and

[Muckerheide <muckerheide@mediaone.net>]

Huh? Do you know a hospital in an EPZ that doesn't have an emergency plan?

Niel Wald wrote:
> 
> I also wonder how many hospitals in nuclear station EPZs have included
> plans for evacuation of hospital patients and personnel in their radiation
> emergency planning??
> Niel Wald

Jim Muckerheide
Mass. Emergency Mgmt Agency
===========================

Mike,


> On Wed, 17 Mar 1999, Mike McNaughton wrote:
> 
> > >``We're marking the 20th anniversary of the accident because of
> > >the lessons it taught us about how to communicate with the public
> > >in times of crisis, and how to prevent and be prepared for similar
> > >events,'' Seif said.
> >
> > If a comparable accident occurred today, would we do a better job of
> > communicating with the public? What would we do differently?


We learned slowly and painfully how to better manage plant
design/operations/maintenance, for capacity-factor and
cost-effectiveness, and for safety - I think we underestimate the
reduction in plant risks vs. the TMI era. 

But we have no basis to think we would do a better job communicating
with the public. 

We have more 'procedure' and less 'knowledge' in technical and
communications functions; we know how to do emergency exercises and to
'manage' another TMI, but a next won't be (never is) the same :-) [if it
were the same, we'd control it]. The questions and media approach would
be very different! :-)  We can't explain minor incidents satisfactorily,
much less a confusing set of circumstances.  We can't/don't explain
normal operations. We have a commitment to fail built in to making
promises that nothing can go wrong, and when it does its our fault and a
trivial source of radioactivity is a cataclysm of abject failure.  In a
serious event, we won't have 2-3 days to lose credibility. :-)  Look at
Northeast Utilities' inability to explain the triviality of the early
core off-load transiently exceeding pool minimum accident assumption
heat load cooling rates, including having NRC concurrence.  Now, what if
they/you had a serious event :-)  We aren't growing into the new media
dynamic (as the Whitehouse has done :-)

I suppose I should say that this is my opinion and my Director doesn't
necessarily agree :-)

Regards, Jim Muckerheide
muckerheide@mediaone.net


> > "Shlala gashle" (Zulu greeting, meaning "Stay safe")
> > mike (mcnaught@LANL.GOV)
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