Bill > H1898

This bill expands the safety preparedness zone around nuclear power plants to a twenty-mile radius, requiring the Department of Public Health to establish monitoring stations and stockpile thyroid-blocking agents, which are medications to protect the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine in case of a nuclear accident, within this expanded area. This twenty-mile radius specifically includes cities and towns in Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties, as well as the Cape Ann area in Essex County. Furthermore, the bill designates this twenty-mile radius as the "plume exposure pathway emergency planning zone," a term defined by federal regulations (44 C.F.R. section 350.2) that refers to the area where radioactive material released from a nuclear plant could spread through the air, and mandates that predetermined protective action plans, including sheltering and evacuation procedures, be in place for this zone. The Department of Public Health is given 180 days from the bill's effective date to create the necessary rules and regulations to implement these changes.