396 



STATEMENT OF CHARLES TEDFORD, RADIATION HEALTH SPE- 

 CIALIST, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 

 STATE OF ALASKA 



Mr. Tedford. Chairman Murkowski, thank you very much for 

 the opportunity to come today £ind testify before the Senate Com- 

 mittee on InteUigence. Also I'd like to add to Dr. Middaugh's 

 thought and thaiSc you for the time and the attention you have 

 given to the threat radiation presents to Alaska. 



I represented today two agencies, or two departments, if you will, 

 the Department of Economic Conservation and the Department of 

 Health and Social Services. The Department of Health and Social 

 Services has a lead responsibility in responding and coordinating 

 response to peace-time radiation incidents and accidents. The De- 

 partment of Environmental Conservation has responsibility for ra- 

 diation matters relating to contamination of air, water and soil. 



A nuclear radiation detection system essentially has two ele- 

 ments: timely notification of an event and a baseline or ambient 

 environmental monitoring capability. This discussion will be pri- 

 marily directed toward requirements for environmental radiation 

 monitoring in Alaska, and will add to Admiral Guimond's com- 

 ments this morning, and I think we're on the same frequency on 

 that particular matter. 



However, a few brief thoughts or comments are in line on notifi- 

 cation. Recently Governor Hickel requested Ambassador Robert 

 Strauss to provide better notification procedures on Russian nu- 

 clear power incidents. And the request followed unofficial reports 

 of a radiation release from the Bilibino nuclear power plant on the 

 Chukotka peninsula just across the Bering Strait from Alaska. This 

 notification was based on reports in The Economist, which is a 

 British news magazine, the March 28th issue to be precise, which 

 The Economist listed five nuclear power accidents in the former So- 

 viet Union since January 1, 1991, and the magazine also reported 

 that there have been 270 unscheduled stoppages of nuclear reac- 

 tors in that time, including 10 unscheduled stoppages at the 

 Bilibino facility. 



Governor Hickel stated, "The State must have immediate and di- 

 rect information if we are to establish a meaningful monitoring sys- 

 tem to evaluate possible impacts." He also indicated that this facil- 

 ity is closer to Bilibino with four reactors to most communities in 

 Western Alaska than the state capitol. And Governor Hickel indi- 

 cated this to Ambassador Strauss in a message he also forwarded. 

 He said that the State of Alaska must be able to provide prompt 

 information to protect our citizens from potential hazards. 



Now the second element of a nuclear radiation emergency detec- 

 tion system is environmental monitoring. And the recent exposure 

 for the people of Alaska to radionuclides will be water, biota, or at- 

 mospheric plumes of material. The rest of this discussion is limited 

 to the atmospheric pathway proposal. However, it should be noted 

 that atmospheric pathway particulate materials basically become 

 ingestion pathway scenarios involving food, water and soil, once 

 the3r've played out on the water or the soil. This plan for Alaska 

 is predicated on a request by the DEC Commissioner John Sander 

 and accepted by Mr. Jerry Leach, EPA in Region 10, the Radiation 

 Program Manager. The proposal basically consists of two elements: 



