* Also under HHS is the state Bureau of Radiological Health. BRH is responsible for implementing the NRC "Agreement State" regulatory program, and is responsible for assessing and minimizing radiation exposure in the state. Its programs include such diverse aspects as control of medical devices and natural radon.

March 27, 2006

* New Hampshire - medical misadministration - wrong isotope - 5.2 rem

October 22, 2005

* Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program: Review Of New Hampshire Agreement State Program, July 26-27, 2005, Proposed Final Report
Dennis K. Rathbun, NRC/OSTP (pdf - 0.5 MB)

New Hampshire is one of the smaller agreement state programs. The 2005 review recommends taking the state off of NRC's list of states requiring greater than normal NRC oversight. The biggest strength of the program is its people, the review team concludes. A public meeting to consider the report will be held at NRC headquarters in Rockville on November 2, 2005 at 1 pm. NRC Contact: John Zabko 301-415-2308.

February 18, 2004

* Seabrook - mail handler's reaction-like symptoms

June 19, 2003

"By September, the eyesore should be gone"

The steel dome that would have been used for containment building at second Seabrook unit has been rusting near the marshes since construction was stopped in 1984. Plant spokesperson Alan Griffith told Associated Press that when FPL Energy of Florida bought the plant last year, "the first question in the community was, 'What will you do with the rusting eyesore?'" In a memorandum of understanding last year, FPL Energy secured $2 million from a consortium of 11 previous owners for a "beautification fund". The dome will be cut into pieces and trucked away. "By September, the eyesore should be gone", Griffith said.

[Ref: Associated Press, "Seabrook dome to be scrapped", The Union Leader (Manchester NH), June 19, 2003, p. A1]

June 1, 2003

Concord's new cancer treatment center

A new cancer center is opening at Concord Hospital. If all 450 of the folks who currently have to travel elsewhere for treatment use it, some 10,000 trips a year will be avoided. The center will be staffed by six doctors -- three chemotherapy specialists and three radiation therapy specialists from Radiation Oncology Associates, an eight-physician practice based at Elliot Hospital in Manchester. In 2001, the state denied Concord's appliction to build the new center, stating concerns about the financial viability of having two centers so close together, and the implications for quality of care that such financial precariousness entails. The state reversed itself after another round of hearings. Although the Elliot Hospital's patient load will go down, the aging population in the area is unfortunately expected to increase the patient laod at both facilities in coming years.

The radiation therapy part of the new center features a $7.5-million machine that will shoot beams of radiation into patients. The machine is located in a lead-lined vault, complete with 20,000-pound door, on the ground floor. A boutique will sell cancer-related products such as wigs, scarves, prosthetic breasts and more. A cancer research library will allow people to look up information and check out books on the disease. "Anyone can walk in off the street and take out a book," said Nancy Kane, the center's executive director. "We wanted this to be a resource for everyone."

[Ref: Associated Press, "Cancer Center opens in Concord", June 1, 2003]

May 30, 2003

Contamination thought to be buried at former AFB

Weapons maintenance work in the 1950s and '60s may have created waste materials with radioactive contamination that could be buried on the grounds of the former Pease Air Force base. The Air Force will be conducting appropriate surveys, said the Air Force Real Property Agency. The area that may be affected is a former weapons storage area, and is closed to the public. "Based on the information available at this time, there is no immediate risk to public health and the environment as long as the burial site is not disturbed," the agency said in a statement.

[Ref: WMUR-TV, cited by Associated Press, "Pease to be tested for radioactive waste", The Union Leader (Manchester NH), May 31, 2003, p. A5]

May 14, 2003

New Hampshire barely avoids probation on Agreement State program

Here's how NRC's IMPEP team put it: "The review team considered recommending that the New Hampshire Agreement State program be put on probation given that two indicators were found unsatisfactory. However, the review team did not recommend probation because, although the findings for the program did not change, the review team did note improvements in the program, efforts to address the root causes of the program deficiencies, and continued commitment by the Department to support the Bureau in addressing deficiencies. The review team recommends that the period of Heightened Oversight continue in order to assess the progress of the State in implementing corrective actions in the Program Improvement Plan which addressed the recommendations in the final 2001 IMPEP report. The follow-up review team also recommends continuation of the bi-monthly status reports and bi-monthly conference calls to discuss the progress to date on the StateÕs program improvement plan. Based on the results of the current IMPEP review, the follow-up review team recommends that the next full review should be in approximately two years." To see the full text of the proposed final review team report, click here.

April 22, 2003

A bill passed by state House transfers the responsibility for assessing fees under the nuclear planning and response program from the chairman of the public utilities commission to the department of safety. This bill also changes references to the director of emergency management to the director of fire safety and emergency management, and makes various other changes to the nuclear planning and response program. The full text of HB-233 is available here.

April 8, 2003

Hinsdale sits out Vermont Yankee evacuation drill

The town of Hinsdale, New Hampshire boycotted an emergency evacuation drill for the Vermont Yankee plant held on April 8. Town officials said it was in protest over inadequate funding from the state and inadequate planning to ensure all children could be safely evacuated from schools in town. The emergency planners figure that 18 buses will be needed to evacuate the school children. Hinsdale officials said it's not clear how long it would take the buses, based in Swanzey, to reach the schools. They also wanted the buses to be included in evacuation drills, to see how long it would take buses to reach the Hinsdale Schools, according to Jill Collins, Hinsdale town administrator, and how long it would take to load those buses. A related concern was voiced by selectman Robert M. Johnson: "What bothers me is 18 buses requires 18 drivers," he told a reporter. "If those drivers have their own children, do you think they will come into these towns? There is a human factor." Hyla R. Smith, branch manager for Laidlaw, the bus service contractor, said that of the 96 drivers, 80 signed a form agreeing to drive to Hinsdale in case of an emergency evacuation. She also noted that two buses are based in Hinsdale.

As for the finances part, selectboard chair William Nebelski said. "We don't feel we're getting enough money that's necessary to get the job done right." He added that the town does not have enough emergency alert radios.

[Refs: Associated Press, "New Hampshire town boycotted Yankee plant emergency drill", April 28, 2003; Associated Press, "Hinsdale not satisfied with disaster plan", The Union Leader (Manchester NH), June 11, 2003, p. B1; and Associated Press, "Vermont Yankee evacuation plan being questioned", The Union Leader, June 25, 2003, p. B10]

1998

After four years of virtually no shipments of low-level radioactive waste (see charts), New Hampshire sources shipped more in 1997 and 1998, reaching 261.55 cubic feet of waste to Barnwell in 1998, with total radioactivity of 85.76 curies that year. Even in New Hampshire's high volume year, only thirteen states shipped less LLRW over same period.

Although university and government sources were significant to the volume total, Seabrook plant contributed 98.5% of the curie total (see charts).

Slightly less than two-thirds of the 1998 waste volume was Class C waste (172.47 cubic feet). The remainder was Class A.