Revision to the PAG Manual: Protective Action Guide (PAG) for Drinking Water After a Radiological Incident

As part of its mission to protect human health and the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency publishes protective action guides (PAGs) to help federal, state, local and tribal emergency response officials make radiation protection decisions during emergencies. EPA, in coordination with a multi-agency working group within the Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee, recently updated its guidance manual on this topic, titled ``Protective Action Guides and Planning Guidance for Radiological Incidents'' (referred to herein as the PAG Manual). On December 8, 2016, EPA announced availability of the updated 2016 PAG Manual in the Federal Register. In this document, EPA is announcing that it has amended Chapter 4 of the 2016 PAG Manual to incorporate guidance for radiation protection decisions concerning drinking water. The drinking water PAG is not binding and does not in any way affect regulatory requirements or enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), including maximum contaminant limits (MCLs) for radionuclides established by regulation under the SDWA. The drinking water PAG is guidance only and is intended for use by federal, state and local emergency management officials in the unlikely event of significant radiological contamination incidents, such as a disaster at a nuclear power plant, a radiological dispersal device or an improvised nuclear device, and for a duration which may last for weeks to months but not longer than one year. The dose levels reflected in the drinking water PAG provide a level of protection against cancer risks for a short-term (weeks to months but not longer than a year), similar to that provided by EPA's MCLs for radionuclides (which are calculated based on 70 years of exposure). The revised drinking water PAG is available for use upon publication of this document in the Federal Register, at www.regulations.gov, under ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0268.