(a) The department shall provide technical support for plume emergency phase response. During the ingestion pathway and recovery phases, the department shall have the lead technical role and shall participate in a joint state and local government protective action decisionmaking process. The department shall prepare the ingestion pathway and recovery plan, and shall provide guidelines for local government ingestion pathway and recovery plans.
(b) The department shall maintain plans for communicating public health information during the ingestion pathway and recovery phases. The department shall also maintain a radiological advisory team, and shall maintain a list of medical facilities capable of caring for radiological casualties.
(c) The department shall perform all of the following duties and functions:
(1) Act as the responsible entity for ensuring that ingestion pathway and recovery plans are maintained and ready to be implemented, including necessary training and exercises, in coordination with affected counties and the office.
(2) Establish protective action guidelines for ingestion pathway and recovery operations with reference to the recommendations of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
(3) Coordinate development and maintenance by counties of, and review any information database of food, water, and animal resources for, the 50-mile ingestion pathway zone around the San Onofre and Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplants.
(4) Establish measurement standards and procedures to assess radioactivity in exposure pathways, including, but not limited to, food, water, and animals, which are compatible with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s standards and procedures.
(5) Support local government nuclear emergency planning, training, exercises, and response in coordination with the office.
(6) Maintain plans for coordinating the dissemination of public health information during the recovery phase of a nuclear powerplant emergency.
(7) Define and maintain a radiological advisory team, which shall not make decisions within the jurisdiction of emergency planning and response organizations. The guidelines for the team shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following requirements:
(A) The team shall include individuals with expertise in medicine, radiation biology, radiation casualty management, emergency preparedness and disaster response, public health, and government responsibilities.
(B) The team shall be available to advise the department on its nuclear powerplant emergency planning and response.
(C) The team may provide advice and counsel regarding radiation protection safety issues.
(8) Maintain guidelines for the designation for medical facilities that would be capable of managing and caring for casualties caused by a nuclear radiation accident.
(9) Develop and maintain a list of medical facilities that meet the statewide guidelines.
(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 543, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1999.)