One of the responsibilities of the University Hygienic Laboratory is to provide field monitoring and technical consultation to the Emergency Management Division of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Department of Public Health in the event of an accident at one of the four nuclear power plants in or near Iowa.

• the Duane Arnold Energy Center at Palo, just northwest of Cedar Rapids
• Quad Cities Nuclear Station located on the Mississippi River in Illinois
• Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station located on the Missouri River in Nebraska
• Cooper Nuclear Station, on the Missouri River but within the 50-mile emergency-planning zone affecting five counties in the southwest corner of Iowa.

The chance of accidents at any of these facilities is remote. The designs of nuclear power plants in the United States are very safe, redundant safety systems are built in, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates the plants, and personnel are carefully trained and regularly retrained.

Emergency response procedures at the plants are much improved over those in place at the time of the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania and should prevent such an accident again. Nonetheless, accidents are still possible even if unlikely. Federal regulations require that state and local governments be prepared to deal with such accidents. This response in Iowa is overseen by the Emergency Management Division and is regularly practiced at each of the facilities in or near Iowa.

The responsibility of the University Hygienic Laboratory in this program is two-fold. First, University Hygienic Laboratory maintains a radiochemical facility that is trained and ready at all times to provide laboratory measurements of field samples to evaluate whether materials have been released from a nuclear power plant in the event of an accident (or indeed during routine operation, for monitoring around Duane Arnold Energy Center). Some of these capabilities include screening for low natural radioactivity gross alpha and gross beta measurements and monitoring the trace levels of natural radioisotopes such as radium or radon in public drinking water. Gamma spectroscopy is also maintained to support the radiation emergency response program and other routine screening.

Second, University Hygienic Laboratory provides trained scientific personnel for three Radiological Emergency Response Field Teams and a Coordination Team to respond in the event of a release or potential release of radioactive material from a nuclear power plant. Iowa State University in Ames provides a fourth team that works with the University Hygienic Laboratory Coordination Team.

The field teams are trained and prepared to provide around-the-clock measurements using several types of hand-held meters and air sampling equipment in order to identify whether a release is occurring and if so where the area of impact is and what radioisotopes may be involved. The coordination team generates computer-modeled projections of the plume "footprint", guides the field teams to appropriate sampling locations and receives field data through constant radio communication, relaying this data to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Iowa Department of Public Health personnel use this information and plant condition information to calculate assessments and determine protective action recommendations for the public. University Hygienic Laboratory also provides back-up dose assessment for Iowa Department of Public Health to ensure this capability is functional during an accident.

Collaboration of various state, county, and local organizations including, Emergency Management Division, Iowa Department of Public Health, University Hygienic Laboratory, the electric utilities, county emergency management, and local law enforcement practice their roles in exercises conducted at each power plant at least every other year. On the average, University Hygienic Laboratory personnel participate in drills about twice each year. This constant practice assures the agencies respond to emergencies in an efficient manner.

While the initial, plume-phase response involves mostly the above agencies, other state agencies such as the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Iowa State University Extension Service become involved in long term response to prevent public exposure to and ingestion of radioactive contaminants.