Are all NRC licensees required to have offsite emergency response plans?
Yes. All NRC licensees are required to provide reasonable assurance that adequate measures can and will be taken in the event of an emergency. For nuclear power plants, both onsite and offsite emergency response plans are required. This is because a severe accident at a nuclear power plant could reasonably be expected to impact individuals located some distance away from the power plant. For large fuel cycle and material facilities, only an onsite emergency response plan is required. No offsite response plan is needed since accidents at these facilities are not expected to impact individuals located much beyond the site boundary. (This arrangement is similar to that of other industrial facilities in which accidents are dealt with by offsite firefighters and police routinely without a formal offsite response plan.) For smaller licensees, no formal response plans are required since accidents would have no significant impact outside the facility. These licensees are required to have appro
