epr-method (2003) - IAEA Publications - International Atomic Energy ...

A10 - TAKING AGRICULTURAL COUNTERMEASURES, COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST
INGESTION AND LONGER TERM PROTECTIVE ACTION
Threat category
Responsibility
Elements I II III IV V O L N
forestry. Co-ordinate monitoring and analysis for all affected areas from a single RMAC (see Appendix
14) and integrate into a single assessment.
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Arrange to provide instructions promptly to members of the public, government agencies, farmers and
food production and distribution activities to take action to protect food (e.g. take animals off pasture),
water supplies and cisterns; prevent immediate consumption of contaminated food (e.g. local milk or
home grown garden vegetables); and protect the food and agricultural product system (e.g. prevent
introduction of potentially contaminated food into the food processing/distribution system by restricting
harvesting and marketing until monitoring has been implemented). Initiate actions upon declaration of a
general emergency consistent with Appendix 6.
Provide guidance, in advance, to farmers and the food and agricultural product industry on the actions to
be taken during an emergency consistent with Ref. [30] that considers the laws, population
characteristics, food distribution systems, farming practices and crops, and effectiveness of agriculture
countermeasures. This should be as part of the information programme addressed by Element A5.1.
Arrange to monitor and control the import food and products, and develop default OILs consistent with
Table A1-III and to enforce agricultural countermeasures locally and at international borders.
Arrange to sample of the population to validate intake pathway, diet and uptake assumptions and to revise
protective actions as appropriate. Care must be taken to ensure this programme does more good than
harm by not unduly inflating risk perceived by the public.
Outline a long- term plan for agricultural use of a contaminated area. This outline should include
provision for detailed studies of the relationship of contamination, climate, soil type and agricultural
practices to agriculture product contamination levels; and for gathering detailed climatic, agrochemical
and radiological information using airborne-gamma-spectrometric and remote sensing land survey
information. Include provisions for testing various agricultural practices, including non-traditional
agricultural uses for the land and economic assistance and training in the production of more suitable
agricultural products.