HD 1077

This bill enhances nuclear emergency preparedness in Massachusetts by incorporating lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster, primarily through expanding safety zones and improving monitoring capabilities around nuclear power plants. The legislation requires the Department of Public Health to install real-time radiation monitoring stations within a 20-mile radius of nuclear plants (with data publicly accessible online), stockpile and distribute thyroid-protecting agents for residents within a 50-mile radius (with direct distribution to those within 10 miles), and annually distribute emergency preparedness information to all households within 50 miles of a nuclear facility. These enhanced safety measures remain in effect until all fuel rods are removed from both the reactor and spent fuel pools at each nuclear power plant, ensuring continued protection even after a plant ceases operations but still contains radioactive material.