Potassium Iodide Pill Working Group Teleconference – Discuss Comments on Draft Phase I Report

Agenda

1. Opening remarks
2. Draft Report Comments
   1. Overall
   2. Introduction
   3. Definition
   4. KI Background
   5. Roles and Responsibilities
   6. Existing Arrangements
   7. Public Information
   8. Concept of Operations
   9. Topics to be covered in Phase II
3. Other items of discussion
4. Next steps for the report

Date

February 13, 2020

Time

1:00-2:30 pm

Duration

1.5 hour

1. Opening remarks

CNSC thanked Working Group members for providing comments and feedback on the draft Phase I report. CNSC reiterated that the purpose of this teleconference was to discuss some of the comments that were received, and to seek clarification on items raised by some of the Working Group members.

CNSC indicated that they will be revising the draft Phase I report to address comments received from Working Group members. Upon completion, a comment disposition table will be shared with Working Group members.

2. Draft Report Comments

CNSC went through the different sections of the draft Phase I report at a high level and provided a summary of some of the comments received from Working Group members.

Below is a summary of some of the changes that will occur as a result of the comments:

• Overall
  Any comments relating to grammar or editing were accepted and will be incorporated in the report.
• Introduction
  Currently there is a reference to the TOR in the Appendix, however some members indicated that it was beneficial to also include the mandate for Phase I in the body of the report. As such, the mandate for Phase I as described in the TOR will be added to the Introduction section.
• Definitions
  Vulnerable Population: Members indicated that this definition requires more context to ensure that it is referring to the vulnerable population as it relates to the ingestion of KI pills. The definition will be revised to add more context.
  Pre-staging vs. pre-distribution: There was confusion between these two terms and how/when they are used. It was confirmed that as per the current definition pre-distribution is done before an event and pre-staging is during an event response. Members indicated that using “pre-“ to describe something during an event response was confusing. CNSC agreed and will look into changing ‘pre-staging’ to ‘staging’ for the purpose of this report.
• KI Background
  The report indicated that the maximum protection of KI pills for radioiodine exposure is 48 hours. This may imply that KI pills can be taken 2-days in advance which contradicts the Ministry of Health (MOH) guidelines of 2 – 6 hours. This section will be revised to align with MOH guidelines.
• Roles and Responsibilities
  Health Canada and Simcoe County will be added to Table 3.
  More details will be added for the roles and responsibilities of OPG and the Province to reduce ambiguity.
• Existing arrangements – Documentation and Responsible Authorities
  Non-designated municipalities do not have a specific plan for radiological hazards but have an all-hazards emergency response plan. Text will be revised to ensure this is acknowledged, as well mentioning the Hazard Identification Risk Assessment.
  The Radiation Health Response Plan (RHRP) identifies pertinent roles and responsibilities related to KI in that would be beneficial in this section. These details of the RHRP are currently described in the Appendix, but the report may be revised to include more information in the body of the report.
• Public Information
  This section will be revised to differentiate expiration dates of KI pills (e.g. KI pills distributed to first responders have an expiration year of 2029, whereas the ones to the public are 2027).
  It was noted that non-designated municipalities require more support in public awareness and education going forward. This is something that will be considered in Phase II.
• Concept of Operations
  Overall: This section will be revised to add clarity that the concept of operations was not developed at the workshop, rather it was confirmed at the workshop.
  Staging of KI: The roles of responsibilities of municipalities with respect to logistical requirements and arrangements in place needs to be clearer. It was noted that some arrangements can be captured in the Phase I report; however, some may need to be defined and/or expanded for Phase II.
  Emergency distribution: The report indicates that emergency distribution will be led by the municipality; however, the PNERP indicates it will be the province. This section will be revised to better reflect the PNERP. This will also be further discussed in Phase II.
• Topics to be covered in Phase II
  Comments were raised by Working Group members that were out of scope for Phase I (e.g. communications for administering KI, mechanism for distributing KI out, the feasibility of the stockpile being distributed). The “Next Steps” section will be revised to incorporate outputs of the Phase I Workshop and comments received on the draft report that will be further discussed/considered in Phase II.

3. Other items of discussion

• Provincial Public Education Committee
  York Region inquired about their participation/representation in this committee. Currently there are no meetings scheduled for this committee; however, OFMEM will look into providing further information to the Working Group on the next meeting and potential participates.
• Preparetobesafe.ca updates
  OPG committed to providing Working Group members with a summary of the KI pill orders from preparetobesafe.ca. CNSC will look to add some of the graphics provided by Durham Region to support the information provided by OPG in Appendix C of the draft Phase I report.

4. Next steps for the report

CNSC indicated that all comments will be shared with all Working Group members via SharePoint.

CNSC indicated that they will be revising the draft Phase I report to address the comments received, and committed to providing Working Group members with a comment disposition table. Members will have the opportunity to provide feedback as to whether their comments were effectively addressed. Members will also have another opportunity to review the revised report in its entirety.

CNSC will begin the translation process in advance to ensure that the French version is available during the public comment period, bearing in mind that there may be revisions required while members review the revised report.

CNSC sought feedback from Working Group members on whether there was interest to host a 2-day Workshop to disposition comments received from the public following the public review period. No members expressed objections to a 2-day workshop.