Local Evacuation Routes OK for Indian Point Attack, Conn. OEM Says
By Paul Ziobro
WASHINGTON – Fairfield County residents should depend on local evacuation plans developed for hurricanes and floods if radiation released from the Indian Point nuclear plant contaminated the area, John Wiltse, director of the state Office of Emergency Management (OEM), said Thursday.
Wiltse said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines require state emergency management offices to provide detailed evacuation plans within a 10-mile radius of the nation’s103 nuclear reactors.
The closest Connecticut’s borders come to the Buchanan, N.Y., site is 22 miles, Wiltse said. The state OEM does not have emergency plans set up specifically for Indian Point even though congressional hearings on Tuesday found that radiation releases could spread as far as 50 miles in the event of an attack on the plant.
“The federal government hasn’t made a definitive statement that more-detailed plans are required beyond a 10-mile zone,” Wiltse said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established the 10-mile radius based on worst-case scenario studies in the event of complete incineration of a nuclear plant’s core and the resulting release of radioactive materials, Wiltse said. The 10-mile emergency planning zone must maintain warning sirens and regularly conduct evacuation exercises monitored by the NRC and FEMA.
Beyond the 10-mile radius, the Connecticut OEM would protect state residents from the effects of radiation, Wiltse said, by monitoring radiation levels, protecting food systems, informing the public and guiding local officials.
Wiltse said local evacuation plans already in place for other disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, should be used if residents living beyond the 10-mile radius spontaneously decide to evacuate after an attack on Indian Point.
A Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll conducted last March found that 60 percent of residents within a 10-50 mile radius of Indian Point would attempt to evacuate if the plant were attacked.
Wiltse said that because the world has changed drastically since Sept. 11, 2001, with threats of terrorism becoming common, the 10-mile radius may need to be scrutinized more closely. However, he added, FEMA must consider the limited resources with which emergency management offices work.
“We need to take a look at this logically and rationally, see we have limited resources and then figure out where we need to put them,” Wiltse said. “Until then, all residents should be concerned about the world we live in and take basic local precautions.”
FEMA is currently determining whether Indian Point’s emergency preparedness plans adequately protect the estimated 20 million residents living within a 50-mile radius of the plant. Once FEMA issues its decision on the plans, the NRC must decide whether to keep Indian Point open.
Hubert Miller, the NRC’s regional administrator, said Tuesday at a hearing by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management that the NRC has always relied on FEMA certification before deciding whether to grant a license to a nuclear plant.
The New York state-sponsored Witt report, released last month, found that Indian Point’s emergency preparedness plans were inadequate to protect the public. James Lee Witt Associates, headed by a former FEMA director, conducted the report.
In light of the Witt report, several members of Congress, including Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4), have called for a shutdown of the plant. In a letter last month, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, asked Gov. George Pataki, R-N.Y., to temporarily close Indian Point until safety issues were addressed.
Connecticut Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman sent letters Thursday to the chairmen of the NRC and FEMA, asking the agencies to take immediate action on safety deficiencies at Indian Point. The letters cite several examples of unresolved safety problems and ask the agencies to solve them quickly to avoid jeopardizing the integrity of the emergency planning and certification process.
“The safety of Connecticut and New York residents should be of paramount importance, and there appears to be unanimous agreement that the existing emergency preparedness plan for Indian Point falls short,” the letters said.
Indian Point, owned by Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc., has two pressurized water reactors, which were built in 1974 and 1976. Their operating licenses expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively, according to the Entergy Web site.
Published in The Hour, in Connecticut.
