Indian Point siren test 100 percent successful; 10 days to iron out volume issues

Indian Point siren test 100 percent successful; 10 days to iron out volume issues
By GREG CLARYTHE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: August 15, 2007)
BUCHANAN -Indian Point scored 100 yesterday on its latest emergency notification test, with all 155 sirens sounding in the four counties within 10 miles of the nuclear plants.
Now company officials have 10 days to prove that the system is as loud as it is reliable.
"It's definitely a favorable trend," Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said of yesterday's and Saturday's test, which reached 96 percent success. "However, there are still other steps that must be completed."
Chief among those will be presenting field-test data to the Federal Emergency Management Agency that proves that individual sirens are sounding loudly enough so residents can hear them above whatever noise is in the background.
Proving that to federal officials' satisfaction could take each of the 10 days remaining until the Aug. 24 deadline to have the $15 million system operational.
"It's getting incrementally better and we've come a long way since April, but I'm still extremely concerned about whether the sirens are loud enough," said Rebecca Thomson, FEMA's top official on the project. "We're hearing a lot of anecdotal evidence that they aren't."
Thomson said a FEMA contractor was in the field yesterday, taking acoustic readings at a number of locations, as was done during Saturday's test.
"That is for verification purposes," Thomson said. FEMA officials were also stationed at the county emergency centers in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange counties, and at the plants.
Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns and operates Indian Point, is putting together documentation of sound levels, which company officials hope will satisfy federal regulators.
Michael Slobedien, Entergy's top emergency preparedness official for the region, said the company's studies indicate the sirens have the necessary reach and should be able to provide adequate data for FEMA to make a decision.
"I think it's going to be a push to get it done by the deadline," Slobedien said. "It's a race and we're sprinting to the end. It's clearly a very powerful and capable system and should be put in place to serve the public."
Entergy agreed in late 2005 to replace the alert system by the end of the January of this year. The company received a 75-day extension from the NRC, but was fined $130,000 when it missed the second deadline on April 15.
NRC officials have not said what sanction might follow a third missed deadline, but more fines would be in the mix.
There are no more tests scheduled at this point and the final approval will be handled much more quietly via letters involving FEMA, the NRC and Entergy. FEMA has the final say on the approval, acting as an arm of the NRC.
As someone intimately involved in the two-year marathon, Anthony Sutton, Westchester's commissioner of emergency services, is eagerly awaiting an end.
"The testing is supposed to be done, the stage is set now," Sutton said. "A lot of people think we're hoping (Entergy fails). The last thing I want to do is engage in more testing. We've got a lot of other things to do."
Reach Greg Clary at 914-696-8566 or gclary@lohud.com.


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Entergy's Frank Phillips, who was running the siren tests, told us how he had called up 50,000 people the night before. It seems that audible outdoor alerting is not the only prong on the Entergy alert machine. Automated mass dialing, with a preset message was already used by Mr. Phillips, and he implied other methods were also being brought into play. (Cell phones..Text Messaging.... Email.... RSS alerts). But hooray for a 100% functional siren system. Now let's get past all the fluff issues, and fix those lousy roads, and that decrepit TZ bridge. We expect to need the sirens once in 280,000 years. We expect to drive those roads TWICE A DAY.
Posted by: VP_VP on Wed Aug 15, 2007 12:43 pm

IAEA Says Japanese Nuclear Plant Safety Features Held Up in Quake The International Atomic Energy Agency plans to issue a report on the effect of a serious earthquake last month on the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, concluding that "safety procedures" had "performed as required," according to Reuters. IAEA issued a statement saying: "The team ... has concluded that plant safety features performed as required during the earthquake. Damage from the earthquake appears to be limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety." Systems and structures related to nuclear safety are designed to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and large fires. IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei was quoted as praising the Japanese for openness: "The mission's findings and the Japanese analyses of the event include important lessons learned - both positive and negative - that will be relevant to other nuclear plants worldwide."
Posted by: nuclear environmentalist on Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:19 am

I heard yesterday's test, and most of the previous ones. It appears the sirens were loud enough yesterday (but not necessarily for others). I have to note that the volume did vary, probably due to whatever wind may be present. (The wind was very slight for yesterday's test.) I could hear them with the windows closed but the varying volume may have at times lowered them to the point where they may not have been heard with the windows closed. I live a few feet beyond the 10 mile limit in Rockland County. (Nearest siren is #252 for the old system.) Cheers, John L
Posted by: lipwak on Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:06 am