Expert Planning

New York State Emergency Planning

The staff conducts
annual plant-wide drills.

The New York State emergency management staff provides annual training for off-site responders. The state serves as coordinator in the event of an emergency at any of the six nuclear power plants in New York. Using sophisticated computer programs, the state supports the counties in assessing the potential exposure of people in the area and determining the severity of the event. The New York State Radiological Emergency Preparedness Plan (REPP) is New York’s program for mitigating the possible consequences of a radiological emergency, especially one that might occur at a nuclear power plant.

The New York State Office of Emergency management (NYSEMO) works with Entergy to develop drill and exercise scenarios. Sate representatives coordinate, observe and evaluate the exercises. In the event of a major emergency at Indian Point, the state can also provide additional personnel and equipment to the four counties.

The state Radiological Emergency Program has three major objectives:

• To protect the public, especially those living or working within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone;
• To coordinate the actions taken by Entergy, state and federal agencies, local governments and other support groups into an effective response; and
• To allocate and assign resources in response to an emergency.

Four County Emergency Planning

Multiple instrument and backup systems
are used for alerts and shutdowns.

The 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) around the Indian Point nuclear plants encompasses parts of four New York counties – Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange. These four counties participate in emergency planning and drills as active members of the radiological response team. Every year, each county sends and emergency planning information booklet to all residents which describes actions that may be taken during an emergency. The maps in each booklet show the location of reception centers and evacuation routes. In the event of an emergency, each county executive (or designee) would be responsible for determining what, if any, people living in their county should take protective actions.

Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties have Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) staffed with personnel to assess the potential off-site effects of the incident. County EOCs dispatch field radiological monitoring teams that independently measure levels of radioactivity within the 10-mile EPZ. Personnel from the emergency planning organization in each county participate in a full-scale, federally evaluated exercise once every two years. This exercise is evaluated for FEMA for off-site responses, and by the NRC for Entergy’s on-site response. In alternate years, the counties participate in state-coordinated drills to maintain their preparedness and train new staff.

County plans call for the activation of their EOCs when Entergy declares an Alert of higher incident classification at Indian Point. All four counties have provisions to be notified by Entergy as soon as any emergency classification is made at the site. Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange County emergency managers and county executives can activate their EOCs at any time they determine it is necessary.

Each county has emergency plans that can be implemented in the event of an emergency at the plant. One or more of the following protective actions may be taken for residents within the 10-miles EPZ:

• Evacuation – KI-potassium iodide administration – Everyone in specific Emergency Response Planning Areas (EPRA) is instructed to leave the area and, if they have a KO-potassium iodide, to ingest one dose (130mg tablet). Children under one year should be given a 65mg dose or on half of the adult tablet.
• Sheltering – everyone in a specific Emergency Response Planning Areas should stay indoors.

Though the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved Indian Point's emergency plan, Entergy will continue working with federal officials, the four surrounding counties and New York State to enhance the plan and make it a model of emergency preparedness for the entire nation. We will not waiver from our responsibility to protect public health and safety.

Annual Emergency Procedure Drills

Under Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements and supervision, the staff conduct several plant-wide drills each year to test their response.

The drills frequently involve emergency planning officials and public safety agencies from the four surrounding counties and the state. They follow set procedures to monitor plant conditions and make recommendations to the public under drill scenarios. These drills are supervised by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Alerting the Public

In the event of an accident, the news media and public would be kept fully informed of developments, under procedures established by federal regulations. The dissemination of information is part of the drills.

A system of emergency sirens is set up in areas surrounding the plant. The sirens are tested regularly and warn the public in the event of an accident.