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News Release
January 5, 2006
U. S. NRC Confirms Entergy's Plan for Siren System Upgrade, Acknowledges Aggressive Schedule for Installation
The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission today, Thursday January 5, 2006 has confirmed in a letter to Entergy Nuclear Northeast the company's plans and actions to enhance the Indian Point Energy Center's alert notification system. As detailed in a public meeting held near Indian Point last November, Entergy has committed to an aggressive schedule to comply with federal legislation passed in 2005 requiring installation of a back-up power capability for its emergency sirens.
The sirens are used to alert the public within 10 miles of Indian Point to turn on their radios or televisions for information about an emergency at Indian Point. Back-up power for sirens at nuclear power plants was not required before a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 required them for Indian Point. There are 156 sirens in the 10-mile emergency planning zone (EPZ).
Entergy met last year with emergency planning officials from the NRC, FEMA, N. Y. State, and the four counties in the EPZ (Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester), to seek their input on its plans to replace the current sirens.
Using the latest in available technology, Entergy will eliminate many of the operational challenges faced by the old system. New features include: battery back-up power supplies to avoid siren failure due to electricity grid disruptions; an all-electronic siren - eliminating mechanical parts that may fail (or provide false reports of failures) under extreme weather or other environmental conditions; and simultaneous 360-degree sound delivery - eliminating fluctuating sound quality heard from mechanical sirens that rotate.
"Today's letter is not the beginning of the siren replacement process, but rather a public confirmation that Entergy has committed to both meet and exceed expectations when it comes to public safety," stated Michael Slobodien, Entergy Nuclear Northeast Director of Emergency Programs. "The new sirens are part of the company's plans to move this region into the forefront of notification technology."
Entergy announced at the November public meeting an aggressive schedule for installing the new siren system by the end of 2006.
Contact:
Jim Steets
(914) 272-3545 - office
(914) 671-0457 - cell
jsteets@entergy.com
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