Environment

Are Residents Near Nuclear Plants Ready for Evacuations?

Are Residents Near Nuclear Plants Ready for Evacuations?

(AP) Retiree Bret Gross of San Clemente loves Southern California weather and the seashore. Yet he’s ready for a quick getaway, leaving his car’s tank at least half full of gasoline.

Is he worried about earthquakes? Yes. Wildfires? Sure. Floods? Yep.

And then there are those two San Onofre nuclear power reactors five miles down the road. Gross worries that the area cannot be quickly evacuated in a severe nuclear accident.

“Forget the amount of training and plans,” he said. “It’ll be ugly.”

Residents near 12 of 65 U.S. commercial nuclear power sites were interviewed following an Associated Press investigative series that reported population increases of up to 4½ times since 1980 within 10 miles of plant locations.

Those interviewed voiced a mixture of anxiety, confidence and resignation about the safety of reactors. Many doubted they can safely and quickly evacuate in a major accident. Despite the existence of formal evacuation plans, many said they didn’t even know where to go. They predicted confusion and panic on crowded roadways.

Some vowed to ignore instructions to take initial shelter at home — a strategy increasingly favored by disaster planners in the face of population expansions. Some residents said they have devised their own emergency plans, intending to ignore official directives.

By law, evacuations must be prepared for areas within about 10 miles of every nuclear plant, but many plans haven’t kept up with changing populations, according to the AP investigation.

Also, federal regulators don’t set standards for how quickly people must be capable of evacuating. Meanwhile, aging reactors have been operating at higher power, risking larger radioactive releases.

Planning for evacuations falls to local communities and states, all under supervision of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Even the best planning, however, is challenged by the extraordinary growth around many plants. Population more than doubled in evacuation zones of a dozen nuclear sites over three decades, according to AP’s analysis. The population within 10 miles of San Onofre ballooned by 283 percent to 98,631 since 1980.

Despite population growth, many residents insisted they are relatively comfortable living near nuclear plants. Many work at a plant or live with someone who does.

Yet even some strong nuclear advocates assumed evacuations would bog down.

Are Residents Near Nuclear Plants Ready for Evacuations?South of Miami, the population around the Turkey Point plant quadrupled to 155,118 over the past 30 years. Two miles away in Homestead, retired industrial engineer Clara Waterman Powell said nuclear power is “the way of the future.” She said she trusts plant workers, yet she can’t imagine an orderly evacuation. “If everybody got in the car and started driving, where would we go?” she asked.

In Fort Calhoun, Neb., about 5 miles from the nuclear plant with the same name, 86-year-old Feris Stevenson said he doesn’t worry much about its safety. To him, it’s “just another power plant.”

Regarding a possible accident, he added, “Why worry about something you can’t do anything about?” He thinks it would be hard to evacuate, especially with the Missouri River flooding areas around the plant. “We’ve got one major road getting out of here,” he said, referring to U.S. Highway 75.

Larry Jones and his wife, Jean, have lived in Blair about 3 miles from the Fort Calhoun plant for 30 years. “It’s always in the back of your mind,” she said.

The couple said they are unsettled by the memory of hearing long ago that the plant, which opened in 1973, was not designed to last until now. The AP investigation found that federal regulators have been relaxing safety standards to keep aging reactors within the rules and therefore extend their lives.

Serious weaknesses also were found in evacuation plans, including the failure to test different scenarios involving the weather or the time of day. And evacuation zones have remained frozen at 10 miles since they were established in 1978, before the accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan.

Some watchdogs say evacuation standards also are kept lax to keep plants running, as nearby populations swell.

At the two-unit Calvert Cliffs site, population within 10 miles has ballooned by 224 percent since 1980, to 48,843.

Darlene Cocco-Adams, an attorney who lives in Lusby, Md., 9 miles from the site, predicted havoc in a nuclear emergency. She said there’s just one main road leading out of town, and it sometimes backs up “like New York traffic.”

“You couldn’t get out of here fast enough,” she said.

Many residents living near plants said they regularly receive emergency instructions, usually from the plant operator. Some post them on refrigerators or carefully file them. Others simply toss the document, or stuff it into a drawer and forget about it.

“I just throw it away because we’re goners anyway” in a severe accident, said Debra Dominski, 52, who has lived in London, Ark., 2 miles from the twin reactors of Arkansas One in Russellville, for the past 20 years.

Steven Kerekes, a spokesman for the industry’s Nuclear Energy Institute, said “evacuations can work well,” with traffic rerouted in a single direction during an emergency.

He said a June survey conducted for NEI found that 81 percent of 1,152 adults living within 10 miles of a nuclear facility said they know what to do in an emergency, with 45 percent “very well informed.”

Glenn Cannon, director of emergency management for Pennsylvania, said evacuation is possible. “How quick it is depends on the population you’re trying to move and what those road resources are,” he said. The state is home to nine operating reactors on five sites, including one unit at the Three Mile Island facility, where the nation’s worst nuclear accident occurred in 1979.

Gwen Keenan, bureau chief for preparedness at Florida’s emergency agency, acknowledged that evacuations could be complicated by people who flee even though they are told to stay put.

“The roads have the capacity. We have the capacity to get out the word,” she said of Florida. “I think the biggest wild card is the behavioral aspect: Will people listen?”

The U.S. nuclear industry‘s most explosive growth has occurred on the Florida’s east coast, around the two-reactor Saint Lucie complex near Fort Pierce, where the 10-mile population of 43,332 in 1980 grew 366 percent to 202,010 in 2010.

Retired clock maker Phil Hollis, of Jensen Beach, Fla., lives 6 miles from St. Lucie and says he feels little worry.

He thinks he received — but didn’t read — emergency instructions mailed by the plant operator.

He’s uncertain what route to take in an emergency. “I’d just head west” away from the ocean, he guessed.

Many residents were at a loss to explain why they pay so little attention to planning for a nuclear emergency, including some who should perhaps know better.

Barb Tummel, 48, of Monticello, Minn., drives a school bus and lives within 2 miles of the Monticello plant, where the 10-mile population rose 314 percent to 58,538 over the past three decades.

Her parents both retired from the plant, and she trusts in its safety. As a driver, she said she knows the city plan for evacuating children from schools in a nuclear accident.

But she wasn‘t sure how she’d handle an accident when school isn’t in session. “I think in the calendar they give out every year, I‘m sure there’s a page on evacuations. I don’t necessarily read all those pages.”

And she admitted she has no family plan: “I don’t. I should, though.”

At Crystal River on Florida’s west coast, the population has more than doubled since 1980. Nancy Little Lewis, 53, a real estate broker and advocate of nuclear power, has lived 12 miles away for 17 years and believes it is quite safe.

However, she says there should be some standard for how long evacuation can take and can’t imagine following official instructions to stay at home in a major nuclear accident. “I wouldn’t do that. We’re not talking about a hurricane. We’re talking about something much worse,” she said.

Others asked, what would be the point of a standard for evacuation times?

“It wouldn’t work anyway,” said Judith Freed, a psychotherapist in Guilford, Vt., who has lived 7 miles from the Vermont Yankee plant for 40 years. She said country roads in that area could not handle an evacuation.

Many residents said they had come up with their own evacuation strategies. Lynn Baldwin, 42, of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., and her husband live within 3 miles of the two-unit Sequoyah plant.

She said their family plan is based on typical wind patterns. If it’s blowing one way, they meet in Dayton; the other way, at her husband’s job in town. “He said, ‘Go this way if it’s blowing that way’” she explained, laughing.

___

Donn reported from Boston. Associated Press writers Raquel Maria Dillon in Los Angeles; Matt Sedensky in Miami; Josh Funk in Fort Calhoun, Neb.; Jeannie Nuss in London, Ark.; Amy Forliti in Monticello, Minn.; Bill Kaczor in Tallahassee, Fla.; Eric Tucker in Washington; and Bill Poovey in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., contributed to this report.

___

The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org

Comments (38)

1 2
  • AmericanWomanFirst
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 10:59am

    Wondering hows it going down in Fort Calhoun these days…she has been awfully quiet.

    Report Post » AmericanWomanFirst  
  • boca_chica
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 10:34am

    The reason their extending the life of these old plants is because some morons(enviro’s, and possibly oil&coal factions) didn’t want to build new plants(dont need power if designed with natural ciculation-like the original 1950′s Nautiluss sub design). As for meltdown-the metal gets hot enough to melt-like a steel mill making raw steel-it puddels in the bottem of the building-it doesn’t go anywhere, but is a B**** to clean up. Stop watching stupid disaster movies and try more Mythbusters. Utilities build on cost more than longevity. Get some designs that meet both and just build those to spec( like France did).

    Report Post »  
  • Bolo2811
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 8:46am

    There’s NOTHING progressive about being PREPARED. It’s not “anti-nuke” to be aware of the risks involved. That’s true of EVERYTHING. I keep two bottles of potassium iodide and several NBC rated gas masks in stock with spare filters AT ALL TIMES. That’s just being logical.

    Report Post »  
  • BobEd
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 2:20am

    Quote from article:

    ““I just throw it away because we’re goners anyway” in a severe accident, said Debra Dominski, 52, who has lived in London, Ark., 2 miles from the twin reactors of Arkansas One in Russellville, for the past 20 years.”

    What a BS statement. This lady lives right next to Interstate 40, in a tiny town that if every person there clogged the Interstate at the same time would create less traffic than one would find in Dallas at 2 AM. At two miles from the plant the most severe accident possible would cause her no immediate problem, and evacuating would be the prudent thing to do…but she throws away the evacuation information? What a dingbat.

    Her statement is ridiculous, the only thing that would keep her from evacuating would be her stupidity.

    Report Post »  
  • Tanker_Vet
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 2:19am

    The only reason people are worried about this is because of the Fukushima plant in japan. We dont even use that type of plant, the reason for the explosion was because they couldnt vent the hydrogen, which our plants can; And because they run the water that powers the turbines through the reactor, which we also dont, we heat up the water for the turbines using an sealed isolated system with its own coolant. Plus the concrete walls of the reactor are required by federal law to be able to take a hit by a 747. Im not saying nothing CAN happen, but im not breaking out the hazard suit and tinfoil cap out either.

    Report Post » Tanker_Vet  
  • Billsocal
    Posted on July 3, 2011 at 12:16am

    There is a lot more going with this event. You have videos and blog all over the internet saying that warning people that the Army is going to blow up Galvins Point Dam in South Dakota which will have a ripple effect on the other dams on the Missouri River.
    Then you have FEMA, the Army Corp of Eingineers, the Spooky Dude George Soros buying up flooded farmland. Why. How many of you are aware is the third largest owner of grain storage silos in the US. Spooky and interesting isn’t.
    Then you have Comrade Obama establishing the Rural Council. . There was a callier to CoasttoCoastAM who lives around Ft Brag, NC saying that his neighbor a retired Amy SSG was packing up and leaving the area and going west of the Mississippi. The caller said his neighbor told him to get out of the area and head west of the Mississippi.. But he wouldn’t tell the caller why. It is like the retired SSG was protecting the person who told him. Also on a video on you tube a group that caller works with haven’t heard from his since he called CoastCoastAM.. If those two nuclear were to blow up they would make the East Coast unlivable.

    Report Post »  
  • mike119
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 10:51pm

    Oyster Creek in New Jersey, operating license issued April 1969. and still humming with no problem…you have a better chance of beeing hit by lightnig….so lets all move underground. chickenshits liberal spook story. thay hate anything that is not solar or wind…why is it on the blaze? if its just to sneek a few lib storys in now and then. i will just be checking in every now and then.

    Report Post »  
  • brknhrt
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:18pm

    Every year the nuke plant down the street sends out a mailing with a primitive map for evacuation telling us how to find the Interstate highway. Of course you would have to drive RIGHT BY the leaking plant to get to the highway, but at least we know where the highway is. (As if we didn’t know before!)

    Report Post » brknhrt  
  • BobEd
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:18pm

    I live about eight miles from the nuclear plant I was an NRC Senior Operator and an instructor at for 30 years before retiring.. No problem if I ever had to evacuate. Very, very low on my list of things to worry about.

    Please tell me Beck has nothing to do with this website.

    Report Post »  
  • TheodoreRoosevelt
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:54pm

    http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/30/rip_glenn_beck_show/index.html

    seriously you all should read this, I know you think you know everything because Glenn told you, but like he says, “do your own research” Salon is no left wing site. You will just call me stupid or a echo chamber blah blah blah, it will take you three minutes, read it.

    Report Post »  
    • watchmany2k
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:03pm

      @TheodoreRoosevelt
      I read it, about the only thing he did not dismiss was that GB-TV is where Beck is GOing.
      It’s all the standard uber leftist tripe of racist, hate, name calling since the right existed.
      If you think solon is no left wing site, well I’d have to say the overton window has definitely moved you over to the left with time, because that is far left from center and you don’t even see it.

      The writer even managed to get in the “fox watcher are just old people” dig at the end LOL
      Try as they may, the conservatives continue to ournumber the left, and will prove that again in 2012
      WHILE supporting an exciting new internet multi media content site, that will make the net-rags look like old lame school newspapers, AND we will save on huge ever rising cable fees by canceling services that are not responsive to customer demands. Buh-Bye lame stream media……

      Report Post » watchmany2k  
  • Seede
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:52pm

    How in the world are you going to out guess a meltdown etc? — In the first place it all depends which way the wind blows as well as the distance and even then there is no certainty. — the Japanese fallout was recorded here in the US and even then you never know if your getting the truth from anyone. — I would bet my bottom dollar that if the truth was known it would create a panic that you would never dream could happen. — I do not trust this or any other govt. to tell the truth. The Missouri river is a typical example of how the govt. lies and covers up. — The core of army engineers screwed up the Missouri river for over 200 miles and caused all of the Nebraska flooding that we see today. — Of course most of them are either dead or retired and what can you prove now? — Same way with the Japanese nuclear plant. — They have told so many different stories you really don’t even know the truth of the matter. —

    Report Post »  
  • Seede
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:36pm

    This site is out of sync. — Replies are not put in order and half the time and are placed as comment — what a mess –

    Report Post »  
  • Zeb
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:23pm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Characteristics_of_nuclear_EMP

    (a good general read)

    Remember most nuclear facilities require power to do a controlled shutdown. No power no control No cooling, FIRE IN THE HOLE Just food for thought.

    Report Post » Zeb  
  • boca_chica
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:03pm

    Why is this article even here?How many died at the Fukashima plant?After a big earthquake AND a tsunami. 3 mile was stupid people doing stupid things and not paying attention to their equipment. Chernobyl was a 70 year old design(very cheap to build) and an accident waiting to happen-and still had very few people lost, we loose more on a holiday weekend. I’d rather live next to a reactor than an airport. Nobody mentions that populations have gone up around them too and a crash gives NO warning at all.

    Report Post »  
  • Zeb
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:03pm

    to be on topic
    think EMP THEN RECONSIDER ANSWER
    it may be time to get a crank on the old lap top!!

    Report Post » Zeb  
  • TomFerrari
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:45pm

    Major software and/or hardware changes are almost always implemented on holiday weekends.
    This is true at pretty much any company, unless they are a holiday-centric company like FTD or something.
    Holidays are when the fewest employees need the systems, as they are on vacay.
    Likewise, customer usage is at its lowest ON holidays, except as noted above.

    Major changes are usually timed to have the least impace in the event there are issues. This also means allowing enough time to reverse changes in the event they are unsuccessful.

    theblaze.com is clearly making some changes this week.

    It WOULD have been nice if they had told us in advance.

    Otherwise, it is just simple growing pains.
    Remember, this is not a pay site, so they don’t owe us as much consideration as a pay site would.
    (How would you feel if you PAID for the site and had problems?)

    Hang in there, gang!

    Better times are a comin’ ! ! !

    Report Post » TomFerrari  
  • texascav
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:43pm

    I live near a nuclear reactor and yes we have evacuation plans in place. As to how well the citizens would do in a real disaster is another question. And no it doesn’t bother me at all having a reactor in my area.

    Report Post » texascav  
  • 37381837
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:39pm

    For those who do not want to prepare – just fewer people who will want mine. Rule of thumb.

    Report Post »  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:33pm

    By the time he figures out its time to run, it will be too late.

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:18pm

    @Aaron in Polk:

    No idea what is going on with the Blaze other than it seems they are upgrading their systems or such, this has happened once before about a year or so back.

    In the case of this nuclear reactor evacuation plans, there is two simple parts of the plan that will almost always throw them onto the junk pile – People reacting unexpectedly (majority), and the scope of panic involved with the media hyping everything out of control every minute they can.

    Look to hurricane Katrina for a good example of what MAY happen…or the evacuation of a city that was not threatened by a hurricane that suddenly turns unexpectedly and gives only a few hours of notice for tens of thousands to get out.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Rayblue
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:16pm

    Everybody at the blaze is gone on vacation I think. We’re on our own. Autopilot is not good for replies.
    To the subject at hand; Watch the new “War of the Worlds” if you want to know what an “evacuation” will look like.
    After working the hwys during Katrina, Ike and Rita, I can tell you, it was eerily similar to the movie refugee evacuations. The asphalt was BURNED from the cars slowly moving. The people were desperate and no amount of preparedness would have helped most. The city and state plans were to trap cars on the highways to direct you to wherever THEY wanted you to go. Rita and Ike evacuees were lucky in that they had more time. Something sudden like a meltdown is another story.

    Report Post » Rayblue  
  • 101
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:06pm

    Be prepared…what part do you not understand.

    Report Post »  
  • Dustyluv
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:58pm

    AARON..go stick your head in a reactor. Maybe you will fry that stupid brain you have.

    Report Post »  
    • Aaron in Polk County
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:07pm

      Thank you dustyluv… that is the kind of response I expected. Not all this “Aaron is right” Bull Sh*tz. Thanks for keep my faith in the average Blazer alive.

      The rest of you have a great 4th of July weekend!

      Report Post » Aaron in Polk County  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:48pm

    Where is everybody?

    Are we boycotting the BLAZE? Just let me know.

    Report Post »  
    • mils
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 10:38pm

      boycotting the blaze, it’s gone crazy with reply button and

      i believe soros is manning the desk

      also….if there is a nuclear accident, it will hopefully happen to the cockroaches in the NE

      Report Post »  
    • MidWestMom
      Posted on July 4, 2011 at 12:09pm

      A nuclear emergency is basically no different than a natural disaster. It’s prudent to be prepared & not rely on immediate assistance or instruction. Think of it this way, if your house is on fire you don’t wait for someone else to tell you what to do.

      Have a bug-out kit (a lot of this is also handy if you’re housebound by blizzard etc)

      Car keys, wallet/purse in the same place everyday
      Important papers (birth certificates, banking etc) & phone numbers in an easy-grab container
      Presciption medication in a central location – easy grab
      List of allergies or adverse drug reactions
      Bottled water, sport drinks Water purification tablets & a couple empty jugs are also useful.
      Food (granola bars, dried fruit, canned food/can opener etc)
      Basic supplies – matches, candles, extra clothing & footwear, current map, flashlight, portable radio, batteries, extra blankets, toilet paper, feminine products, snap-n-use ice/heat packs, pocket knife etc
      First aid kit: bandaids, bandages gauze pads medical tape, first aid cream, OTC pain relievers, burn cream, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, scissors etc
      Pet Food & Supplies
      Gas tank 1/2 full & a full extra gas can – car cell-phone charger, small shovel, folding tree saw, jumper cables
      Sounds like a lot – but easily kept in a rubbermaid container or two & some should always be in your vehicle

      Add or subtract for your needs & area

      Have a plan – what to take, where to meet etc. Practicing the plan is key.
      Preparation = Less P

      Report Post »  
  • Aaron in Polk County
    Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:36pm

    Is The Blaze ready to stop speculating and post some real news stories?

    Glenn is on vacation for 24 hours and The Blaze goes to Hell!?!

    Report Post » Aaron in Polk County  
    • kickagrandma
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:44pm

      @aaron in polk county ~~~ Just testing the “reply” button, but also agree with you! WHAT is going on with “THE BLAZE”?

      Report Post »  
    • oldasdirt
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:46pm

      I am starting to think that woman Glen hired from the Huffo post is turning the Blaze into a progresive site.Someone should alert Glen.

      Report Post » oldasdirt  
    • STAR SPANGLED SPAMMER
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:02pm

      Amen to that! What kinda horse crap news is this turning into? What’s the next story? Are people ready to get wet if stuck in the rain?

      (“trust nobody”)….Power to the People!!!!

      Report Post » STAR SPANGLED SPAMMER  
    • Old Truckers
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:17pm

      Move fast from the direction that the wind is blowing.
      If the Nuke Plant is to the west of your home and the prevailing win is blowing east, Get out fast!

      Report Post » Old Truckers  
    • watchmany2k
      Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:38pm

      LOL, folks give it a rest, it’s the 4th of July weekend, the newest guy/gal get’s to man the desk, while everyone else is off resting up for the next wave. Some with the regular commentors, some of them unlike me have lives LOL

      There IS a Danger from Nuke plant accidents, the deaths will occur over TIME as cancers appear.
      It all depends on how close, how long, and how strong of a radiation exposure one gets.
      A hazmat suit, a nuke filter mask, and a motorcycle would be the best bet for those living near a plant. FIRST sign of trouble, it’s butts & elbows outta there.

      I have been tracking Japan as well as correspondance with a real physicist at my site look for the radiation article: http://www.watchman2012.com

      In this article, the population growth is directly attributable to the power plants, no electricity and no growth. The crime between the lines of the article is that no NEW nukes are being built to replace the aging ones, THAT is setting us up for accidents. “green” power is a myth, on a large scale,

      The country could solve FUSION of we had any sort of a LEADER and a program like the man on the moon project. The reason why we don’t is greenies, and power hungry spineless politicians period.
      It’s all about agenda and nothing about reality. They want your wallets and your freedom.
      everything else is window dressing.

      Happy Independence Day !
      2012 can’t come soon enough !

      Report Post » watchmany2k  
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