WESTCHESTER COUNTY 2008-2009 EMERGENCY PLANNING FOR THE INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR PLANTS In the event of an Important information for emergency at the Indian Point nuclear residents and businesses in: power plant, this City of Peekskill booklet will help you and your Verplanck family stay safe. Montrose Village of Buchanan Town of Cortlandt Village of Croton-on-Hudson Town and Village of Ossining Village of Briarcliff Manor Follow Tthisown booklet’s of New simple Castle, six-step w processest of Harto preparedscrabble you Rd and your family for an emergency at Indian Point. Use the large map under the flap of theTown inside of back Yorktown cover of this booklet. The Town of Somers, west of Rte. 118 and Wood St. Read and keep this IMPORTANT booklet handy. CONTENTS How will I know if there’s an emergency at Indian Point? . 1 What is the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ)? . 2 How will I know if my area is affected during an emergency at Indian Point?. 3 What is a protective action and what should I do if my community is directed to take protective action? . 4 What happens if there is an emergency and my children are in school? . 6 How can KI-potassium iodide protect me and my family, and how do I obtain it? . 8 Incidents Levels . 10 What other important emergency planning information do I need to know? . 11 Questions and answers . 12 Internet resources for emergency planning . 14 Evacuation supplies checklist . 15 Emergency Plan Summary. 16 Emergency Planning Map . Inside back cover Step-by-Step Emergency Planning A Guide for You and Your Family As you read this booklet, you’ll be asked to write in your family’s Indian Point is a nuclear power energy generation facility, located in own emergency information. Buchanan, New York. It is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear. At the end of this step-by-step process, you will have gathered The plant is on the east bank of the Hudson River in Westchester together important information County, close to portions of Rockland, Putnam and Orange Counties. that will keep you and your family safe in an emergency. Emergency planners in Westchester are well-trained and equipped to protect the public in the event of an emergency. For Indian Point, they have developed a comprehensive emergency plan, in cooperation with emergency planners from the other three counties, 1 New York State and Entergy Nuclear. The Plan includes information and procedures for protecting the public in a wide range of possible nuclear emergencies. 2 Part of the emergency plan includes communicating with the public. The information in this booklet is for you, the people in the 3 communities close to Indian Point. Emergency planners want people to have this information because it will help keep you safe in the unlikely event of an emergency at Indian Point. 4 You should read this booklet carefully, well in advance of any potential emergency. Discuss it with your family. Fill in your family’s information. Keep this booklet in a safe place for future reference. 5 You’ll find much of the information you need on the large map located in the back of this booklet. Community Emergency Planning Glossary EAS-Emergency Alert System— Incident Levels—The federal Radiological Emergency—an Specially designated radio and TV government has designated four emergency where radioactive stations that will broadcast safety classifications for incidents at materials in significant information in the event of an nuclear power plants. Each concentrations escape into the emergency. EAS stations are classification corresponds to the environment. If the listed on the opposite page. degree of seriousness of an concentrations of the materials Emergency Sirens—There are incident. See page 10 for details. are high enough, they could be sirens placed within the 10-mile KI—The chemical symbol for a dangerous to health. radius of Indian Point. In the drug called potassium iodide. KI- Radioactive Release— event of an emergency at Indian potassium iodide comes in the Introduction or leak of any Point the sirens would sound form of tablets and liquid. KI radioactive materials into the continuously for 4 minutes. protects only the thyroid gland environment. EPZ—Emergency Planning from just one kind of radiation— School Reception Centers— Zone— radioactive iodide. It can be Schools outside of the Emergency The area designated by the obtained through your county or Planning Zone where school federal government within a 10- municipality and kept on hand in children are relocated during a mile radius of a nuclear power your home. KI is also available radiological emergency. If plant for which plans have been over the counter (without a children are in school during an put in place to protect prescription) at local pharmacies. incident, at the first indication of people in the event of a In the event of a nuclear a problem, they will be taken by radiological emergency. emergency, you could be bus to a School Reception Center instructed to swallow a KI- as a precautionary action. Your Evacuation—A protective action potassium iodide tablet. It should intended to prevent or reduce children will be cared for at these be taken only when directed by Centers. You can find your exposure to radioactive materials. public officials. In an evacuation, you would be children’s School Reception Protective Action—Any action instructed to leave your home Centers on the map at the end of taken to protect the public’s and go outside of the Emergency this booklet. health in response to an Planning Zone to the home of a Sheltering—Also called emergency. Protective actions in a relative or friend or to a “Sheltering-in-place.” This is a radiological emergency could Reception Center. Reception protective action in which you are include sheltering in place Centers are identified on the map instructed to stay indoors with (staying indoors), evacuating the in the back of this booklet. windows and doors tightly shut area and/or swallowing KI- and all ventilation systems turned Reception Center—A location potassium iodide. outside of the Emergency off. Under certain circumstances, Planning Zone (EPZ) where it is the better way to limit people who have evacuated can exposure to radioactive materials. go. You can find your Reception Center on the map at the end of this booklet. At the Reception Center, evacuees would receive initial assistance, including monitoring or screening of persons for radioactive contamination, receive KI potassium iodide, first aid or directions either to a place to stay or a medical facility. How will I know if there’s an emergency at Indian Point? Siren alerts If there is a problem at Indian Point that may require people to take action, the County Executive may decide to sound the emergency sirens. These special sirens are located throughout the 10-mile radius around Indian Point known as the Emergency Planning Zone or EPZ.(pg 2) Siren Testing: The sirens are tested periodically throughout the year. Siren tests are announced in advance through local news media. Telephone, Cell Phone and E-Mail Notification In addition to the siren system, officials may use a number of other state-of-art In an emergency, the sirens would communications technologies to alert the public. These include high-speed sound continuously for 4 minutes. telephone and email alerting services, including the NY Alert system. NY Alert The sirens are not a signal to is a statewide system which requires registering. The telephone alerting service evacuate. They are a signal to turn on allows residents to input additional numbers that are to be contacted in the your radio or television and tune to an event of an emergency. Anyone can sign up for NY Alert online at Emergency Alert System (EAS) station https://users.nyalert.gov/ near you. EAS stations are listed below. The EAS stations will broadcast Community Emergency Notification System (CENS) the nature of the emergency and what you should do. Again, sirens are not a Westchester County has its own communications system to contact the public signal to evacuate. directly in case of a large-scale emergency. We can use e-mail, text messaging, and/or phone messages to provide information to you before, during, or after a major disaster. This information might include updates about emergency conditions, what to do or where to go. This added effort is intended to step supplement — not replace — information you will receive from television, radio, and other sources. Further, it should not replace individual and family emergency planning. To register for Westchester County emergency alerts, go to http://www.westchestergov.com/cens.htm 1 Tune in for information If you hear the emergency sirens, tune in your radio and TV to an Emergency Alert Emergency Alert System (EAS) System (EAS) station for further information. stations listed at left would be broadcasting further safety Remember: The sounding of the sirens is not a signal to take any actions information. Find out which EAS other than to listen to your radio or TV. stations work best for you and record those stations below. EAS Stations AM Radio FM Radio Television WFAN 660 WRRV 92.7 WCBS Ch 2 WABC 770 WHUD 100.7 WNBC Ch 4 WCBS 880 WFAS 103.9 WNYW Ch 5 My Emergency Alert WFAS 1230 WABC Ch 7 Stations: WALL 1340 WLNA 1420 AM Radio _______________ Emergency information could also be carried on the following stations: FM Radio _______________ AM Radio FM Radio Television TV _____________________ WRKL 910 WNEW 102.7 NEWS 12 HUDSON VALLEY WTBQ 1110 WGNY 103.1 WRCR 1300 WXPK 107.1 Enter this information here, and then on WINS 1010 the Emergency Plan Summary, page 16.