Nov 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Katie Curley The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.

Local officials yesterday continued work on emergency plans in the event of a disaster at Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.

Local, state and federal authorities gathered in the Emergency Management bunker beneath the Senior Center to practice what they would do if there was an emergency at the nuclear plant.

In a drill evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, officials were briefed about a leak at the Seabrook Station and then proceeded doing the actions they would do normally in a time of emergency.

"FEMA is evaluating us to determine our readiness," Mayor Thatcher Kezer said from the town's emergency bunker beneath the Council on Aging. "We run a number of exercises as practice and to get to the point we are at now."

Amesbury police and fire, animal specialist Becky Taylor, public health nurses, radiological officers, a special needs coordinator, a weather watcher and a communications officer all practiced their assigned duties in the bunker yesterday.

Though Amesbury Emergency Management participates in regularly scheduled drills, FEMA evaluates emergency management every two years in order for the town to retain its certification, something it does with all the cities and towns in the 10-mile radius of Seabrook Station.

"We had a scenario where it escalated into something bigger," Kezer said. "First we had an alert, then pressure built and there was a release of radioactive steam. We have to find the wind direction, evacuate the kids and milk-producing animals."

The bunker was abuzz with activity during the drill yesterday morning, from analyzing wind director to mapping out road closures and road blocks based on routes out of Amesbury.

In a time of emergency, children would be evacuated to Methuen and residents to Masconomet Regional School, and officials would be broken up into two shifts. Municipal Council President Roger Benson would be Kezer's counterpart.

"In a real-life emergency, Seabrook would be giving updates to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and then to Amesbury," Kezer said. "We have to set up the steps of notification and follow those steps."

Local officials took the opportunity yesterday to ask MEMA and FEMA officials about the town's newly operational Code Red system.

"We want to control the message being sent out," Kezer said. "We want to make it better, not worse, so we need to figure out how to best implement Code Red."

Kezer noted with MEMA being in charge during an emergency at Seabrook, Amesbury needs to learn what would be the best time to send out a Code Red notification as to not cause widespread panic.

"In a real situation where people are very stressed, you don't want to jump the gun," Kezer said. "This is why we are figuring it out now."

Director of Amesbury's Emergency Management Don Swenson said additional information about the recent Seabrook Siren drill would be forthcoming. Each city and town is collecting information and complaints from the public and sending them to MEMA, who in turn is sending them to Seabrook Station for review.

"We are sending everything along to MEMA," Swenson said. "Seabrook said they were following federal guidelines, but they did not follow my guidelines, and issues such as how loud the sirens were need to be looked at."

Though MEMA and FEMA officials did not speak yesterday about the drill, the drill was the first since the sirens sounded last month.

"This is why we do drills," Kezer said. "We would never uncover shortfalls without them."

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