Pilgrim nuclear plant to stage attack drillApr 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Christine Legere Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station personnel and area public safety agencies will be tested at the end of this month to determine how well-prepared they would be for a terrorist attack on the Plymouth reactor. While Pilgrim has conducted past emergency drills, the April 30 test will be the first time the plant will be scored on its performance by federal nuclear regulators during a so-called "hostile action-based" emergency exercise. Off-site support will be scored by representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, defined a hostile action as "an act that uses violent force in an attempt to destroy equipment, take hostages or intimidate the plant owner to achieve an end." Under recently updated NRC regulations, the nation's plants will be required to undergo the hostile action-based exercise every eight years. "The primary purpose is to see how plant personnel and government agencies coordinate and deal with the complexities of a hostile attack against a nuclear facility," Sheehan said in an email. "Even though the potential radiological consequences should be the same whether caused by a hostile action or a safety event, hostile actions would likely pose unique challenges to emergency responders." Neither Pilgrim nor the various government agencies will be told in advance what simulation will be chosen or exactly when it will begin. "The scenarios typically involve simulated airborne, waterborne, or ground-based attacks or a combination," Sheehan said. Pilgrim was in fact one of seven nuclear plants identified as vulnerable to a ship-borne attack, in a Pentagon-contracted study completed last August. Joyce McMahon, spokeswoman for Entergy, Pilgrim's owner-operator, said the Plymouth plant is the first of the corporation's 10 nuclear reactor sites to be evaluated through the hostile action-based exercise. "Pilgrim Station's Emergency Response Organization and Offsite Response Organizations will follow established response procedures to alleviate the threat and restore Pilgrim Station to a stable condition," said McMahon, who characterized the plant's security crew as "highly trained." Plymouth Fire Chief Ed Bradley is confident his staff is ready for the challenge. "There are about 10,000 different scenarios, but we go over the plan every year." The Plymouth police station will serve as the base for off-site emergency planning. Plymouth, Carver, Kingston, Duxbury and Marshfield -- towns in the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone around the nuclear plant -- will participate in the drill, as well as Bridgewater, Taunton and Braintree, since those towns would provide support to evacuees in a major emergency. Also on the list of participants are the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the FBI, state police, Plymouth County Sheriff's Department and Coast Guard. Spokesman John Birtwell said sheriff's department personnel will be stationed at the Bridgewater emergency operations center. "When they make the determination about what's necessary, our people and Bridgewater will carry out orders," Birtwell said. "It could be evacuations or sheltering in place." Cape Cod agencies are not involved since the region falls outside the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone. Representatives from FEMA will score the performance of off-site agencies, while NRC experts will rate the plant's performance. Pilgrim is the first nuclear plant in the northeast region to undergo the evaluated test, according to FEMA spokesman John Rice; Millstone Power Station in Connecticut will be evaluated in September, and Seabrook Station in New Hampshire in November. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=32214372& |