NRC: News Release - Region I - 2008-049 - NRC to Monitor Performance of New Notification System for Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant


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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I
475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
www.nrc.gov

No. I-08-049		August 27, 2008
CONTACT:	Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331	E-mail: OPA1.Resource@nrc.gov
NRC TO MONITOR PERFORMANCE OF NEW NOTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Printable Version
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will continue to monitor the performance of the new emergency notification system (ENS) for the Indian Point nuclear power plant now that it has been placed into service. Entergy, which operates the Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y., plant, activated the system at noon today, 5 days after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued its final approval for the design of the ENS. “Our oversight of the system will continue. NRC reviews do not stop simply because the new system has been declared operational,” NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. “To the contrary, we will keep close tabs on its reliability and effectiveness going forward. “In the short term, we will continue to work closely with FEMA We will also conduct siren inspections beyond those routinely performed of siren systems at other sites to assure the reliability of the system and provide data to support FEMA reviews for a final system acceptance decision. Additionally, in the long term, there will be quarterly and annual siren tests, as well as a Performance Indicator that tracks whether the system is meeting clearly established thresholds for performance.” Indian Point’s new ENS is equipped with 172 sirens located throughout the roughly 10-mile-radius Emergency Planning Zone for the facility. Those sirens would be used to notify residents of a significant event at the plant. In addition, Entergy is distributing Tone Alert Radios to about 2,000 households in several areas as an enhancement to the siren sound coverage. The radios operate on AC or battery power and function like weather alert radios, providing prompt notifications to those who have them. In conjunction with those activities, the NRC has issued a Confirmatory Action Letter to Entergy that confirms actions the company plans to take with regard to the radios, including maintaining a record system of addresses where the radios are placed, instructing owners on how to use the radios and providing replacement batteries on an annual basis to users. A copy of the letter will be available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML082350676. ADAMS is accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.htm. Help in using ADAMS is available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV.
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