ML20073H211

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Testimony of ED Spilka Re Observations Made During 830309 Radiological Emergency Response Plan Exercise.Certificate of Svc Encl
ML20073H211
Person / Time
Site: Indian Point  Entergy icon.png
Issue date: 04/11/1983
From: Spilka E
PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT, PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP, NEW YORK, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
To:
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ML20073G541 List:
References
NUDOCS 8304180520
Download: ML20073H211 (7)
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. 1 Intervenor-Ob3srvar Ellen Spfika Observation Point WESPAC - Westchester People's Action Coalition 255 Grove Street, White Plains Time of Observation 10:00 am - 5:10 pm i

10:10 Debbie Bobson called from Liberty Bus Lines. Said both she and the FEMA representative also there were ready to leave, as the people at the bus company said they were not sending out thc Peekskill bus because of the train strike.

10:43 D. Bobson called back with information that a bus was leaving Liberty soon.

The bus company had been waiting for the vice-president to show up before sending out any buses.

11:15 Called the Rumor Control number - a taped message informed me that an

" incident" had occurred at Indian Point at around 7 am that morning; there had been no release of radiation and there was no danger to the public.

Con Ed was trying to fix the problem. All schoolchildren in Westchester, i Rockland, and Putnam Counties within ten miles of the plant had been sent home, and all schoolchildren within five miles in Rockland County. I was informed by someone staffing the phone that the tape would be updated as necessary and had already been updated several times by 11:15, when I first called.

l 11:17 Called Portchester-Rye Volunteer Ambulance Corps (VAC) to ask if they had received notification of the drill, if they had received any special instructions, what they were, and if they had followed them. An answering service picked up after four rings; the woman there told me that no one would be in until 2:00 pm, and that if an ambulance was needed between 8 am and 2 pm, I should_ call the local police station.

11:20 Called Portchester Police Department. Spoke with Capt. Sebia, who said he

, had not been notified per se, but there may have been a notice that he did I

not see. He only knew what he had read in the paper.

11:25 Called City of Rye Police Department, which is responsible for ambulance dispatching if within it's jurisdiction. Asked Officer McCt.be if he knew about the drill. He replied, "Of course!" He "couldn't talk" about whether they had received or carried out any special instructions.

11:30 Called Town of Rye Police Department. Sgt. Santoro told me that they knew about the drill and that they had received some special instructions; he wouldn't tell me what they had been doing. He told me that if they become

" involved, then there would be paperwork, and then it will become public."

Until then, he said, he could not give me any information.

11:38 Called Pound Ridgc Lions VAC. Jeri Fallon, the dispatcher, did not know anything about the drill, even though she would be the first person contacted if an ambulance was needed for any reason.

11:42 Called Scarsdale VAC, which turned out to be the Police Department. Spoke with Police Aide Novelli, who said he had been notified of the drill. Referred j me to the records department. Sorreone there said there had been teletypes on l

the drill, but they hadn't received instructions. Referred to Sgt. Merkel, 8304180520 830411 PDR ADOCK 05000247 T PDR

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e Spilka, pagn two who had been notified of the drill by the County Police. No special instructions had been given, but they would get a call if the situation got worse and there was a need for them to respond.

t 11:55 Called Somers Volunteer Fire Department (VFD). A Yorktown Police Officer answers during the day. Referred me to the non-emergency number. Spoke to Mrs. Stipo, who was officially notified of the-drill by a notice to the fire chief. Told me that at home, she had been sent the wrong " Indian Point, Emergency Planning, and You" booklet -- she had been sent one for Putnam County, where she does not-live.

12:03 Called Tarrytown VAC. Spoke with Sgt. Herguth, who said he had been notified of the drill officially, by the hotline ac4 the teletype. They are not within the ten-mile emergency planning zone (EPZ), but had received special instructions, which he could not talk about.

l 12:10 Called Rumor Control. The ~ tape told me that most parks had been closed, and

> the Bear Mountain Bridge was closed in both directions. All roads within a 4-5 mile radius were closed, and all transit service had been suspended.

All schools in the EPZ had been closed, and " unnecessary telephone and road use should be ceased." Residents were advised to stay tuned to their local EBS station for further information.

12:13 Called Valhalla Police Station. Spoke with Police Officer Walton, who was very suspicious and did not want to speak with me. Told me that the number I had called was the Mount Pleasant Police Department, and that he was very busy and he "can't talk right now." He did not want to answer any questions

[

and insisted that if I wanted information, 1 must come to the station and l

identify myself. Then I would be able to make an appointment to talk to the

Chief or the lieutenant. He hung up on me befere I had a chance to respond.

l 12:45 Called Verplanck Fire Department (site of the Media Center). Spoke with Chief Burns, who had received special instructions and followed them by simulating evacuation of two people from a nursing home to Northern Westchester Hospital, and that was all as of 12:45. Still on standby when l I spoke to him.

12:50 . Called Yonkers VAC. No one there; was referred to the Police Department.

They referred me to the Chair of the VAC, Robert Johnson. He had not been notified of the drill, but the Captain of the VAC had. Mr. Johnson had l

received notice of training of ambulance personnel, which was conducted by the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Group at Hastings VAC. 25 members of the Yonkers VAC had participated in this training, which was held the night before the drill.

1:20 Called Yorktown Police Department. Sgt. Matthews told me that they had been j involved with the drill from the beginning, that they had received and followed j special instructions, which he said he could not divulge over the phone. He told me they would be issuing a news release af ter the drill was over (I do not know if they ever did.).

1:40 Called Rumor Control. The taped message had changed again. There had been a release of radiation, and evacuation was advised for people within 2 miles and out to five miles north of the plant. Sheltering was advised for those

Spilka, pige threc 5-10 miles north. The tape gave the numbers of the Emergency Response Planning Areas (ERPAs) to be evacuated and sheltered, by county. It also advised that those evacuating should refer to their emergency planning brochure or listen to their EBS for further instructions, and that those sheltering should remain indoors, close all windows and doors, put out all fires, and go to the basement, if there is one.

Throughout the remainder of the af ternoon, I called the rumor control number four more times. By 3:20, more ERPAs had been added to the list of those that should evacuate or shelter, and a message saying that if people were away from home, they should go to the nearest large building and stay there. The tape did not change again.

I also monitored radio stations in the area for information, especially WFAS and WABC, both of which were supposed to be EBS stations. Neither transmitted any EBS messages, although WABC did' broadcast several news stories about the drill.

WCBS broadcast a story about the drill, on the average, every forty-five minutes.

Summary In general, the level of knowledge of the police officers and ambulance workers I spoke vith seemed to be pretty similar.- Most knew about the drill, and l

most would not tell me if they had received instructions a.nd/or followed them. I am not convinced that the people in these roles would be aBle to carry out their duties based on their activities pertaining to the drill. I believe that under real emergency circumstances, the air of calm that most exhibited would disappear very quickly, and that the actual implementation of the plans would most likely not go as smoothly as the drill seemed to.

Plans on paper are one thing; whether or not they can work is another. I l do not feel that emergency workers will put the public before their own families

in dealing with a nuclear accident. In addition, I do not believe that people l will cooperate fully with authorities. I think that people who are told to shelter themselves will attempt to evacuate, thereby clogging roads which will already be

( seriously crowded. People will try to get, home to get their families together, or l go to schools to get their children, regardless of the instructions in the emergency planning brochure.

l There is also the problem of public education and preparedness. The drill did I

not test the public's ability to respond, which is largely dependent on the information contained in the " Indian Point, Emergency Planning, and You" brochures. One woman I spoke with said that she had received the wrong brochure. If there had been an accident, she.would not have known where to go.

In addition to these problems, there is also the fact that almost 20 million people live within sixty miles of Indian Point. Radiation does not stop at ten miles.

As a resident of New York City, provisions are not made for either my family or myself, yet I live only about 35 miles away from the plant. While I have serious doubts about whether any emergency plans for Indian Point can work, I believe it is useless to talk about emergency planning for an accident at Indian Point unless the people of New York City are included.

1 Respectfully submitted,

( w Y11en D. 'Spilk[

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COM4ISSION Dgy.Eit BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

'83 APR 14 All :45 In the Matter of ) D' Mjj'h, E"Q

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CONSOLIDATED EDIS0N COMPANY OF NEW YORK ) Docket Nos. 50-247 SP (Indian Point Unit 2) ) 50-286 SP

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POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK )

(Indian Point Unit 3) )

April 12, 1983 i

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the INTERVENORS TESTIMONY ON EMERGENCY PLANNING EXERCISE OF MARCH 9, 1983, PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF STIPULATION, and PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO SUBMIT TESTIMONY ON CONTENTION 6.2 have been served on the minimal service list for the above-captioned proceeding, by depositing in the U.S. Mail, first class, postpaid, this 12th day of April, 1983.

Pat Posner Parents Concerneo About Indian Point PO Box 125 Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 l

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Urmed*P.Gleason,Esq., Chairman Docketing End Service Branch

.\dministrntive Judg2 Office of the Sacretary

' Atomic S faty cnd Lic nning Board U.S.1:uclear Rtgulatory C mmission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory, Commission Washington, DC 20555 513 Gilmoure Drive Silver Springs, MD 20901 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear R~egulatory Commission Dr. Oscar H. Paris Washington, DC 20555

. Administrative Judge

Atomic Safety and L.icensing Board Atomic Safety and Licensing Appea'l Board

,U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 Washington, DC 20555 Mr. Frederick J. Shon Paul F. Colarulli, Esq.

Administrative Judge , Joseph J. Levin, Esq.

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ?amela S. Horowitz, Esq.

U.S. Nuc,lepr Regulatory Commission Charles Morgan, Jr. , Esq.

Morgan Associates, Chartered 1899 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20535 Mayor Webster Pierce Village of Buchanan

'Janice E. Moore, Esq. 236 Tate Avenue Donald F. Hassell,~Esq. Buchanan, NY 10511 Henry J. McGurren, Esq.

Office of the Executive Legal Director Stanley B. Klimberg, Esq.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission General Counsel Washington, DC 20555 New York State Energy Office Two Empire State Plaza Brent L. Brandenburg, Esq. Albany, NY 12223 Assistant General Counsel Vonsolidat'ed Edison Company of New lbrc L. Parris, Esq.

York, Inc., Eric Thorsen, Esq.

4 Irving Place County Attorney New York, NY 10003 County of Rockland 11 New Hempstead Road Charles M. Pratt, Esq. New City, NY 10956 Stephen L. Baum, Esq.

Power Authority of the State of New Hon. Andrew P. O'Rourke York Westchester County Executive 10 Columbus Circle Laurie Vetere, Esq.

New York, NY 10019 148 Martine Avenue White Plains, NY 10601 Jonathon D. Feinberg New York State Public Service Ezra I. Bialik, Esq.

Commission Steve Leipzig, Esq.

Three Empire State Plaza Environmental Protection Bureau Albany, NY 12223 New York State Attorney General's Office Two World Trade Center Charles J. Maikish, Esq. New York, NY 10047 Litigation Division The Port Authority of New York and Donald Davidoff, Director New Jersey New York State Radiological Emergency One World Trade Center Preparedness Group New York, NY 10048 Empire State Plaza Tower Building, Room 1750 Albany, NY 12237 j......._.

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pavid H. Pikus, Esq. Charles A. Schein r, Co-Chairpercon Richard F. Czajo, E;q. Westchtster Plople's Acti n Coalition, Inc.

kh:2 and Could PO Box 488 030 Madison Avenue White Plains, NY 10602 N w York, NY 10017 Alan Latman, Esq.

Phyllis Rodriguez, Spokesperson 44 Sunset Drive Parents Concerned About Indian Point Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 PO B:x 125 Crat:n-on-Hudson, NY 10520 Zipporah S. Fleisher West Branch Conservation Association Richard M. Hartzman, Esq. 443 Buena Vista Road Lorna Salzman New City, NY 10956 Friends of the Earth, Inc.

208 West 13th Street Melvin Goldberg, Staff Attorney Nnw York, NY 10011 Joan Holt, Project Director New York Public Interest Research Group, Inc.

Judith Kessler, Coordinator '9 Murray Street Rockland Citizens for Safe Energy New York, NY 10007 300 New Hempstead Road -

New City, NY 10956 Craig Kaplan, Esq.

National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee Rtnta Schwartz, Esq. 175 Fifth Avenue.

Paul Chessin, Esq. New York, NY 10010 Laurens R. Schwartz, Esq.

Margaret Oppel. Esq. Amanda Potterfield, Esq.

Botein, Hays, Sklar, and Hertzberg Johnsten and George, Attys-at-Law 200 Park Avenue 528 Iowa Avenue New York, NY 10166 Iowa City, Iowa 52240 David B. Dubof f Joan Miles Westchester People's Action Indian Point Coordinator Coalition, Inc. New York City Audubon Society 255 Grove Street 71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1828 White Plains, NY 10601 New York, NY 10010 Andrew S. Roffe, Esq. Ellyn R. Weiss, Esq.

New York State Assembly William S. Jordan, III, Esq.

Albany, NY 12248 Harmon and We'iss 1725 I Street NW Suite 506 Hon. Richard Brodsky Washington, DC 20006 Member of the Assembly 429 LOB Jeffrey M. Blum, Esq.

Albany, NY 12248 New York University Law School 423 Vanderbilt Hall Spence W. Perry, Esq. 40 Washington Square South Office of General Counsel New York, NY 10012 Federal Emergency Management Agency 500 C Street SW Greater New York Council on Energy Washirgton, DC 20555 c/o Dean Corren, Director New York University Stewart M. Glass, Esq. 26 Stuyvesant Street Rsgional Counsel New York, NY 10003 Federal Emergency Management Agency ,

Room 1349 Steven C. Sholly 26 Federal Plaza Union of Concerned Scientists New York, NY 10278 1346 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1101 Washington, DC 20036

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H:n. Ruth Messinger Meiber of the Council of ths City of New York Dittrict #4 City Hall

, Niw York, NY 10007

' Michael D. Diederich, Jr., Esq.

Fitzgerald, Lynch, & Diederich 24 Central Drive Stony Point, NY., 10980 Administrative Judge James A. Laurenson Atcmic S&fety & Licensing Board .

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Ccmnission

Atanic Safety & Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Washington, D.C. 20555

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