ML20082D072

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Testimony of Lj Campo on Contentions 25.C & 25.D Re School Evacuations
ML20082D072
Person / Time
Site: Shoreham File:Long Island Lighting Company icon.png
Issue date: 11/18/1983
From: Campo L
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY
To:
Shared Package
ML20082C880 List:
References
ISSUANCES-OL-3, NUDOCS 8311220308
Download: ML20082D072 (5)


Text

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Before the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board

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l In the Matter of )

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LONG ISLAND LIGHTING COMPANY ) Docket No. 50-322-OL-3

) (Emergency Planning)

(Shoreham Nuclear Power Station, )

Unit 1) )

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DIRECT TESTIMONY OF LEON J. CAMPO ON BEHALF OF SUFFOLK COUNTY CONCERNING EMERGENCY PLANNING CONTENTIONS 25.C AND 25.D Q: Please state your name and occupation.

A: Leon J. Campo. I am the Assistant Superintendent of Schools, East Meadow Schools, Nassau County, New York. My offic._".1 title is Executive Assistant for Finance. I have a Master of Business Administration, Finance, June 1975, Adelphi Un 4 '.re rs ity ; a Master of Science Degree, Psychology, Hofstra University, June 1972; and a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Education, Adelphi University, 1964.

Q: What is the purpose of this testimony?

A: I will address Contentions 25.C and 25.D, particularly to explain the logistical difficulties involved in implementing an early dismissal of schools. This testimony makes clear that an essential element to early dismissal is the availability of school personnel (e.g., administrators, teachers, bus drivers). If there 8311220308 831118 1

PDR ADOCK 05000322 T PDR

, l is role conflict such that necessary personnel are not available, no early dismissal will be possible.

Q: What familiarity with early dismissal of schools do you have?

A: In Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the region is broken down into numerous separate school districts. Each district has its own schools (or in some cases arranges for children in its district to attend schools in a neighboring district) and arranges for transportation and d'smissal of chi'.dren. I am particularly familiar with the early dismissal procedures in the East Meadow schools, and also those for Mt. Sinai, which is where I live.

Further, from my years as a school administrator, T am quite familiar with the logistical factors which must be considered in any early dismissal.

Q: For what kind of events or conditions are early dismissals usually implemented?

A: Schools are reluctant to implement early dismissal programs, because of the difficulty in ensuring the safety of the student body. Ilowever, under certain circumstances, public schools do implement an early dismissal program. Basically, this action has been embraced in reaction to two developments: fire and snow.

In the case of fire, only one school building and its population are affected. Therefore, central administrative staff and bus drivers are dispatached to aid the building adminis-trators, teachers and other personnel at that location in ensuring

-3 an effective early dismissal program. All building staff have assigned duties during a fire emergency. The goal is a rapid and total evacuation of the building, followed by an orderly flow of students to their homes through the use of district bus transportation, or walking, as is appropriate. The major deficiencies in this type of early dismissal are: (1) an inability of students to secure outdoor clothing from the school building which can be critical under adverse weather conditions; and (2) an inability of the school to determine whether all parents are at home to receive their youngsters.

An early dismissal due to a snow emergenc, is more complex since it usually involves all the schools in the system and students in gracas kindergarten through 12. It also will involve the children in private and parochial schools, for whom Long Island districts provide the transportation. The keys to success of an early dismissal program under these circumstances are as follows: (1) experienced staff, who know their assigned emergency duties and who will faithfully execute the same; and (2) the availability of bus transportation. In the case of a snow emergency, teachers, administrators, other staff, and parents are involved in making certain that classes are dismissed in a manner which coincides with the arrival of a bus fleet. At the elementary level, parents and administrators telephone heme to ascertain if a parent or guardian is available'to receive the child. If not, the teachers and administrators remain with the

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_4 youngster in the school building until such time as a parent is reached.

Early dismissals in a snow emergency often are complicated by the lack of sufficient contract buses to evacuate the total school population at the same time.1! At the moment a snow emergency is called, the transportation companies are notified. In East Meadow, th.s constitutes one major and five minor, or smaller, transportation service carriers. Similar situations exist for many districts within the EPZ. A decision to dismiss may not coincide with the established bus schedule. This may result in -

great difficulty in reaching the bus drivers and securing the appropriate buses. An hour or more may lapse before the first bus reaches the first school to be evacuated. Since not all schools can be evacuated simultaneously, it ia imperative to prioritize ,

the transportation of youngsters. Normally, elementary school students are given priority in evacuation. Each of the rounds the bus iast make under snow emergency conditions is lengthened by the degree of adverse weather encountered. A run which normally takes 30 minutes, may consume 50 or more minutes in time. Therefore, an evacuation of our schools under these conditions may take 3-1/2 hours as compared to 1-1/2 hours under normal conditions.

In a snow emergency, one factor does alleviate some of the difficulties noted above. We usually have some advance notice 1/ School openings and closings in most districts are scheduled In such a manner as to enable the bus fleet to transport children on different schedules. The bus fleets often make three rounds in the A.M. to accomplish this task. The same three-lap orocedure is followed in the P.M. to return youngsters to their bomes. ,

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that an early dismissal may be necessary and thus usually are able to alert key personnel, particularly bus drivers, somewhat ahead of time. This is terribly important because the key factor in any successful early dismissal is the availability of trained and dedicated personnel to oversee and implement the dismissal.

Q: If there were a radiological emergency and early dismissal was called for, would there similarly need to be a full compliment of trained and dedicated personnel?

A: Yes. No early dismissal can be implemented unless there are bus drivers, teachers and administrators available in timely fashion. If there is role conflict such as has been suggested by other witnesses such that bus drivers and/or teachers and/or administrators are not available, early dismissals will not be implemented.