ML20134P100

Expresses Concern Re Testing of Newly Installed Emergency Siren Notification Sys at Facility.Transcript of West Feliciana Parish Police Jury 850611 Meeting Encl

ML20134P100
Person / Time
Site:	River Bend
Issue date:	08/31/1985
From:	Plettinger H AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	Stern S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 8509060134
Download: ML20134P100 (7)

Text

~ _ - . -- .. - . . . , . - . . _- _ - - . .

I i -

[.

H. ANNE PLETTINGER 34% Villa Bose Drive 8ATON ROUGE. LOUISIANA 70B06 604-343.e333 August 31, 1985

.Mr. Stephen M. Stern, Project Mana'ger Licensing Branch 2 '

Division of Licensing.

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 i

Gulf States Utilities Company

, River Bena Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Docket No. 50-458 Dear Mr. Stern Has the staff evaluated the' design and effectiveness of the River Bend Station (RBS) Prompt Notification System (PNS) sirens installed in West ,

Feliciana Parish? I am a part-time resident and landowner in that parish.

On May 29, 1985, Gulf States Utilities Company (GSU) tested their " newly-installed emergency siren notification system". See Enclosures 1 and 2'.

Friends and relatives have told me they didn't hear the sirens.

i At the regular meeting of the West Feliciana Parish Police Jury on June 11, 1985, Mr. H. L. Stutzman (in whose district River Bend is located) informed a GSU spokesman, Mr. Andy Dreher, that many people did not hear the sirens during the May 29 test. Another person pointed out that some people aren't i sure of what to do if the sirens are sounded during an alert. Enclosure  ;

j 3 is a transcript of that portion of the meeting and was prepared by me.

j Is it correct that the sirens are not designed to be heard indoors?

l What method will be used to alert people during inclement weather and at night when they are indoors? .

i

+

i Thank you for your assistance in having these matters examined and any

, problem-areas corrected before Unit 1 achieves criticality.

j Sincerely, kAM ct j- H. Anne Plettinger i

i Enclosures - 3.

! B50906 34 850031 L 8 I I

PDR A K 05000458

p PDR ,

l-

ENCLOSURE 1.

St'. Francisville Democrat, Thursday. May 23,1985 Don't be alarmed For three of the minutes between noon and two p.m. on Wednesday, May 29 there should be no peace and quiet in West Feliciana Parish, as local officials will be testing a newly-installed emergency siren notification tystem, according to GSU officials.

The sirens, which were installed as part of the emergency planning system for River Bend nuclear power plant, will be available in the event of any major emergency situation, according to GSU officials.

The walling sound of the pole-mounted sirens is the signalfor the public to tune their television or radio to their local emergency l'roadcasting system for specific instructions.'

Once activated by use of a two-way radio controlled l system, the speaker clusters will rotate in a 360-degree arc \

and emit a wailing soand ,

similar to Civil Defense  !

warning signal, according to company officials.

The 92 sirens that comprise the system are divided among

five parishes in the following

, manner: 43 in West Feliciana Parish,22 in Pointe Coupee

, Parish,18 in East Feliciana

\

Parish, eight in East Baton Rouge Parish, and one in West Baton Rouge Parish.

For more information call

' ($04) 635-3998.

ENCLOSURE 2.

Gulf

'i.B States tests 80 emergency sirens ~

~ ~ 5U)RNiNG ADVOCATE, BatoA Ro' uge.La., Thurs. May 30,1985; Bder.Zachary bureau itheek and see about the other two. Our . be performed on an annual basis. "The electronic indications are that two , sirens will perhaps be sounded durmg ST. TRANCISVILLE - Seventy- didn't sound, though." -

.the snaual emergency (evacuation; eight of Gulf States Utilities

• 80 . The siren test began at noon and exercise,"he said.

' cmergency warning sirens apparently lasted for three minutes. The siren ' The GSU spokesman said the 80 functioned properly Wednesday in a test blasts were staggered in other areas in strens are located throughout several cf the River Bend nuclept power plant the 14 mile radius around River Bend, parishes in the 10-mile radius around warmag system.

"The preliminary indica tions are that the nuclear power plant. He said the we passed," Benedetto said. He said the distanee between the sirens is "Our indications are that 78 of the 80 tests were monitored by the Nuclear determined by terrain and by the sirens sounded " said GSU spokesman Regulatory Commission. number of trees and hills between the Bill Benedetto. "We're going to have to Benedetto said the tests will have to sirens. . , .

e

+A ENCLOSURE 3.

Transcript Of The Portion Of The Meeting Of The West Feliciana Parish Police Jury On June 11, 1985 Concerning The Approval Of a Civil Defense Funding Agreement Between Gulf States Utilities Company (GSU) And The Parish.

BUTTERWORTH: -- agreement - we decided that uh - or Gulf States decided to ask that it be tabled. They thereafter met with me several times and met with the District Attorney and agreed to delete the language that we were concerned about which basically uh I think concerned uh under the Funding Provision (paragraph A) -

if anybody happens to have any of their old initial drafts -

was some language in there about the Parish's liability and GSU's liability and they agreed that they would take that language out. They have done so. I have reviewed this. I understand that uh Mr. Ware has reviewed this as well.

DREHER: What we are trying to do, and a lot of people come to you for uh to get money, we are trying to give some money if ya'll will let us. Uh as you know uh the Parish and the five parishes surrounding River Bend are participating in the EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN. And we felt like that it was not fair for the Parish to bear any cost associated with that Plan. So what we set up in this parish and all the parishes surrounding the plant a little budget - and Zach has got a copy of this. It amounts to atrout $7,000. It compensates people for their overtime, if they work any, and with training uh if meals have to be provided during an exercise,something like that we put money in right there. So postage, copying and travel, Plan Maintenance (unclear) - it amounts to $7,000. It is not set in concrete. If expenses exceed that, you know we get together, negogiate it and raise it or lower it. So this is based on what other plants around the country have uh some of them have done. And other plants have not done anything. But uh we wanted to make sure that the Parish was not out of any money associated with the Plan.

Miss Anne --

(Laughter)

PERKINS: He caught you unexpectedly --

PLETTINGER: Oh, no. I had my hand up. He has peripheral vision.

PERKINS: Why sure - he wouldn't have to even look to know that.

PLETTINGER: As I understand it from newspaper accounts involving other parishes, you are giving every parish $7,000 - even West Baton Rouge that has, I believe, one siren?

DREHER: Well they still have to train the whole staff just like we do.

So they have to have a complete E0F staff just like this parish does. So it is not fair to give them less --

PLETTINGER: -- But the big burden is in this Parish. As far as the sirens, who will be responsible for the maintenance?

2.

DREHER: Gulf States.

PLETTINGER: Gulf States will be? Because that has never been --

DREHER: -- Yes. That is why on this,on this uh budget, you see on the Communication Equipment that is all zero. That is because we we have already bought it --

PLETTINGER: -- Yes, but it has to be maintained --

DREHER: -- Right. And we will.

(Unintelligible conversation among the jurors)

PLETTINGER: Who will keep the Plan up? Is Miss June going to have to do this?

DREHER: The Emergency Plan?

PLETTINGER: Yes.

DREHER: No. We have Emergency Plan Maintenance in there and the Civil Defense Director will do that and (unclear??) to make sure that he does keep it up.

(Unintelligible conversation at the Table about who heard the sirens)

STUTZMAN: There is a lot of people didn't hear them sirens that day you set --

PERKINS: -- I couldn't even hear it in the Police Jury house - because I asked the next day what time did the sirens go off DREHER: Yes. That is the reason uh we sounded them. We had people all over the Parish listening and uh to make sure that they were working. We had them in some dead areas in which we projected that they had some detection devices. So - they will make modifications you know, as needed. So, in some of these dead areas we may have to put up some more sirens. I don't know.

But they are not designed - a lot of people think that they are designed to uh shake their house down. They are really not.

I have listened to those in New Orleans and they are about -

supposed to be about 70 decibels. I don't know what that is but uh --

STUTZMANN: -- I was going to ask you, that is a fire truck - What is the decimals on that?

DREllER: Oh that is way up.

ROACH: I sure don't one close to my house. (Laughter).

4 .

3.

STUTZMAN: I've talked to very few people that heard them. I wasn't in town that day.

(Other Jurors talking at the Table)

ROACH: A lot of people heard them.

BUTTERWORTH: I heard them. I was in the courthouse.

DREHER: Yes. They are not designed, like I said, they are about --

PERKINS: -- With these window units, you don't hear them.

DREHER: Yea.

PLETTINGER: I understood - I asked at Louisiana Nuclear Energy Division (and apparently they had people monitoring) - and they kept saying you are not supposed to hear them in a house. Well, then I said, how do you know?

(Laughter and others talking at the same time)

DREHER: The whole theory of the system is that if you are outside, you know --

PLETTINGER: -- But, two o' clock in the morning, are you likely to be outside?

DREHER: No. No. (Laughter). (Others talking at the same time).

That is all I have to say regarding this.

WILCOX: Fred.

FRED:

I heard uh I was down in the store the other day and a couple of ladies - I heard them discussing it while I was waiting to pay my bill. What do you do when the (unclear?) rings, one asked the other one? And the other one says, I don't know nothing about it. And she looked at me and I said, lady, I says I am not really familiar up here. I do know what to do when an air raid siren opens but I didn't know the system here because I haven't been back up here that long. And I have heard a lot of people - one of them discuss to the other one - and I just picked it up. But they are unaware of what to do when this occurs.

PLETTINGER: Didn't they get a beautiful calendar from Gulf States?

DREHER: They did if they lived in the 10 mile radius or not. You know that some people that don't live in the 10 mile radius do not receive the calendar. (Unintelligible) - But uh we'll have to make changes on that. We are constantly sending them out.

What about - let us see about this budget. (Unintelligibic).

?? Make sure you get one to me.

l l

O 4.

PERKINS: You need a Motion to accept this and authorize the --

BUTTERWORTH: -- We are, I think, the first Parish that didn't rubber stamp that --

WILCOX: -- Okay. (Unintelligible).

??: I Motion.

PERKINS: All right, who? Andrew and John?

WILCOX: Are there any objections to the motion?

PERKINS: And authorize the President to sign, right?

??: Right.

WILCOX: All right. I sign it right here where it says "For the Parish"?

PERKINS: Yea.

DREHER: I tell you what Cli.' ford, you sign two and I'll uh get Mr. Cahill to sign 'em and bring ya'll back --

??: I hope he doesn't change it.

??: Should they be notarized?

DREHER: You can notarize them if you want to.

(Laughter). (Unintelligible).

WILCOX: This must be - Mr. Beck got something to do with this - all this signing. (Laugnter).

Identifications BVITERWORTH, Zach: Assistant District Attorney DREHER, Andy: Community Relations - Gulf States Utilities Company PERKINS, Junes Secretary, West Feliciana Parish Police Jury PLETTINGER, Anne Interested citizen STUTZMAN, H.L.: Police Juror - District 2 ROACH, John: Police Juror - District 5 WILCOX, Clifford Police Juror - District 1 - and President FRED: Fred Kubli'- Parish Road Maintenance En

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • *** , ; ;, ;, ;, ;, ;r*************** ** * * ********* ******g i n*************** eer