ML20244D872
| ML20244D872 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 03/23/1989 |
| From: | Sutton J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| To: | Remick F Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20244D825 | List: |
| References | |
| ACRS-R-1352, NUDOCS 8904240167 | |
| Download: ML20244D872 (2) | |
Text
- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
O o
i United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advistory Commission on Reactor Safeguards Attn:
Mr. Forrest Remick Washington, D.C. 20555 r,
p.
. G?)
Dear Mr. Remick:
On March 17, 1989, at about 11:20 PM, the Three Mile Island warning siren located near my home sounded.
My home is located less than 1
one mile from tbis siren.
This siren continued to sound until about 12:10 AM on March 18, 1989, for a total of about 30 minutes of continuous siren.
The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of this occurrance, and of the subsequent failure of the emergency information system.
When this siren first sounded, we thought it was an odd time for a test, but we were not too concerned.
After 5 minutes passed, all of my family and pur neighborhood was up and wondering if TMI was having a major problem.
We got out our local phone book, which lists the emergency procedures to follow in case of an alert.
This specifically says that if there is a continuous siren for 3-5 minutes, we should turn to one of the listed radio or television stations for emergency information.
We tuned into both a listed radio station and television stations but never once was there any mention of a problem at TMI.
During this entire time there was no information given at all about the siren that c We called 911 to try to get information, and we,ontinued to sound.re told that they had no idea why the siren was activa they only knew that the siren was not activated form their County Control Office.
For the next 50 minutes we had calls from many of our neighbors, who like ourselves could not get any information.
Some of the neighbors began to pack up and leave the area.
Even after the siren stopped, we had no ides if there was a problem.
By way of this letter, I am formally asking you to open an inves-tigation of the circumstances that caused the siren to sound, and the subsequent failure of the information network to work.
Unless you were involved, you cannot realize the anxiety and con-cern for the health of your family while the siren was sounding, nor can you share my anger at not being able to find out what was
'o happening.
Those 50 minutes seemed like hours to me, my family, and our neighbors.
89042ggh{78 ppe
- eese
l
\\
s In a nuclear emergency, time is of the essence for an evacuation.
By not knowing if there was a problem, we wasted valuable time that could have been used in evacuating the area.
What do we do in the future when the siren sounds?
Are we to assume that it is only a malfunction?
The bottom line is that if the TMI warning and information systems do not work together, then there is no warning system for TMI.
By a copy of this letter, I am also informing my two US Senators, my Congressman, and the Governor of Pennsylvania of the events of March 17.
I know that they share my concern about the welfare and safety of the citizens of Pennsylvania in the event of a real nuclear emergency.
If Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.717-764-5344.you have any questions, please feel free to call me at S 7cerely, j
/
s R. Sutton 100 Wetherburn Drive York, PA 17404 March 23, 1989 cc:
Senator John Heinz 4327 Dirksen North Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Senator Arlan Spector S H 303 Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable William Goodling 2363 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Governor Robert Casey 225 Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA 17120
,