Politics & Government

Locals Call for Public Educational Program for State's Emergency Nuke Plan

Another public hearing on the emergency plan is scheduled for July 25 in Woodstown

Area residents want the state to implement an educational program to inform the public of its Emergency Response Plan for the four New Jersey nuclear plants.

“I think there should be a public education campaign with the goal that every resident and visitor to Ocean County will know about the existence of Oyster Creek Generating Station,” Jeffery Brown of Brick said at a hearing Tuesday evening.

The hearing - held by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New Jersey State Police - consisted primarily of a public comment period in which individuals expressed their concerns with Oyster Creek Generating Station, the oldest operating nuclear plant in the country, and the emergency plan.

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The purpose of the plan is to coordinate an immediate response to any event associated with a nuclear power plant in New Jersey, said Paul Baldauf, director of the Division of Environmental Safety and Health.

The Emergency Response Plan is updated annually with minor changes, Baldauf said. No major changes have been made within the last year but concerns will be taken into consideration, Baldauf said. Once a report is compiled following the meeting, the state will develop a “to do” list.

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“I doubt we’re going to get out,” said Brown, who has attended nine of these public hearings. “Whatever chance we have to make this plan work involves people knowing... People need to know what they’re facing.

“Oyster Creek is like the elephant in the room,” he said, adding that the state needs “broader outreach” with more acknowledgment of the emergency plans for nuclear power plants.

Brown recommended the state supply informational fliers to be placed in every public place from restaurants, hospitals and government buildings to businesses, bars and schools.

“People don’t know the plant is here,” said Peg Sturmfels of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. “We’re having more and more visitors here all the time.”

There has to be a new educational component in the emergency response plan, she said.

Last year, the state promised to provide informational brochures regarding evacuation at boating courses, Sturmfels said. With more people taking those courses online, the state has to re-evaluate how to distribute that information, which the panel said is “doable.”

“Any educational program that can be instituted, I think would be very good,” Mayor Robert Matthies of Seaside Park said regarding boaters.

Mayor Mark Dykoff of Lacey Township agreed and said he would also be supportive of an educational program for local boaters.

Dykoff, who attends the public hearings annually, said having spoken to employees of Exelon Corporation and Oyster Creek, he has confidence in the power plant and the evacuation plan.

“I like to hear that they’re planning ahead,” he said.

He also believes that the reconstruction of the Route 9 and Lacey Road intersection as well as the railroad right-of-way will help relieve traffic issues.

“Everyone’s going to panic, there’s no way around that,” he said. “But once [an event] unfolds, the state can implement it.”

Dykoff added that he thinks the use of social media would be more effective in getting information out as opposed to fliers.

"There is much doubt among people on the ground that this evacuation plan would work under real life situations," Sturmfels said. The evacuation plan relies on the premise that other events such as a fire won't be occurring at the same time as a nuclear event.

"We're very concerned that this plan has a lot of problems; that it has a very slim chance of working,” she said. “We think the nuclear plant should be shut down. It should not be operating in a place with such a large population."

Judith Carluccio, an Ocean County resident, questioned whether potential hot spots were taken into consideration for this plan.

“I wonder how we can have an evacuation plan when we can’t account for all eventualities?” Carluccio said, reiterating the failed evacuation plan in Japan. “That’s what happened in real life and we are talking about real life here.”

“There is going to be a tremendous amount of environmental monitoring,” said Patrick Mulligan, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Protection and Manager of the Bureau of Nuclear Engineering.

Predictive modeling can be done prior to an event but it's not really until weather events when they can determine where the radiation has spread in the environment, he said.

"The plan accounts for getting federal resources in," he said. "We know how to take appropriate protective measures once we get the information."

Baldauf said although the plan is ever evolving, the state is confident it would work.

“If you’re saying this is going to work, then let the people know about it,” Paula Gotsch said.

Another information session and public hearing is scheduled for July 25 at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Salem County Office of Emergency Management on 135 Cemetery Road in Woodstown.

The emergency plan is available for inspection at the following locations:

  • Ocean County Office of Emergency Management, Robert J. Miler Airpark, Route 530, Berkeley Township
  • Office of Emergency Management, State Police Headquarters, West Trenton
  • Salem County Emergency Management Office, Cemetery Road, Mannington Township
  • Cumberland County Office of Emergency Management, Bridgeton Avenue, Bridgeton. 

A PDF containing information on Emergency Planning for Oyster Creek Generating Station is attached to this story. More information can be found at the following websites:

Oyster Creek Generating Station

Nuclear Emergencies at Oyster Creek

Radiological Emergency Response Planning & Technical Unit

Emergency Preparedness Around New Jersey’s Nuclear Generating Stations


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