The emergency sirens for the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan will sound at full volume for about four minutes on Wednesday, Oct. 25, between 10:30 and 11 a.m. during a quarterly test of the system. The sirens can be heard in Putnam, Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties.
The sirens are not a signal to evacuate. In an actual emergency, the sirens would sound to alert the public to tune in to a local EAS radio or television station for important information and direction. These stations are listed in the emergency planning booklet mailed to households and businesses in the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone around Indian Point. An electronic version of the booklet is posted on the Indian Point website, safesecurevital.com.
So glad these dangerous dinosaur reactors are slated to be closed in 2021. Operating well past their design lives, the closings will provide a substantial lowering of risk. But until the on-site, 40-year accumulation of spent nuclear fuel from the dual reactors is dealt with, it will continue to represent a dark cloud of catastrophic risk to our area.