Manitowoc
County
participated in a
full-scale emergency response plume exercise on Tuesday, June 23,
2009 with Kewaunee Power Station.
The exercise was evaluated by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.
Federal regulations require local and state
government agencies, in whose jurisdiction a nuclear plant is
located, to biennially demonstrate they can protect the health and
safety of people potentially at risk in a 10-mile radius of the
plant.
Nancy H. Crowley, Manitowoc County Emergency
Management Director said more than 100 employees and volunteers
participated in the June 23 exercise.
Similar staff operations occurred simultaneously in
Kewaunee County
and Madison
.
On Wednesday, June 24, 2009 the county
demonstrated the ability to deal with the long-range effects of a
nuclear plant accident in an ingestion exercise.
This is a six-year requirement for each plant, according to
Crowley.
County, state, and federal agency representatives were
evaluated on decision-making, interpretation of technical data and
the ability to withhold agricultural and food products that may be
radiologically contaminated.
The ingestion exercise involved the Point Beach Plant.
According to Crowley, it should have been conducted in
December 2008, however, the state cancelled it because of snowfall.
Crowley
said, “It is highly unlikely we will ever have to implement the
complex procedures in the County’s Emergency Operations Plan for a
nuclear plant incident.
However, practicing the principles we apply to respond to a nuclear
plant accident pays dividends in our overall response to all
hazards.”
“The residents of
Manitowoc County are fortunate to have highly skilled personnel
and state-of-the art equipment and facilities ready in the event of
a nuclear power plant incident,”
Crowley
said. “The money we
receive from the utilities each year to support the emergency
management program and our annual exercise benefits our county in
all areas of emergency preparedness,” she stated.
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