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Evacuation not really practical in the case of nuclear meltdown

What Would It Take To Evacuate A Nuclear Meltdown? Gizmodo By Kwame Opam on June 28, 201 1 Nuclear plants in the US are getting older and becoming more unstable with age, even as we demand more power of them. Meanwhile, population growth around these powerhouses has skyrocketed, by as much as a factor of four in some places. Say you live in one of these cities. In the event of an emergency, how likely is it that you’ll get out in time?

the population living in the 80km radius around Indian Point comprises 6 per cent of the entire US population. That’s 17 million people. Imagine moving 17 million people anywhere. Now imagine being one of 17 million people trying to cross tunnels and bridges that are congested on a good day in the midst of a full-scale nuclear emergency. Imagine being told to stay put when your child, significant other, or loved ones are miles away. The task would be beyond herculean.

 

The Associated Press conducted an investigation into the state of the country’s nuclear power plants and the regulations that govern the kind of response the government would undertake if something major went down. The results were not good.

Even taking this one example into account, what do officials have to do to ensure the safety of all these people? [USA Today]

The AP found serious weaknesses in plans for evacuations around the plants, including emergency drills that do not move people and fail to test different scenarios involving the weather or the time of day.

Some plans are merely on checklists, and never have been tested. In drills, responders typically go to command centres and not to their emergency posts. There is no federal requirement for how fast an evacuation must be carried out.

And disaster planners from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have made dubious assumptions about the public response to a major accident. They insist, for example, that people who are not called upon to evacuate will stay put; they’re now saying that they might under some circumstances tell people to hunker down at home even in the 10-mile evacuation zone, and they believe people will do it.

That advice flies in the face of decades of science and policy, millions of dollars in planning and preparations – and common sense……….

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/06/what-would-it-take-to-evacuate-a-nuclear-meltdown/
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July 2, 2011 - Posted by | safety, USA

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