AGENDA #5c
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Report on Safety Procedures for Chapel Hill Relative to the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant
DATE: November 13, 2000
The purpose of this report is to provide information concerning safety procedures for Chapel Hill relative to the Shearon Harris Nuclear plant as requested by the petition a Council Member.
Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) has operated a nuclear power plant on Harris Lake in southwest Wake County since 1987. It is located just off US Route 1 near the community of Merry Oaks. The plant is approximately 16 miles from Chapel Hill, placing the community outside of the ten-mile Emergency Zone but inside the 50-mile Emergency Planning Zone. The proximity of the Town of Chapel Hill to the power plant requires certain notification and planning issues be addressed but does not include evacuation planning.
The State of North Carolina, CP&L and local County Emergency Management Agencies developed a comprehensive emergency response plan that complies with the requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The emergency response plan sets levels of emergencies, evacuation zones, notification procedures and safety practices for the public and potentially affected industries and agencies. The plan was most recently revised in February of 1999.
According to the State emergency response plan, the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) defines the area within a 50 miles radius of the nuclear plant potentially affected by an accident at the plant. The EPZ, although having a reduced degree of risk, could receive downwind exposure posing a health threat. Further divided within this circle is the ten-mile radius “Plume Exposure Pathway” closest to the plant and is based on worst-case scenarios requiring the most intensive planning to protect the population and environment from threat. A plume refers to the vapor or particulate matter that would be dispersed adjacent to and downwind from a major incident.
There are four levels of emergencies detailed in the emergency response plan. The levels assist CP&L and affected emergency management agencies by determining preparation and appropriate response actions to handle the situation. The levels are listed by the severity of the event:
The primary methods of notifying the public that an emergency existed at the plant would be audible sirens located within the 10-mile radius “Plume Exposure Pathway” and the activation of the Emergency Broadcast System. The Emergency Broadcast System is the procedure whereby radio and television programming is interrupted by a shrill tone and followed by instructions of where to tune in for detailed public safety information. This system is tested on all broadcast radio and television stations regularly. It can be used for emergencies at the Shearon Harris plant, severe weather or other public threats. Attached to this item are examples of the type of information distributed to the public living within the 10-mile emergency planning zone and it details the emergency notification system.
Wind direction would have a definite impact on the plume or the dispersion of particulate matter from a major event at a nuclear plant. According to the National Weather Service the prevailing winds for this area of North Carolina are from west and southwest. Since the Shearon Harris plant is located to the south-southeast of Chapel Hill the normal wind patterns would favor carrying any threat away from this community.
Although an emergency evacuation of the Chapel Hill area would appear unlikely, the public may be asked to remain indoors with windows and doors closed for a period of time. This is known as “sheltering in place” and would limit exposure to low-level amounts of plume or particulate matter. Any decision to evacuate this area would come from the North Carolina Emergency Management Agency and would be based on conditions, degree of threat, wind direction, and time. Information on the direction and route of evacuation would come through the Emergency Broadcast System.
The 50-mile radius Emergency Planning Zone is also known as the “ingestion pathway”. The primary concern for the people in this area is contamination to the human food chain. Since Orange County and Chapel Hill are within this zone the concern would be drinking water supplies, crops or food source livestock. The North Carolina Emergency Management Agency would work with local agencies such as OWASA, the Orange County Health Department and the Agricultural Extension Agent to determine exposure potentials and decontamination or isolation requirements based on the threat potential of radioactive fallout. The primary objective would be to prevent contaminated products from reaching the consumer.
A comprehensive emergency plan for the area around the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant has been developed by the State of North Carolina and a copy is maintained in the Chapel Hill Emergency Operations Center, located at Fire Headquarters. Should an emergency occur at the plant that would pose a risk to the public in this area we would receive notification through the emergency management system of both the State and the County. The public would be notified and given appropriate instructions through the Emergency Broadcast System via radio and television.
The Shearon Harris Plant has extended an offer to the Town of Chapel Hill to take a tour of the facilities and receive a safety briefing if the Council desires such.
1. Examples of materials distributed to residents within the 10-mile radius (p. 4)