FEMA to discuss Callaway Energy Center exercise

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region VII office recently announced that its staff will hold a meeting to discuss the Callaway Energy Center exercise process.

The public meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7, at 10 a.m. in the Auditorium of the State Emergency Management Agency. The public is invited to attend. It could take months to fully evaluate the response exercise, and the discussion will only address the preliminary findings, which are limited in comparison to the full evaluation.

The Callaway Energy Center, located near Reform, Missouri, has participated in a routine exercise to determine the abilities of the state, the counties and the utility in protecting the safety and health of the citizens who work and live near the Callaway Energy Center.

Counties included in the exercise are Osage, Gasconade, Montgomery and Callaway, all required to participate. The biennial exercise showed whether the local and state radiological emergency preparedness and response plans are adequate for an emergency situation.

The exercise required the emergency facilities to be activated by both local and state officials. Then, staff from FEMA Region VII Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program observed the local, county and state governments respond to the situation.

Later, Callaway Energy Center will be observed and inspected by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) officials.