Report suggests communities near nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y., develop disaster response protocol

The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) released a report, concluding that most jurisdictions outside a 50-mile radius of the Indian Point Energy Center nuclear plant in Buchanan, New York, lack emergency evacuation plans.

DAP, the leading nonprofit organization that provides long-term independent oversight of disaster management systems, said states, counties and cities within 50 miles of the plant need to develop plans beyond those mandated by the federal government.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) only requires an emergency planning zone of 10 miles for the areas surrounding the plant.

“In contrast, the NRC’s public guidance for the actual major nuclear plant disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant recommended that U.S. citizens evacuate if they were within 50 miles of the damaged Japanese nuclear plant,” the report said.

It also said that the NRC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have yet to address the gap between current planning and “real-world implementation.”

“At a minimum, emergency planning authorities from jurisdictions beyond the 10-mile mandatory planning zones should provide better emergency response guidance to the public, conduct shadow evacuation studies and plan accordingly, even if the federal government does not require it,” the report said.

Indian Point Energy Center has two reactors and is located on the banks of the Hudson River. It is owned by Entergy Nuclear, a part of Entergy Corp.