Sirens to be discontinued for Berwick nuclear plant emergencies
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - A siren for the Susquehanna Steam Electric Plant is seen in the village of Weston on August 12, 2024.
SALEM TOWNSHIP – Beginning April 1, if an emergency happens at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, you won’t hear a siren sound.
Instead, Talen Energy says they will rely on phones and terrestrial broadcasting to get the message out.
Sirens are strategically placed across the 10-mile emergency planning zone. Locally, sirens are in Weston and Sugarloaf.
These sirens, according to the 2024 Emergency Preparedness Guide for the nuclear power plant, sound to alert the community of an emergency at the power plant and to tune in to an emergency alert broadcasting station for further instructions.
Effective April 1, these sirens will no longer be used, according to an update published by the power plant.
Instead, the power plant plans to use FEMA’s IPAWS weather alert system intended to send wireless notifications to cell phones without the need for an app, as well as CodeRED, used by the emergency management agencies in Columbia and Luzerne counties. CodeRED is something you need to sign up for.
They will also use emergency alert system messages over terrestrial broadcast stations in Columbia and Luzerne counties.
In a frequently asked questions section of the update, Susquehanna and Talen claim the move “is not driven by cost, but rather how we can best protect the public.”
“IPAWS and CodeRED are established systems that have been successfully used in our community for a number of years,” Talen says in the statement. “They offer greater functionality and reach because they can notify and provide instructions at the same time. They can also reach you even when you are not home (you don’t need to be near a siren to be notified).”
What if the phone alert doesn’t work, you don’t have your phone, or wireless service fails? Landlines and even vehicles broadcasting messages as they canvass an area are the fail-safes, according to the update.
If you turn your cell phone off or sound off at night? “IPAWS-WEA messages may not be heard; however, the landline calls from CodeRED will come through.”
The sirens will still be monitored but will no longer be used.
Susquehanna and Talen say the change was approved by FEMA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and say EMA partners from the county, state, and federal levels are supportive.
In the event of a nuclear emergency, much of the southern portion of the evacuation zone will come to Mahanoy City.
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