The planned evacuation for Arizona's Palo Verde nuclear power plant is only 10 miles, while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called for evacuation of Americans within 50 miles of Japan's stricken Fukushima plant. Are safety plans enough?
"People living within 10 miles of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix are well-aware they are in the evacuation zone of Arizona's only nuclear power plant.
Those 11,545 residents get an annual calendar from the plant's owners with instructions on what to do in the remote event of a disaster.
Since the March nuclear meltdown in Japan, when an earthquake and tsunami damaged a plant and released untold amounts of radiation, industry watchdogs have scrutinized U.S. nuclear-emergency plans, especially since the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission advised U.S. citizens within 50 miles of the Japanese plant to evacuate. ...
The difference between evacuating a narrow 10-mile perimeter and one extending to 50 miles around Palo Verde would be moving 11,545 people, estimated to take about three hours, or relocating nearly 2 million people. Most of the evacuation zone around Palo Verde is empty desert west of Buckeye, while the larger radius extends as far as downtown Phoenix, and evacuating it essentially could amount to a national crisis requiring military assistance."
Ryan Randazzo reports for the Arizona Republic August 14, 2011.
SEE ALSO:
"Critics Question Competency Of Inspector General's Office At Nuclear Regulatory Commission" (Huffington Post)
Japan Nuclear: "Negative Publicity Overseas Pummels Agricultural Exports" (Asahi Shimbun)
"In Fukushima City, Decontamination Begins. But What to Do with the Radioactive Waste?" (Ecocentric/TIME)
"TVA at Crossroads as It Decides Future of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant" (Nashville Tennessean)
"Japan Eyes Global Nuclear Compensation Treaty: Report" (Reuters)
"Japanese Gov't To Establish New Nuclear Safety Regulatory Body" (Xinhua)
"NGOs, Academics Call for Abolition of Nuclear Plants" (Japan Times)
"Japan Shakes Up Nuclear Agencies" (Wall St. Journal)
"Fla. Nuclear Plant Delays Rankle Consumers" (Miami Herald/wires)
"Ga. Regulators To Vote on Nuclear Plant Spending" (AP)
"Safety Doubts Raised At U.S. Nuclear Waste Cleanup Project" (Los Angeles Times)
"Japanese Schools Grapple With Nuclear Crisis" (Australian ABC)
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