MAHANOY CITY - Almost 3,000 people who would be evacuated if an emergency arises at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant in Luzerne County would funnel into the Mahanoy Area Middle School.
On Wednesday, federal, state, county and local authorities tested pre-plans in place for such an emergency.
John Matz, Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said exercises are conducted bi-annually for both the nuclear power plant near Berwick and also for Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Dauphin County.
Matz said that in the event of an emergency at Susquehanna, as many as 2,920 people can be directed to the Mahanoy Area school, arriving via Interstate 81 south to Exit 131 or from Route 339, a direct route to the power station.
The school will serve as a reception area for those forced to leave the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone around Susquehanna Steam. Evacuees will be from parts of Luzerne and Columbia counties, Matz said.
He said that at Mahanoy Area, evacuees will be screened for any signs of radioactivity. If no radioactivity is detected, the evacuees would then be directed to a registration area where, after signing in, they would receive "strip maps" designed to direct them to other facilities designated as evacuation centers.
Those facilities are Shenandoah Valley High School, which can accommodate 350 people; North Schuylkill High School, 600 people; and Tamaqua Area High School, 1,100 people. At Mahanoy Area, Matz said 973 people can be accommodated.
If an evacuee shows signs of being contaminated, a decontamination center will be set up at Mahanoy Area. Matz said that should a person not be able to be decontaminated there, he or she would be taken for further treatment to either Reading Hospital and Medical Center, West Reading or Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey.
James Hampford, deputy county EMA coordinator, said the drills give the agencies involved the opportunity to work together and determine where shortfalls exist and whether any improvements are needed.
The drill is important, he said, since this is the first year Mahanoy Area Middle School is being used as a reception area, replacing Tamaqua Area High School.
"Since this is the first year here, there will probably be some changes that will need to be addressed," he said.
Hampford said the decision to change the location was made after traffic patterns were examined and Mahanoy Area was determined to be more centrally located and more easily accessible.
Matz said that in the event an evacuation is needed for the Three Mile Island nuclear facility, Blue Mountain High School is used as a reception area with surrounding schools, such as Schuylkill Haven Area High School, as evacuation centers.
Should evacuations be needed for the Dauphin County plant, Schuylkill County could expect about 3,600 evacuees, Matz said.
