September 18, 2019 - Westchester residents and businesses within 10 miles of the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan will receive the latest version of the “Are You Ready?” planning guide in the mail starting this week.
The 2019-20 booklets will be mailed beginning Sept. 18. The booklets contain information to help residents plan for, and respond to, an emergency at Indian Point that might require them to evacuate the area or shelter in place.
County Executive George Latimer said: “The ‘Are You Ready?’ booklets provide valuable information to help residents to be prepared. As they have done before, it is important that residents continue to have a plan to respond to any radiological emergency that might occur.”
The booklets contain a range of guidance about what to do in the event of a radiological emergency, including information on how to monitor public information and announcements and what actions to take if an emergency occurs.
In addition, the booklet provides a map showing the locations of school reception centers and general population reception centers along with a list of emergency evacuation bus stops for those who do not have their own transportation. There also is information for persons with disabilities and a page for people to create a personal emergency plan in advance.
The area approximately 10 miles around Indian Point is called the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). The federal government set the 10-mile radius as the area requiring emergency plans to be created to protect health and safety in radiological emergencies. In Westchester, the EPZ comprises Village of Buchanan, the entire Town of Cortlandt (including Montrose and Verplanck), City of Peekskill, Village of Croton-on-Hudson, the town and village of Ossining, Village of Briarcliff Manor, Town of Yorktown and portions of New Castle and Somers.
In an emergency, County and other government officials would provide instructions to the public through the Emergency Alert System on radio and TV.
The Indian Point Energy Center is home to two operating nuclear power plants, Unit 2 and Unit 3, which generate approximately 2,000 megawatts of electricity. Under an agreement with New York State, the Unit 2 reactor will permanently cease operations no later than April 30, 2020, and the Unit 3 reactor will permanently cease operations no later than April 30, 2021.
In addition to the booklets that should arrive in the mail, the “Are You Ready?” guide can be found at https://keepingsafe.westchestergov.com. Phone applications can also be downloaded for iPhones and Android phones.
Anyone in the EPZ who does not receive a booklet in the mail by Oct. 1, or to obtain a copy of the booklet in Spanish, can contact the United Way 211 Call Center by dialing 211.