BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Talen Energy, majority owner of the nuclear power plant near Berwick, says emergency alert sirens will remain active for six months after April 1.
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Talen had announced that the sirens, which have been the primary alert system for six decades, would be silenced on April 1 with a switch to FEMA's Wireless Alert Sysyen as its primary method of alerting residents of emergencies at the power plant.
The delay will allow residents in the area time to learn more about the electronic alerts and the newly available "Code Red" alert system.
The emergency alert sirens connected to the nuclear power plant near Berwick will not go silent on April 1 as previously announced.
The sirens have been the primary alert system for decades, but a switch is underway.
I was actually working on a story in which area residents and some public officials reached out to the I-team expressing concerns about the silencing of those emergency sirens. Word of the sirens remaining active, at least for now, is welcome news for may area residents.
People who live in communities near the nuclear power plant near Berwick are very familiar with the emergency siren alert system. It's been in place since the 1970s.
Talen Energy announced last year those sirens would go silent on April 1 with the wireless emergency alert system, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), taking over as the primary alert system for the power plant.
That system automatically sends alerts to electronic devices. In television, Luzerne County is also offering the 'code red system' which residents can access on the county's website, but the changes have prompted a lot of calls to Salem Township officials, where the nuclear power plant is located.
"I'm concerned about our elderly citizen's here in the township. Most of them have landlines, but they don't have the technology for the cell phones usage. If they do have a cell phone, they have a hard time using it," voiced Ernest Ashbridge, Chairman, Salem Township Supervisors.
And that's where the code red system would help them receive alerts through the landline phones. That system has been the focus of most of questions being asked by residents. David emore is deputy director of luzerne county emergency management agency.
"The easiest way to sign up for code red is go to our website for Luzerne County, click on EMA, go all the way down the first page when you see the code red symbol, click on that, and follow the directions on how to sign up for it," explained Elmore.
A spokesperson for Talen Energy sent a statement to this reporter which reads in part:
"Talen will delay decommissioning emergency sirens, and the county emergency management agencies have agreed to continue to activate the emergency siren system, along with sending alerts through ipaws-wea and code red, in the event of a nuclear emergency, for a period of up to six months. It will provide additional time for residents to familiarize themselves with the ipaws-wea and code red systems, which are currently used for other types of emergencies."
The code red system will send alerts through landline phones.
