Massachusetts and New Hampshire have both released updated brochures to guide residents in the event of an emergency at the Seabrook nuclear power plant.
Each state outlines its own communities and emergency plans and procedures for its portion of the10-mile radius emergency planning zone. New Hampshire communities are Brentwood, East Kingston, Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, Kingston, New Castle, Newfields, Newton, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Rye, Seabrook, South Hampton and Stratham. In Massachusetts, they are Amesbury, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury and West Newbury. While a small portion of Haverhill falls within the 10-miles radius and the city borders a number of the communities within the zone, no specific evacuation plans are listed for the city.
Methuen is also not within the zone, but Methuen High School would accept Amesbury students in the event of an emergency.
Brochures tell parents, for example, where their children in schools or day care centers will be taken in an emergency and where “reception centers” are located in the event of an emergency. For example, West Newbury parents are directed to Tewksbury High School, while if evacuation is required, the Masconomet Reception Center, 20 Endicott Road, Boxford, will open to receive, register, monitor and decontaminate (if necessary) evacuees and their vehicles. Evacuation routes for each community are also listed.
According to a Friday press release from the New Hampshire Department of Safety, the updated brochure details the four emergency classification levels and instructions to be followed in the event one is declared. It lists the ways in which residents, business and visitors may be notified of a potential event at Seabrook Station and what to do during a shelter-in-place or evacuation.
The Massachusetts brochure, distributed by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, is here, while the New Hampshire version is here.