Schools prepare for terrorism at nuclear plants

6/4/02 – Schools located close to nuclear power plants are taking extra precautions following increased threats of terrorist strikes. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) put the nation's nuclear plants on a heightened state of alert May 24.

Before Sept. 11, the Waterford, Conn., school district was most concerned with the possibility of an accident at the Millstone nuclear plant, Superintendent Randall Collins says. Now the possibility of terrorism is of greater concern. The district has one school only a couple of miles from Millstone.

The school system has accepted an offer from the federal government for free potassium iodide pills to distribute to schools. In case there's a terrorist strike or accident at a nuclear plant releasing radiation in the air, the pills would block the thyroid gland's absorption of cancer-causing radioactive iodine.

The NRC has offered the pills to states to redistribute to the 3 million people who live within a 10-mile radius of the nation's 103 operating nuclear plants, says spokesperson Victor Dricks. Thirteen states have accepted the pills.

"The issue is not if, but how," says Collins, who expressed several concerns about giving the pills to students.

There's a possibility of negative reactions, and schools need parental permission to give any medication, he says, and it's unclear whether the state could override that rule in an emergency.

Also, it would be "a monumental task to hand out pills when you are evacuating 3,200 kids," he says. The district already has an evacuation plan in place, and the school system participated in a townwide evacuation drill–on paper–on May 1.

The district used to keep its buses at a central location. Now, buses that serve the three elementary schools closest to Millstone are kept at the schools in case students and staff need to be evacuated quickly.

During a recent drill, an entire school was able to board the buses in seven minutes, Collins says.

In addition, teachers who have volunteered have been trained to drive school buses in case of emergency.

Kim Kisner, chair of the North Hampton, N.H., school board, says none of the school districts near the Seabrook nuclear power plant has made a decision on whether to accept the potassium iodide pills.

"A lot of questions remain," Kisner says. The pills are adult dosage, it's unclear how effective they are, and school districts would need parental permission to hand them out. she says. "We really need to talk to the community to see how they want us to handle this."

North Hampton already has an evacuation plan for its only school, which is five miles from Seabrook.

The Martin County, Fla., school district held a mock evacuation drill in February after state officials urged all school districts with schools near nuclear plants to have evacuation plans.

Two Martin County elementary schools, Jensen Beach and Felix A. Williams, and an environmental study center are within the 10-mile radius of the St. Lucie nuclear plant, says the district's risk manager, Julie Sessa.

Before the drill, the district held a meeting for parents with representatives from the county emergency management team, law enforcement agencies, Florida Power and Light, and the school board.

During the drill, Sessa says, school officials wanted to see how long it would take for students at the two schools to gather in prearranged areas and board buses.

The students weren't taken anywhere, but one empty bus made a timed run to a high school where students will be taken if there is an emergency.

Martin County students won't be offered potassium iodide pills, Sessa says. "If it's that bad, the pills won't help."