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Deaf students left out of Yankee evac plan: Times Argus Online
Not enough is being done to help students at the Austine School and other members of the deaf community in Brattleboro in the event of an emergency at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, school officials said Tuesday.
Austine students have no idea where the emergency alert system is, an Austine School employee told area emergency preparedness officials Tuesday.
"The whole community can't hear a radio," she said. "The alert system isn't working."
The woman said she worked with special-needs deaf children, and they needed even more help — which they aren't getting, she said.
And another Brattleboro resident raised concerns about what would happen if during an evacuation there was a major accident that closed one of the routes of escape.
A few weeks ago, the woman noted, Route 30, a major east-west road in southern Vermont, was closed for most of the day because an oil delivery truck went off the road and tumbled into the West River.
"The plan is a fluid idea, there's never just one plan. There are all sorts of contingencies," said Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin, who said there are "layers" built into the plan that give it flexibility.
More care is given to containing a possible oil spill under normal circumstances, Martin said, than during a full-scale emergency at Vermont Yankee. A road or intersection will be quickly cleared off in an evacuation, he said.
Martin said the towns around Vermont Yankee were much better prepared for any emergency, compared to towns in northern Vermont.
That drew a retort from a man from Dummerston, who said the reason the towns were more prepared was because of the inherent danger posed by the spent fuel housed at Vermont Yankee in Vernon.
"The risk is huge," he said. "The risk is gargantuan."
On the issue of the deaf community, one planner, who works for the Vermont Center for Independent Living, said the issue had been on everyone's radar screen since 2001.
And John Angil, manager of the local office of Vermont Emergency Management, said emergency alert radios with strobe lights and vibration were available for the students. He said anyone in the 10-mile emergency zone could pick up an emergency tone alert radio at the Brattleboro Fire Station. The radios are free and paid for by Entergy Nuclear, owner of Vermont Yankee.
But the woman, who was not deaf herself, said the special needs cards lack any kind of confirmation — people mail them in, but they had no idea if they were ever received or if people understood what was needed.
Entergy Nuclear distributes a calendar to residents in the 10-mile emergency evacuation zone every December, and included in the calendar is a card, which people can fill out and mail in if they need special assistance in the event of an emergency or evacuation.
The woman said her neighbor, who has a deaf son and is hard of hearing himself, never heard back from anyone after he mailed in the card.
Angil, who said he came to Vermont after working on hurricane evacuation plans for South Carolina, said communication with emergency planners "was a two-way street."
If people are concerned, they should contact the emergency management office, he said.
But Angil said that with the 2008 calendar, the card would get another look, and include some kind of confirmation or acknowledgement.
The card lists 11 different concerns: "I use a wheelchair and need a wheelchair van," reads one. "I need help closing doors, windows and vents," is another. "I require and use a service animal," was another.
The cards, which are confidential and kept on file in the towns in the emergency zone, are a source of some other concern.
Not enough people who should fill out the cards are, according to Larry Lynch, an emergency planner for the town of Dummerston.
Lynch said people are worried who will see the cards and people also don't like to admit they need help. But, he said, "If I don't know you need help, you aren't going to get it."
Angil said recent studies of the evacuation plan showed that 1,500 cars an hour could be handled by the major roads leading out of Brattleboro, and Interstate 91 could handle three to four times that amount.
"Not everybody is going to get in their car and leave at the same time. It's no different than being at a major sporting event," Angil told the group.
Studies show that 80 percent of the population will actually evacuate, he said.
But one woman said that during the Three Mile Island emergency, many more people left the area than those living close to the plant, adding to the transportation problems.
Not enough is being done to help students at the Austine School and other members of the deaf community in Brattleboro in the event of an emergency at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, school officials said Tuesday.
Austine students have no idea where the emergency alert system is, an Austine School employee told area emergency preparedness officials Tuesday.
"The whole community can't hear a radio," she said. "The alert system isn't working."
The woman said she worked with special-needs deaf children, and they needed even more help — which they aren't getting, she said.
And another Brattleboro resident raised concerns about what would happen if during an evacuation there was a major accident that closed one of the routes of escape.
A few weeks ago, the woman noted, Route 30, a major east-west road in southern Vermont, was closed for most of the day because an oil delivery truck went off the road and tumbled into the West River.
"The plan is a fluid idea, there's never just one plan. There are all sorts of contingencies," said Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin, who said there are "layers" built into the plan that give it flexibility.
More care is given to containing a possible oil spill under normal circumstances, Martin said, than during a full-scale emergency at Vermont Yankee. A road or intersection will be quickly cleared off in an evacuation, he said.
Martin said the towns around Vermont Yankee were much better prepared for any emergency, compared to towns in northern Vermont.
That drew a retort from a man from Dummerston, who said the reason the towns were more prepared was because of the inherent danger posed by the spent fuel housed at Vermont Yankee in Vernon.
"The risk is huge," he said. "The risk is gargantuan."
On the issue of the deaf community, one planner, who works for the Vermont Center for Independent Living, said the issue had been on everyone's radar screen since 2001.
And John Angil, manager of the local office of Vermont Emergency Management, said emergency alert radios with strobe lights and vibration were available for the students. He said anyone in the 10-mile emergency zone could pick up an emergency tone alert radio at the Brattleboro Fire Station. The radios are free and paid for by Entergy Nuclear, owner of Vermont Yankee.
But the woman, who was not deaf herself, said the special needs cards lack any kind of confirmation — people mail them in, but they had no idea if they were ever received or if people understood what was needed.
Entergy Nuclear distributes a calendar to residents in the 10-mile emergency evacuation zone every December, and included in the calendar is a card, which people can fill out and mail in if they need special assistance in the event of an emergency or evacuation.
The woman said her neighbor, who has a deaf son and is hard of hearing himself, never heard back from anyone after he mailed in the card.
Angil, who said he came to Vermont after working on hurricane evacuation plans for South Carolina, said communication with emergency planners "was a two-way street."
If people are concerned, they should contact the emergency management office, he said.
But Angil said that with the 2008 calendar, the card would get another look, and include some kind of confirmation or acknowledgement.
The card lists 11 different concerns: "I use a wheelchair and need a wheelchair van," reads one. "I need help closing doors, windows and vents," is another. "I require and use a service animal," was another.
The cards, which are confidential and kept on file in the towns in the emergency zone, are a source of some other concern.
Not enough people who should fill out the cards are, according to Larry Lynch, an emergency planner for the town of Dummerston.
Lynch said people are worried who will see the cards and people also don't like to admit they need help. But, he said, "If I don't know you need help, you aren't going to get it."
Angil said recent studies of the evacuation plan showed that 1,500 cars an hour could be handled by the major roads leading out of Brattleboro, and Interstate 91 could handle three to four times that amount.
"Not everybody is going to get in their car and leave at the same time. It's no different than being at a major sporting event," Angil told the group.
Studies show that 80 percent of the population will actually evacuate, he said.
But one woman said that during the Three Mile Island emergency, many more people left the area than those living close to the plant, adding to the transportation problems.
