Seabrook Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ)
The Seabrook Nuclear Power Station (“Seabrook”) is located in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The area that is approximately 10 miles around Seabrook is called the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ). Massachusetts communities in the EPZ are: Amesbury, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, and West Newbury.
People that live, work, or vacation within the 10 mile EPZ should be prepared for an emergency at Seabrook and be familiar with the EPZ’s emergency plans and procedures.
Seabrook Nuclear Emergency Planning Zone
Emergency Classification Levels
If an emergency is declared at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, it would be categorized into one of four emergency levels.
Unusual Event: This means a minor problem has occurred at the plant. It may involve situations such as hazardous weather or a minor equipment problem. Public officials would be notified, but there would be no need to sound the warning signals. People in the area would not need to take any special actions.
Alert: This could affect plant safety but it is not expected to require any special actions by residents. Public officials would be notified. Officials would monitor the situation and would be ready to act if it got worse. As a precaution, public officials may mobilize transportation resources, transfer school children to host facilities outside the area and clear state forests and waterways. State and local officials will convey necessary actions and important information through EAS radio or television broadcasts and other alerting systems.
Site Area Emergency: This means a more serious problem affecting the plant and plant boundaries has occurred. Any release of radioactive materials would be below federal limits. As a precaution, state officials may move school children to host facilities outside the area if this had not already been done. Other precautions would be called for by state officials, as needed. State and local officials will convey necessary actions and important information through EAS radio or television broadcasts and other alerting systems.
General Emergency: This is the most serious type of emergency. It could involve serious damage at the plant and a release of radioactive materials. State officials might direct persons in some areas to shelter-in-place or to evacuate to a safer location. State and local officials will convey necessary actions and important information through EAS radio or television broadcasts and other alerting systems.
Before an Emergency at Seabrook
- If you live or work in the EPZ, obtain your Seabrook Nuclear Brochure.
- Be informed by receiving alerts, warnings, and public safety information before, during, and after emergencies.
- Learn about local warning procedures in your community, including outdoor sirens or horns or automated telephoning systems used for sending emergency notifications.
- CodeRed will call all published landlines in the Emergency Planning Zone. If you have an unpublished number or would like to be notified via email or your smartphone, sign up for CodeRed at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/bf065f487535.
- Build an Emergency Kit.
- As you build your emergency kit, you may want to consider adding Potassium Iodide (KI) to your supplies if you live in a Seabrook EPZ community. KI is a salt tablet that can protect the thyroid gland from radiation injury caused by the release of radioactive iodine. KI distribution is managed through the local Boards of Health, and some boards may choose to distribute KI before an emergency at Seabrook station. If you live in the Seabrook EPZ, you can contact your local Board of Health to ask if KI is available to include in your kit.
- During an actual emergency, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in cooperation with MEMA, will distribute KI at pre-determined locations as listed on page 13 of the Seabrook Nuclear Brochure.
- Create and review your family emergency plan.
- Local schools and day care centers within the EPZs have specific plans in case of an emergency at the nuclear power plant. See the "Children in School or Child Care" section below to learn about plans and pick-up locations.
- Be prepared to evacuate or shelter in place. Make arrangements for your pets.
- Let your local Emergency Management Director (EMD) know in advance if you need any assistance during an emergency. If you or someone in your household would need notification or assistance with emergency sheltering-in-place, evacuating, or staying in a mass care shelter, let your EMD know.
- Fill out the Access and Functional Needs Card on page 13 of the Seabrook Nuclear Brochure and mail it to MEMA as directed on the card.
During an Emergency: How You Will Be Notified
In the unlikely event of a nuclear emergency that requires you to take action, you will be alerted through emergency alert system radio and television stations, CodeRed, wireless emergency alerts, outdoor warning sirens and marine radio channels 16 and 22.
- The outdoor warning sirens will make a steady three to five minute sound.
- If you receive an emergency alert, go inside your home or a nearby building and turn to the emergency alert system station: 92.5 FM, 93.7 FM, 98.5 FM, 106.1 FM, 1030 AM, or 1450 AM
Safety instructions may be given to you at any hour, day or night, and will include recommendations as to what you should do for your protection. Follow instructions carefully. Information will be provided and rebroadcast regularly.
| Local EAS Stations | AM/FM |
|---|---|
| Boston | 1030 AM |
| Boston | 98.5 FM |
| Boston | 93.7 FM |
| Haverhill | 92.5 FM |
| Newburyport | 1450 AM |
| Newburyport | 106.1 FM |
Check with your neighbors, especially the elderly or persons who have difficulty hearing or seeing, to make sure they have received the warning and know what to do.
During an Emergency: If Told to Evacuate
If an evacuation is necessary, public safety officials will tell you over the emergency
alert system radio station what to do. DO NOT evacuate unless directed to do so
by public safety officials.
- Only take what you will need, including: extra clothing, toiletries, blankets, pillows, towels, prescription medications and medical supplies, checkbook, credit card, cash, baby supplies, special dietary foods, driver’s license or identification.
- Take your pets with you. Not all shelters are pet friendly, so have a plan for your pets in case of an evacuation.
- DO NOT try to pick up children at their schools. They will be taken to designated host schools outside the area where you may pick them up later.
- If you have family members in a hospital or nursing home, stay tuned to an emergency alert system station. Patients may be released to family members or moved to another location.
- Household members outside the area may be advised not to return during an evacuation. They will be directed to the reception center where they can join you.
- If you have questions or need information, call 2-1-1. If you have an emergency or you need the assistance of a first responder (police, fire, EMS), call 9-1-1.
- Stay tuned to an Emergency Alert System station.
- Secure your home and check with neighbors to see if they need assistance.
- Follow the established evacuation routes to the reception center. Reception centers are opened to monitor evacuees for radiological contamination. After checking in at the reception center, short-term housing and food is available at mass care shelters.
- If you need a ride, try to get one with neighbors.
- If you cannot get a ride, find the Seabrook Emergency Bus Routes on pages 7-12 of the Seabrook Nuclear Brochure. Walk to one of the routes shown as a solid line. Buses will pick up riders anywhere along these routes. If a bus is full, another will come along. Buses will take riders to the reception center at Masconomet Regional School in Boxford.
- If you cannot get to the bus routes or pick-up points, contact your local Emergency Management Office. Emergency workers will arrange transportation for you.
- If you have livestock, shelter them. Leave them a three-day supply of stored feed and water that has been protected from possible contamination.
How to Travel
- While traveling in the car, keep all windows and vents closed until you have left the EPZ.
- Keep the car radio tuned to an EAS station.
- Drive out of the area along one of the Seabrook Evacuation Routes as shown and described on pages 4 & 5 of the Seabrook Nuclear Brochure. The use of these suggested main roads will expedite the movement of evacuating traffic away from Seabrook Station and to the Reception Center (see below).
Pets
If you go, they go. Do not leave your pets behind. Not all shelters are pet friendly, so have a plan for your pets in case of an evacuation. Take the time now to locate a facility outside of the emergency planning zone that will accept your pet if you need to evacuate.
Prepare an emergency kit for your pet: collar, leash, 3-day supply of food, bowls, litter box, current photo, and necessary medications. Proof of current rabies vaccination is required for admission into any shelter. Use a pet carrier for each pet to make transport easier.
Potassium Iodide (KI)
Potassium iodide is a drug that can protect the thyroid gland from radiation injury caused by radio-active iodine. The drug is approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is available over-the-counter. In the event of a radiological emergency, broadcasts over Emergency Alert System radio stations will tell people if the Massachusetts Department of Public Health advises them to take KI.
During an evacuation, you can pick up doses of KI at one of the following distribution points:
Danvers: 255 Newbury Street, Danvers, MA 01923
Lowell: 424 Douglas Road, Lowell, MA 01852
Recommended dosages: Adults 130 mg, children 3-18 years old 65 mg, children one month to three years 32 mg, infants birth to one month 16 mg.
Reception Center
A Reception Center is available to assist evacuees in the event of a radioactive release. The reception center is located at Masconomet Regional School (20 Endicott Rd, Boxford, MA), which is outside the 10-mile EPZ. At the reception center, you will be registered and monitored for contamination and care for anyone needing this type of assistance. You will be able to receive information about the location of other members of your family who have already registered at the reception center. If you need a place to stay, you will be directed to a mass care shelter that provides meals and lodging. The reception center and mass care shelters are handicap accessible. If you have additional needs, officials will assist you. If you can, you may want to stay with friends or relatives until the emergency is over.
During an Emergency: If Told to Shelter-in-Place
You may be instructed to shelter-in-place. This means you should immediately go inside the nearest available building. If you are already inside, stay there. Sheltering-in-place may provide the best protection. If a shelter-in-place message is given for your area, you should do the following:
- Go indoors and keep all children and pets inside.
- Close all doors and windows. Turn off all window fans, clothes dryers, kitchen and bath exhaust fans, air conditioners, and other sources of outside air, unless told to do otherwise.
- Go to an interior room or basement.
- Monitor the emergency alert system stations: 92.5 FM, 93.7 FM, 98.5 FM,
106.1 FM, 1450 AM, 1030 AM. - If sheltering in place is recommended during school hours, children will be
sheltered at the school and cared for by school personnel. - If you must go outside, cover your nose and mouth with a folded, damp cloth.
- If you have questions or need information call 2-1-1. If you have an emergency or you need the assistance of a first responder (police, fire, EMS), call 9-1-1.
- If you are traveling in a motor vehicle in the affected area, close the windows and air vents.If you are a visitor, leave the area immediately, or go inside a nearby public building.
- If you have livestock, shelter them too. Give them stored feed and water from a covered source.
Children in School or Child Care
Early in an emergency, school children may be moved to designated host facilities and day care providers may close.
- DO NOT try to pick up your children at their school or phone the school. Phone lines are needed for emergency use.
- You will be notified by your day care provider if they close.
- Pick up your children at their host facility.
- Children who live inside the area but go to school outside the area will be held at the school until you pick them up.
- Bring an ID with you.
| If your children attend: | Pick them up at: |
|---|---|
| Amesbury All schools and day cares |
Methuen High School 1 Ranger Road, Methuen, MA |
| Salisbury All schools and day cares* |
Marsh Grammar School 309 Pelham Street, Methuen, MA |
| Merrimac All schools and day cares** |
John W. Wynn Middle School 1 Griffin Way, Tewksbury, MA |
| West Newbury All schools and day cares |
Tewksbury High School 320 Pleasant Street, Tewksbury, MA |
| Newburyport All schools and day cares |
Minuteman High School Marrett Road (off Route 2A West), Lexington, MA |
| Newbury All schools and day cares |
Wakefield High School 60 Farm Street, Wakefield, MA |
** Students who live in Salisbury and attend Triton Regional Schools will be transferred to the Marsh Grammar School in Methuen.
** Students who live in Merrimac and attend Pentucket Regional Schools will be transferred to the Tewksbury High School.
After an Emergency at Seabrook
- Continue to monitor the media for emergency information.
- Follow instructions from public safety officials.
- Call 9-1-1 to report emergencies. Call 2-1-1 to obtain shelter locations and other disaster information.
- If you have evacuated, return home only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
- If you have been advised to shelter in place, do not leave your home until officials announce that it is safe to do so.
- Be a good neighbor. Check on family, friends, and neighbors, especially the elderly, those who live alone, those with medical conditions and those who may need additional assistance.
- For guidance to members of the agricultural community with farms, food processing facilities and distributing facilities within 50 miles of a nuclear power station, see: Radiological Emergency Information for Farmers, Food Processors and Distributors.
- See more tips for After A Disaster.
Important Telephone Numbers
Call 2-1-1 to obtain shelter locations and other emergency information. Always call 9-1-1 for emergencies.
Non-Emergency Phone Numbers
| Amesbury | 978-388-8155 |
| Merrimac | 978-346-9676 |
| Newbury | 978-462-4440 |
| Newburyport | 978-465-4424 |
| Salisbury | 978-465-0543 |
| West Newbury | 978-363-1103 |