EMO shows off roadside nuclear decontamination centre

Expect to leave your car and maybe your pets behind if radiation is released at the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant.

Speaking at a public open house Wednesday, an Emergency Measures official emphasized a release of nuclear contamination is "very, very low."

But if communities near the plant do have to be evacuated,traffic leaving in both directions on Highway 1 will be stopped at roadside decontamination centres at Prince of Wales to the east and Pennfield to the west.

"You'll have to park your vehicle and you'll be directed by foot to go through the monitoring and decontamination centre, the whole process," said Roger Shepard, New Brunswick EMO's manager of nuclear preparedness.

"We'll determine immediately if you are contaminated or not contaminated."

One of the decontamination centres a collection of 15 orange tent-like "shelters" is set up in an NB Power building in St. George and was open to the public Wednesday evening.

The first contains a radiation monitor that resembles the kind of metal detector travellers pass through en route to an airport departure lounge.

If no radiation is found, evacuees are sent on to a registration tent. If contamination is found, the evacuee is sent into an area to disrobe and shower.

Either way, evacueeswill turn over their keys and possibly their pets before being transported to safer locales.

"The vehicle is tagged, your keys collected as well as your clothing and even your pet, if your pet is contaminated," said Shepard. "After the emergency is over, then we would look at returning your vehicle and your pet and clothing to you."

The Point Lepreaugenerating station came online Feb. 1, 1983.

Wednesday's demonstration is a lead-up to a full-scale nuclear emergency exercise this October involving dozens of provincial and federal agencies along with officials from the State of Maine.

Licensing requirement

"We need to do a full-scale exercise every three years," said NB Power spokeswoman Marie-Andree Bolduc.

"We're inviting the community to come see how we are getting prepared in the unlikely event of something happening at the station."

Bolduc said the later, two-day exercise in October is a licensing requirement for the nuclear plant. It will involve about1,000 people from EMO, the Environment Department,Border Services and more than two dozen other agencies.