Planning is an important part of the strategy to protect you and your family in an unlikely emergency at Harris. The County, together with federal, state and local officials, have prepared detailed emergency plans for people who live, work, visit or go to school within 10 miles of the plant. The plans are tested through evaluated exercises and inspections.

Wake County Emergency Management will use a variety of methods to alert and notify the public. These methods may include a combination of the following:

• Outdoor warning sirens
• Local radio or TV stations (will begin broadcasting after sirens are activated)
• Emergency Alert System
• Wireless Emergency Alerts
• NOAA weather radios
• ReadyWake! alerts
• Route alerting (door-to-door notifications)
   

Emergency management officials will provide instructions. Remember, hearing an outdoor warning siren does not necessarily mean you must evacuate.

Routes and procedures are posted on Duke’s website.

Designated shelters are posted on Duke’s website.

Individuals with Access and Functional Needs and Health Concerns

• Individuals who may require evacuation assistance include those who:
  • Are unable to evacuate on their own due to a specialized transportation requirement
  • Are homebound or bedbound residents that are unable to walk and do not have anyone that can provide transportation
  • Have medical needs that prevent them from evacuating on their own
  • Are electrically dependent patients on life sustaining medical equipment that requires electricity
  • May require assistance with activities of daily living.
• If you require evacuation assistance, plan now with friends and family as to what you will do.
• If you require help to evacuate due to a medical condition, specialized transportation need or other evacuation assistance requirement, you should preregister with your local emergency management agency (see instructions below).
   

Individuals who may need assistance should return the Special Needs card they receive in the mail from Duke Energy. The information on the card will be shared with local officials. Wake County Emergency Management maintains a database of pre-identified individuals who may require assistance during an incident at Harris Nuclear Plant.

You may also contact Wake County Emergency Management at 919-856-6480 or rep@wake.gov to be enrolled.

Schools/Childcare Facilities

If your child’s school or childcare facility is located within the 10-mile area surrounding the Harris Nuclear Power Plant, federal law requires that the local government develop evacuation plans. Our concern for the health and safety of your children has prompted the development of early dismissal, relocation and evacuation safeguards if students should have to be moved from the affected area.

In the unlikely event that relocation is necessary, schools and childcare facilities will be notified and advised of the proper actions to take.

• Early dismissal is handled according to existing facility guidelines.
• In the event your child’s school is relocated, you must pick up your child at the appropriate relocation school. All students in the evacuation area will be transported to a host school outside the affected area.
• DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PICK UP YOUR CHILD FROM THE EVACUATED SCHOOL. Follow instructions from school and local officials.
• Schools are provided with yearly training, and potassium iodide is distributed to schools and childcare facilities with the EPZ.
• To determine which school your child will be taken to, please refer to the Duke Energy preparedness website.
• In some cases, only certain schools and daycare facilities within 10 miles of the plant would be affected by a nuclear plant emergency. Officials will notify the public which schools are being released early or relocated.

Potassium iodide, or KI, works to prevent the uptake of radioactive iodine into the thyroid gland. It is not a general radioprotective agent.

• The effectiveness of KI as a specific blocker of thyroid radioiodine uptake is well established. When administered in the recommended dose, KI is effective in reducing the risk of thyroid cancer in individuals or populations at risk for inhalation or ingestion of radioiodines.

• Potassium iodide should ONLY be ingested when told to do so by local or state health officials. Taking a higher dose of KI, or taking KI more often than recommended, does not offer more protection and can cause severe illness.

• Wake County along with state and federal partners have potassium iodide available if needed to distribute to residents and visitors within the 10-mile EPZ. For information about potassium iodide see the CDC website and the FDA website.

• Wake County residents living in the EPZ can go to the Southern Regional Center or the Wake County Pharmacy on Sunnybrook Road to obtain potassium iodide for themselves or their family members. Potassium iodide is also available for purchase at a variety of online retailers.

• If you have specific medical concerns and are unsure about taking potassium iodide, consult with your medical provider.

Wake County Emergency Management will work closely with local, state and federal officials to ensure food and water safety.

The CDC and North Carolina Department of Agriculture offer more information about food and water safety in a radiation emergency.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture offers guidance about livestock safety.

Consider making a plan for your pets for the unlikely event of an emergency at Harris Nuclear Plant.