The Harris Plant’s annual full-volume siren test will be conducted on Aug. 22, between 10 and 11 a.m. During this time, the 81 alert notification sirens within 10 miles of Progress Energy’s Harris Plant will be tested at full volume. This test is conducted in cooperation with the state of North Carolina and Chatham, Harnett, Lee and Wake counties.
Because this is a test, local broadcasting stations will not interrupt their regular programming to broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages. If there were ever a real emergency at the plant requiring the sirens to be sounded, local radio and television stations would broadcast information and instructions to the public. The siren test will be postponed until a later date in the event of severe weather. The local news media will have information about the new test date and time.
In addition to the annual full-volume tests, the alert notification sirens around Harris are also tested silently every two weeks and at a low volume every quarter.
If you have questions, please call Progress Energy at 362-3261 or 1-800-443-8395. You can e-mail your questions to:
What to do if you hear the sirens.
If you hear a loud, steady sound coming from one of the sirens around the Harris Plant, tune your radio to an Emergency Alert System (EAS) station. In our area, your primary EAS stations are 94.7 FM or 105.1 FM. Hearing the sirens does NOT mean you should evacuate.
The Harris Plant was designed and built with safety as the top priority. It is operated with the same safety focus every day, so an emergency at the plant is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, Progress Energy and area emergency-response agencies have extensive plans in place to deal with such an event.
If there were an emergency, radio and TV stations in the area would broadcast information and instructions, such as what happened, what areas have been affected and what actions, if any, should be taken by the public. Stay tuned to the radio or television, as news media would receive regular, official status reports.
What does a siren sound like? Progress Energy has a sample audio clip of a full volume siren test on our Web site. Just go to: http://progress-energy.com/aboutenergy/powerplants/nuclear.asp
If you have questions about the tone alert radios, please e-mail us at:
-- From: Progress Energy
