Harris Nuclear Plant to test 85 sirens across 10-mile zone

Duke Energy tested all 85 outdoor warning sirens around Harris Nuclear Plant on July 1 in a brief full-volume check that required no public action. The sirens cover the plant’s 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone, and the scheduled activation was listed at 5 to 30 seconds. Routine tests are commonly held on Wednesday mornings to limit inconvenience.

The sirens are meant for people outdoors. They are designed to tell residents to go inside and tune to local radio or television for official instructions in a real emergency. They do not automatically mean evacuation, and they do not replace instructions from emergency managers, state officials or federal authorities.

Wake County Emergency Management serves as the lead public-notification agency for Harris Nuclear Plant, and the county’s Harris Nuclear Program directs residents to contact Wake County Emergency Management if they hear sirens but do not hear an emergency message on local radio or TV. Wake County, as the host county for the plant, coordinates nuclear preparedness with Chatham, Lee and Harnett counties, along with state and federal partners.

Duke Energy also mails emergency planning information each year to residents within 10 miles of the plant. In the communities closest to Harris, that material includes evacuation routes, and Tone Alert Weather Radios are provided to residents within five miles of the plant and tested annually. The county and Duke use those mailings and radio alerts to make sure people inside the zone know where to go and how to listen for instructions if conditions ever change.

In an actual emergency, officials could order either sheltering in place or evacuation, depending on the threat. For Wake County residents near Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and New Hill, the sirens are only the first alert, not the final instruction, and the next step is to wait for a message from local media and emergency officials.