DOE TO TEST PUBLIC WARNING
SIREN SYSTEM ON NOVEMBER 3
 

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – On Wednesday, November 3, the Department of Energy’s Public Warning Siren System will be tested in the areas surrounding the Department’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

The sirens will be tested between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.  People in these areas during the test will hear a siren for three to five minutes.  The sirens are located near the Department of Energy’s (DOE) East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The sirens are intended to provide immediate notification of an emergency to people who are within an approximate two-mile radius of DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR).  The 33,750-acre ORR is located in Anderson and Roane Counties.

In the event of an actual emergency, the sirens will be sounded.  When citizens hear the sirens they should go inside, close all windows and ventilation systems, and listen to radio or television for public health and safety-related information.

The DOE Public Warning Siren System is tested on the first Wednesday of each month.  This effort is consistent with testing of warning systems around the Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear power plants.

DOE has established a Web site that provides information to the public on what to do in case of an emergency at the DOE’s ORR.  The Web site is located at: http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/emercomm/.   More information is available by calling the DOE Public Affairs Office at 576-0885.

Oak Ridge Offices is responsible for major national DOE programs in science, environmental management, national security, assets utilization, and uranium programs. 

-DOE-

R-04-032