Palo Verde nuclear power plant west of Phoenix to test emergency sirens
Nov 30, 2022, 4:25 AM
(Photo by Jeff Topping/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Topping/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – Emergency sirens designed to alert nearby residents of a problem at the nuclear power plant far west of downtown Phoenix will be tested Wednesday, officials said.
Maricopa County, state and local officials said in a press release the 70 alarms at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Tonopah will sound at noon and again at 12:30 p.m. An opt-in wireless emergency alert will be released at 12:15 p.m.
The sirens will be audible twice within a 10-mile radius of the plant at Baseline and Wintersburg roads, about 55 miles from downtown Phoenix.
The tests are required by federal regulators and overseen by state and local emergency management agencies.
Someone will be stationed at each siren and they will report siren activations and wireless alert notifications to emergency managers afterward, county emergency management said.
The wireless message will read: “This is a test of Maricopa County Wireless Emergency Alert system. No action is required.”
In the unlikely event an actual emergency notification is sent around the same time the tests are scheduled, the message should direct people to turn on their radios or TVs for more instructions.
Arizona Public Service operates the nuclear plant, which generates electricity for parts of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
