USA Member Columbia Generating Station conducted an Emergency Response Operations training drill (ERO Team A) on May 6 with overall solid performance and with no significant ERO performance deficiencies noted. All of the emergency centers successfully activated within expected timelines, and classification, notifications, and Protective Action Recommendations were timely and accurate.

However, this was no ordinary training drill. For the first time in 22 years, Columbia conducted a full site evacuation of its personnel. In total, 676 employees were scanned at the offsite assembly area, not including the drill participants. The evacuation from the site was completed in 44 minutes. Most notably was that the evacuation was completed without any safety mishap or identified near misses.

The evacuation included cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, specifically the Benton County Sheriff’s office and the City of Richland Police Department. Individuals from Stripe Rite assisted to ensure an orderly flow of vehicles from the site.

The training drill also included the simulated rescue of one individual from site by the fire brigade and coordination with Hanford Fire on the transport of the victim and firefighting efforts.

The ERO activated alternative emergency response facilities at the offsite assembly area and the Operation Support Center activated at an alternate staging area (Building 9, Operation Control Center). The ERO demonstrated sound command and control that was especially critical given the recent telephone upgrade project changes in the response facilities.

Site Accountability, which has been a focus area of recent training drills, was flawlessly performed. Solid teamwork and communication between Nuclear Security and the OSC allowed for a timely completion of this task, which was complicated by the plant personnel remaining on site to address plant emerging issues.

In general, this drill is a solid demonstration of how successful we can be as a station when we work together to achieve a common objective.