Emergency sirens in portions of the north central Pennsylvania counties of Luzerne and Columbia, around PP&L, Inc.'s Susquehanna nuclear power plant, will sound shortly before noon Wednesday (5/12) as part of an annual readiness test.

Columbia County emergency management officials will activate the 112 sirens, which are located within a 10-mile radius of the plant. The sirens will sound in a steady tone for three to five minutes.

Sirens are available to both counties to notify the public in an emergency, whether or not it involves the Susquehanna plant," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to the president for PP&L, Inc., the operator of the plant.

When the sirens sound in a continuous tone for three to five minutes, area residents should turn on radios or televisions and listen to an Emergency Alert System station for instructions and information. Nineteen radio stations and one television station make up the EAS network in the area around the Susquehanna plant.

Area residents who are tuned to one of those stations around noon Wednesday will hear a test message.

"The counties and PP&L have this full-scale test once a year to make sure the sirens are working properly. Each siren will be checked during the test. Any problems will be corrected by PP&L," Woodeshick said.

Routine siren testing is required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition to the annual full-scale test, there are quick sound checks called "growl tests" four times a year and silent tests every two weeks to make sure sirens are receiving the signal to sound.

Woodeshick noted that PP&L, Inc. has an extensive maintenance program to assure that the sirens will sound when needed for any type of emergency. "In the event a siren sounds when there is no Emergency Alert System message on radio or television, please call PP&L at 1-800-DIALPPL to report the malfunction," he said.

The Susquehanna plant, located about five miles north of Berwick in Luzerne County, is jointly owned by PP&L, Inc. and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc.