Oyster Creek To Residents: 'We Continue to Monitor Japan Closely'

With Japan’s troubles fresh in the public’s mind, Oyster Creek nuclear generating station's operator Exelon sent out letters to local residents this week, reassuring them that though they do not possess all of the important crisis-related information now, when they do, they expect to analyze it thoroughly and learn from it.

"It is important for you to know that the Exelon's Oyster Creek Generating Station and all of its nuclear plants in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are well-secured and engineered to withstand even severe earthquakes and other natural disasters, and face little risk from tsunamis," the letter stated.

“We always reach out to the community,” said Susan D’Ambrosio, a spokeswoman for Lacey Township’s Oyster Creek Generating Station. “They are our neighbors. This was an issue of international concern and of course of local concern as well, and we absolutely had a need and an obligation to reach out.”

Since one of the most massive earthquakes in history hit Japan almost a month ago, triggering a crushing tsunami and causing a nuclear crisis that is still unfolding, residents living here in the shadow of the oldest operating nuclear plant in the United States have been keeping a wary eye on the news both national and local.

The township of Lacey has only received a small number of calls asking about potassium iodide pills, and neither Waretown nor Barnegat have witnessed any increase in calls or requests. But according to the spokeswoman for the Ocean County Health Department, close to 1,000 people have come in to receive the KI pills since the news of Japan’s nuclear issues first broke. 

“We have been distributing KI pills since 2002 for the residents living within the ten-mile radius of the nuclear power plant,” said Leslie Terjesen, a public information officer for the Ocean County Health Department. “But of course we had an increase. A lot of people don’t think of [the KI pills] until they hear something, like what happened in Japan.”

 The news from Japan definitely captivated young people in the area, teachers say.

"Most of the kids are actually very in tune with these issues," said Lesley-Ann Thomson, a history teacher at Barnegat High School.  

“I was kind of surprised about the number of them that were following this outside of required school work,” said Lynne Burke, another Barnegat High School teacher. “Usually freshmen are not really globally aware at all.”

 In many of her discussions with both the freshmen and her older students, Burke noticed that many made the connection between the nuclear disaster across the world and the potential for having one closer to home.

“A lot of them right off the bat said, ‘Oh, great, we have a nuclear power plant down the street,’” said Burke, who teaches world history and geography and conducts weekly current event talks with her classes. “A lot of them asked questions like, ‘If it did happen how far would the radiation travel?’, etc. So you can tell that they are definitely thinking about it.”

“It kind of scares me,” said Niki Jimenez, 15, a student at Barnegat High School. “What if it happened here?”

“I hear people talking about it all the time, lately,” said Ryan Reed, 17, of Waretown. “I try not to think too much about it. I try to blank it out.”

Many other residents feel the same way.

“That place is definitely antiquated,” said Dave MacIntyre, a Waretown resident, referring to the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. “There is definitely a lot to worry about – like the contamination of waters, and the environmental effect of the nuclear storage, all those issues that keep cropping up. I definitely think they should have put in those cooling towers.” But, MacIntyre adds, “It is what it is. Look at everything else that is going on: emissions, taxes. Can’t worry about everything.”

 “I figure if something terrible happens, I’ll be the first to die,” said Pam Frendak of Lacey Township.

 “What’s going on over there, in Japan, now that is scary,” said Karen Rieser of Barnegat. “I feel so very bad for those people."