Hanford Sirens Will Be Tested

Sat., July 13, 1996

From Staff And Wire Reports

Boaters on the Columbia River here need not worry when emergency sirens intended to warn of imminent disaster at the Hanford nuclear reservation sound this weekend.

New sirens replacing an old system were being tested Friday intermittently, and tests were scheduled to continue through Sunday.

“If there is an accident of some sort, or an incident, which requires evacuating the river as a protective action, then they would be sounded,” said Craig Kuhlman, spokesman for Westinghouse Hanford Co.

This weekend, though, the sirens are being preceded by an announcement over a public address system alerting boaters and others nearby that it’s simply a test.

“If you’re fishing out along the (Hanford) Reach and one of these things goes off, your first response is to get the hell out of there. Well, there’s no need for that this weekend,” Kuhlman said.

The sirens are placed on the Vernita Bridge and just below the Old Hanford High School, he said.

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