Indian Point from the start

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission threatens to close Indian Point unless a flawed evacuation plan for the surrounding communities is fixed in four months. Several evacuation drills in the past had produced mixed results. In December 1982, the Federal Emergency Management Agency would deem the evacuation procedures not feasible. The agency, however, would allow the plant to continue operating until a March 1983 drill in which 2,000 people, from bus drivers to county executives, would run a test evacuation observed by 55 FEMA officials and one NRC official. They would be unimpressed, citing the lack of secured agreements with bus companies and certain drivers’ reluctance to drive toward the plant. Those issues would be ironed out by August, and a subsequent drill would prompt FEMA to declare the plans sufficient and end the closure threat.