Region of Durham to test nuclear alerts on November 25 and 26

Whitby, Ontario – The Region of Durham will hold its fall test of the nuclear alerting system on November 25 and 26. The system warns people in the unlikely event of an emergency at the nuclear generating station in Clarington or Pickering.

The test will take place during daytime hours over two days:

On November 25, an auto dialer will call about 100,000 landline phone numbers within 10 kilometres of the nuclear generating stations. The calls will show as coming from 905-666-6291.

On November 26, the outdoor sirens will sound for up to one minute. The sirens are within three kilometres of the stations and will be heard by people who are outdoors and in that area.

Cell phone, radio and TV alerts will be tested by the Province of Ontario on November 27.

You can find out how you will be alerted by looking up your address at durham.ca/alertmap.

This is just a test, and you don’t need to do anything if you get an alert. In a real emergency, hearing the sirens means you should go indoors and tune into local media outlets or official government channels for instructions.

The next test is scheduled for spring 2020.

For more information, visit durham.ca/NuclearPreparedness, or call the nuclear alerting information line at 1-866-551-5373.

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For more information, please contact Corporate Communications.