Nuclear panic on Portland: Dorset County Council reaction (From Dorset Echo)

What panic?
We had a leaflet through the door which I ignored like I do all leaflets. Whats to panic about? Was it printed on depleted uranium?

If so, can I eat it and get superpowers?

I understand next month's exercise will deal with the threat of a fifty-foot tall radiation-mutated rabbit rising from the harbour, demanding carrots with menaces from the terrifed residents of Castletown.
But there will be NO NEED TO PANIC. The chances of this actually happening in real life are no more than fifty-fifty.

>a fifty-foot tall radiation-mutated rabbit<

AAAAAARRRGH! They've used the 'R' word! This could be worse than a nuclear attack...

50ft tall radiation mutated rabbit would fit right in at castletown.
Comer homes would find a way to exploit it for cash and locals would accept it as one of their own, provided a sensible name change (no R words welcome).

My second world war Anderson shelter is up for sale. I am willing to sale it at a very good discount price to any Portlander and will delivery free of charge.

Perhaps the Dorset County Council so-called (and very bloated) Emergency Planning Team who led this circus should now be market tested because this charade is quite unprofessional and totally unnaceptable.

Or are the council tax payers of Weymouth and Portland (or indeed Dorset) content with this level of "expertise" from them......???????

What did they do wrong Graham?

The fact that people saw the letters and began barricading themselves indoors shows that the letters were very effective.

It's not the councils fault that these people did see the dozens of warnings about the excercise.

staffs wrote:
What did they do wrong Graham? The fact that people saw the letters and began barricading themselves indoors shows that the letters were very effective. It's not the councils fault that these people did see the dozens of warnings about the excercise.

Yeah ... ......go on and blame the customers ........after all they are only dumb taxpayers and 'rock apes' according to some.......don't think for a moment that the information provision by agencies 'led' by the Council was handled so badly that it led to this reaction ..........perhaps they should use the 'rabbits' thing in future....maybe that is something these 'rock apes' are just about capable of understanding?

IT WAS A SCREW UP ----RECOGNISE THAT, STOP TRYING TO BLAME EVERYONE ELSE, GET SOME COMPETANT PEOPLE TO ANALYSE WHAT WENT WRONG AND THEN PUT IN PLACE ARRANGEMENTS TO SORT IT !!!!

GrahamC wrote:

staffs wrote:
What did they do wrong Graham? The fact that people saw the letters and began barricading themselves indoors shows that the letters were very effective. It's not the councils fault that these people did see the dozens of warnings about the excercise.

Yeah ... ......go on and blame the customers ........after all they are only dumb taxpayers and 'rock apes' according to some.......don't think for a moment that the information provision by agencies 'led' by the Council was handled so badly that it led to this reaction ..........perhaps they should use the 'rabbits' thing in future....maybe that is something these 'rock apes' are just about capable of understanding?

IT WAS A SCREW UP ----RECOGNISE THAT, STOP TRYING TO BLAME EVERYONE ELSE, GET SOME COMPETANT PEOPLE TO ANALYSE WHAT WENT WRONG AND THEN PUT IN PLACE ARRANGEMENTS TO SORT IT !!!!

Why is it a screw up? If people are so stupid to believe they were in danger then surely that is their fault. Stop blaming the authorities when the good folk of Portland were given warning about the exercise. Maybe some common sense was required here - not evident in some cases though. Who feels stupid now!!!

Shouty issues and reasoning issues both at the same time. And was apparently able to see into Mrs Miggins' front room on Portland and smell her FEAR all the way from Blnadford. Oh dear.

Techie wrote:
Shouty issues and reasoning issues both at the same time. And was apparently able to see into Mrs Miggins' front room on Portland and smell her FEAR all the way from Blnadford. Oh dear.

What I 'smell' is a very, very badly handled information exercise, which can be reasonably assessed as such from the negative media reporting and the negative public reaction, which caused a significant amount of public concern and which could have been so very easily avoided with a more professional approach (for example involvement of the media such as the Echo) ....something that in this day and age we should all expect.

However, where you are concerned I think it would be better if you kept to to your silly facile comments and not think too deeply about public service standards.

I don't suppose you work for DCC or W&PBC do you?

(from Blandford not Blnadford)

GrahamC wrote:

staffs wrote:
What did they do wrong Graham? The fact that people saw the letters and began barricading themselves indoors shows that the letters were very effective. It's not the councils fault that these people did see the dozens of warnings about the excercise.

Yeah ... ......go on and blame the customers ........after all they are only dumb taxpayers and 'rock apes' according to some.......don't think for a moment that the information provision by agencies 'led' by the Council was handled so badly that it led to this reaction ..........perhaps they should use the 'rabbits' thing in future....maybe that is something these 'rock apes' are just about capable of understanding?

IT WAS A SCREW UP ----RECOGNISE THAT, STOP TRYING TO BLAME EVERYONE ELSE, GET SOME COMPETANT PEOPLE TO ANALYSE WHAT WENT WRONG AND THEN PUT IN PLACE ARRANGEMENTS TO SORT IT !!!!

Let's look at the facts then. It was publicly stated that the Council were going to be re-issuing a booklet giving advice and information on what to do in case of an accident involving a nuclear submarine.
The booklet was duly delivered. Entitled - Information in the event of a Radiation Emergency in Portland Port, it gives information, advice etc on what to do IF there were ever to be an emergency. It wasn't advertising that a nuclear accident had already happened and that we were all in immediate danger. It was only an information leaflet being delivered. If an information leaflet about fire prevention was being issued should we all run round like headless chickens because obviously it would have only been given out if there was a towering inferno raging across the island?

GrahamC wrote:

Techie wrote:
Shouty issues and reasoning issues both at the same time. And was apparently able to see into Mrs Miggins' front room on Portland and smell her FEAR all the way from Blnadford. Oh dear.

What I 'smell' is a very, very badly handled information exercise, which can be reasonably assessed as such from the negative media reporting and the negative public reaction, which caused a significant amount of public concern and which could have been so very easily avoided with a more professional approach (for example involvement of the media such as the Echo) ....something that in this day and age we should all expect.

However, where you are concerned I think it would be better if you kept to to your silly facile comments and not think too deeply about public service standards.

I don't suppose you work for DCC or W&amp;PBC do you?

(from Blandford not Blnadford)

Involvement of the media such as the OHEC. Would this story in the OHEC from 6th March 2010 qualify as involving the media?

http://www.dorsetech
o.co.uk/news/5045249
.Nuclear_emergency_p
lan_for_Portland/

GrahamC wrote:

Techie wrote:
Shouty issues and reasoning issues both at the same time. And was apparently able to see into Mrs Miggins' front room on Portland and smell her FEAR all the way from Blnadford. Oh dear.

What I 'smell' is a very, very badly handled information exercise, which can be reasonably assessed as such from the negative media reporting and the negative public reaction, which caused a significant amount of public concern and which could have been so very easily avoided with a more professional approach (for example involvement of the media such as the Echo) ....something that in this day and age we should all expect.

However, where you are concerned I think it would be better if you kept to to your silly facile comments and not think too deeply about public service standards.

I don't suppose you work for DCC or W&amp;PBC do you?

(from Blandford not Blnadford)

I personally heard or saw this announced through the Echo, Wessex FM and the View From papers without going and particularly looking for it. That said, I'm not a swivel-eyed loon looking for things to complain about on the internets.

Techie wrote:

GrahamC wrote:

Techie wrote: Shouty issues and reasoning issues both at the same time. And was apparently able to see into Mrs Miggins' front room on Portland and smell her FEAR all the way from Blnadford. Oh dear.

What I 'smell' is a very, very badly handled information exercise, which can be reasonably assessed as such from the negative media reporting and the negative public reaction, which caused a significant amount of public concern and which could have been so very easily avoided with a more professional approach (for example involvement of the media such as the Echo) ....something that in this day and age we should all expect. However, where you are concerned I think it would be better if you kept to to your silly facile comments and not think too deeply about public service standards. I don't suppose you work for DCC or W&amp;PBC do you? (from Blandford not Blnadford)

I personally heard or saw this announced through the Echo, Wessex FM and the View From papers without going and particularly looking for it. That said, I'm not a swivel-eyed loon looking for things to complain about on the internets.

+1

If Portland had been hit by a nuclear strike, it would be wiped off the face of the planet.. did these "scared" people not consider that? The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was like a peanut by comparison to todays nuclear arsenal, and look at the damage that did.

There wouldn't be anyone LEFT to make phone calls. Furthermore, let's assume there had been a small nuclear strike, with a miniscule weapon... do people REALLY think the first thing they are going to hear about it is courtesy of a LEAFLET? And we criticize the US for being stupid when panicking over the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds? Seems Britain, and certainly Portland has it's very own share of complete ignorance. Nuclear bomb announced by leaflet... for the love of sanity!

Hey what do you do for a living? I'm the council’s potassium iodate tablet co-ordinator and I earn £40k a year.... I've heard of some made up job titles but that takes the biscuit!

MetalOllie wrote:
If Portland had been hit by a nuclear strike, it would be wiped off the face of the planet.. did these "scared" people not consider that? The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was like a peanut by comparison to todays nuclear arsenal, and look at the damage that did.

There wouldn't be anyone LEFT to make phone calls. Furthermore, let's assume there had been a small nuclear strike, with a miniscule weapon... do people REALLY think the first thing they are going to hear about it is courtesy of a LEAFLET? And we criticize the US for being stupid when panicking over the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds? Seems Britain, and certainly Portland has it's very own share of complete ignorance. Nuclear bomb announced by leaflet... for the love of sanity!

The leaflets aren't about a nuclear attack though. It's all to do with the submarines visiting the port. it's advice on what to do just in if one of them has an accident and there's a leak of radioactive material in the port area.

There are hundreds if not thousands of sites like this in the UK that present a 'potential' accident hazard to residents living near them (because of chemicals/nuclear/da
ngerous processes etc).

They are all required to have off-site plans which inform the residents in any 'hazard zone' around the site of the potential danger and what to do in an incident, including how they will be warned if an incident occurs.... which does not appear to have happend here.

They must also hold regular exercises......natur
ally a pre-requisite of any exercise it to make sure the resident population ARE AWARE of the exercise......which also does not seem to have happened here.

As a result this event has now made the national media which is pretty embarrasing for all those concerned........Whi
ch is something you simply do not see from all the other sites around the UK, where the authorities appear to be able to communicate with the affected residents and manage their exercises without any 'home-goal' dramas.

So why can't this be done in Dorset ?

Rapter wrote:
There are hundreds if not thousands of sites like this in the UK that present a 'potential' accident hazard to residents living near them (because of chemicals/nuclear/da ngerous processes etc). They are all required to have off-site plans which inform the residents in any 'hazard zone' around the site of the potential danger and what to do in an incident, including how they will be warned if an incident occurs.... which does not appear to have happend here. They must also hold regular exercises......natur ally a pre-requisite of any exercise it to make sure the resident population ARE AWARE of the exercise......which also does not seem to have happened here. As a result this event has now made the national media which is pretty embarrasing for all those concerned........Whi ch is something you simply do not see from all the other sites around the UK, where the authorities appear to be able to communicate with the affected residents and manage their exercises without any 'home-goal' dramas. So why can't this be done in Dorset ?

Well it was in all the local press (including the OHEC on 6th March) and the local radio. What more should they have done? Should they have visited everybody in Fortuneswell and Castletown personally on each day prior to the leaflet drop?

Genghis wrote:

Rapter wrote: There are hundreds if not thousands of sites like this in the UK that present a 'potential' accident hazard to residents living near them (because of chemicals/nuclear/da ngerous processes etc). They are all required to have off-site plans which inform the residents in any 'hazard zone' around the site of the potential danger and what to do in an incident, including how they will be warned if an incident occurs.... which does not appear to have happend here. They must also hold regular exercises......natur ally a pre-requisite of any exercise it to make sure the resident population ARE AWARE of the exercise......which also does not seem to have happened here. As a result this event has now made the national media which is pretty embarrasing for all those concerned........Whi ch is something you simply do not see from all the other sites around the UK, where the authorities appear to be able to communicate with the affected residents and manage their exercises without any 'home-goal' dramas. So why can't this be done in Dorset ?

Well it was in all the local press (including the OHEC on 6th March) and the local radio. What more should they have done? Should they have visited everybody in Fortuneswell and Castletown personally on each day prior to the leaflet drop?

Hi Gegis

The authorities are required to have up to date details of all those living within the hazard zone: names, addresses etc. This allows a simple mailshot to be sent out which would have been effective and is normally the primary means used. Local media and local radio are useful but (as has been illustrated here) not enough to reach everyone. Also any leaflet maildrops on the day should have been acompanied with a cover sheet or similar with THIS IS AN EXERCISE in bold letters so there was no doubt. Same for the voice announcements - prefixed with "EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE" prior to announcements ..........it really ain't rocket science

Not really applicable as the tannoy announcements were Wessex Water reminding residents that their water was about to be turned off for scheduled works.