Radiation Scare

Because my dad is a principal, we get some inconvenient calls at very inconvenient hours. At 1:41 A.M. today, our phone rang with “Emergency Calling” showing on the caller ID. I happened to be up watching TV at the time, so I was the first to answer. The man on the other side says, “We are trying to reach the principal of Meadow Bridge High School.” Dad then takes over.

Apparently, a semi-trailer truck carrying radioactive material turned over on I-64 around Sandstone Mountain in Sandstone, West Virginia. They wanted to open Meadow Bridge High School as a fallout shelter. Because my dad is the principal, he needed to go.

The next thing I know, all of the lights in the house are on. I turned on the coffee, gathered the emergency radios, and found my camera. Within 15 minutes, Dad was out the door and on his way to Meadow Bridge. One problem: the shortest drive to Meadow Bridge is on the road with the spill, so Dad had to travel an alternate route that took about an hour—a half hour longer than taking I-64.

A few people from the school and local emergency response centers called our house with updates. Around 2:45 A.M., I heard for the first time that the emergency was called off. I called the Summers County response center around 3:00 A.M. They confirmed that the emergency had been called off, evacuees were being sent back home, and vehicles were allowed to pass through the area.

At the present time, Dad is on his way back home (hopefully driving on I-64) and everyone is safe. This could have been a lot larger of a problem than it turned out to be. Kudos to all persons involved in the emergency response effort. Since it’s now 3:36 A.M., I’m heading to bed.