I am not sure if this may help but I will tell you that in Lebanon County (and certainly in every other County in Central Pennsylvania) there were plans being considered that could have had an incredible effect on the entire state and millions of people if we would have been required to put those plans into action.

I was a rather new police officer at that time in the Lebanon City Police Department. I went to work just like any other day and my family was home when I left.

Of course I kept up with the news at that time that was getting out to the general public but the actual possibilities of what could have occurred 40 years ago became real when I went to work the one evening. I really can not recall exactly which day and date that was.

fortunately the worst case scenario did not occur.

Like I said I was a new officer and when myself and the other officers came on our shift that one evening the Officer In Charge mentioned that we had notifications regarding the TMI incident and what we were expected to do if required.

We were informed that if there were to be large evacuations of people from an area around the TMI plant itself that all the major west to east highways may be turned into one way highways all one going east.

The main road that goes through Lebanon east to west is Rt. 422.  A little south of Lebanon City we also have Rt. 322. Even back then those roads could be rather busy on a regular shift.

I may have been new but like the other officers on that shift we understood what that would mean.  We only had about 5 officers total on duty so trying to keep a mass evacuation organized could have been complicated to say the least and still we would have to do our regular work of answering calls and handling what may occur at any time or any shift.  Not to mention the real possibility of panic from some in the general public in all areas near the TMI building itself after the word would have spread.

Well fortunately the worst case scenario did not occur.

It is not difficult to think of what may have occurred if people attempted to leave their homes and family in a hurry.

Russ