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Survey: Nuke leak would prompt Cape Cod evacuation

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A new report says a radiation leak from Plymouth's Pilgrim nuclear power plant would prompt about half of Cape Cod's permanent residents to flee, a situation activists and officials say would cause monumental traffic jams.

The survey was put together by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee and paid for by Entergy Corp., Pilgrim's owner and operator. About 500 people completed the telephone questionnaire.

People were asked what would prompt them to evacuate, how many cars they would take and where they would go.

Cape Cod has about 222,000 year-round residents, a number that doubles during vacation season.

George Baker, chairman of the regional emergency committee, tells the Cape Cod Times the survey is an important disaster-planning tool.