LACEY – Facing online chatter that Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station was taking in Afghan refugees, the management of the plant told the township that it is just a rumor.
“As we discussed, there is NO truth to this rumor and there are NO plans to house Afghan refugees at the Oyster Creek decommissioning site,” said Joe Delmar, Senior Director for Government Affairs and Communications for the plant. He said this in a letter to Township Business Administrator Veronica Laureigh.
Refugees have already arrived at the Joint Base – McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as part of Operation Allies Refuge. It is one of four military installations in the country doing so. The evacuation includes Afghan residents who fled their country following the takeover of that nation’s government by Taliban forces.
The Taliban takeover led to a quick exodus of people from Afghanistan after their government fell. Thousands of people were evacuated via Kabul airport since the beginning of the rescue effort on August 22. Those evacuated include a mix of western government staff, agency workers and Afghan residents who worked with western governments. This includes those who are perceived to be at risk due to the nature of their work such as translators, human rights activists and journalists.
A representative from the base said that the evacuees are being provided with temporary lodging, basic needs, transportation, and medical screening.
It’s not the first time refugees have been brought into the Joint Base. There were also displaced Lebanese and Kosovar brought there in recent years.
At a meeting in Lacey a few months ago, Delmar told the governing body and the public that they had removed much of the radioactive waste from the site and that they expected to be done with it by the end of summer.
