Two sirens failed twice Wednesday in separate tests of the emergency siren system surrounding the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.

Until Indian Point's new siren system is on line, the four counties around the plants in Buchanan will continue relying on the old siren system. There are 156 of the old, Cold War-era sirens in a 10-mile zone around the plant to warn residents in case of an emergency.

In the first test, all but two sirens worked without any problems. In the second test, the same two sirens again had problems, plus a third had a sensor that failed to work. The exact cause of the problem with the two sirens that failed twice is not yet known.

The old system is supposed to be replaced by a new, state-of-the-art siren system. The new system was supposed to be ready in January of 2007, but that deadline and two others were missed, resulting in a $130,000 fine for plant owner Entergy. Entergy just agreed to pay another $650,000 fine for missing an August 2007 deadline. It now hopes to have the new system up and running by August of this year.