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Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that NY State filed papers with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission explaining why the license for the Indian Point nuclear power plant should not be renewed. In fact, Cuomo called the plant a "catastrophe waiting to happen" and said, "I believe Indian Point should be closed and it should be closed now."
Here are some of the reasons Cuomo and Governor Spitzer gave (more here - the petition submitted to the NRC was 313 pages):
- Proximity to the most densely populated area in the United States: Approximately 20 million people – about 6 percent of the nation’s population – live or work within fifty miles of Indian Point.The plant, previously owned by NY State, is now owned by Entergy Nuclear. An Entergy spokesman said that hundreds of millions have been put into upgrading the plant, "The plant equipment can perform according to its design,” Mr. Steets said. “That is what we have to demonstrate to the N.R.C.”
- Susceptibility to a terrorist attack and other security risks: The 9/11 Commission reported that al-Qaeda terrorists had specifically contemplated attacking nuclear power plants with aircraft, and two of the planes hijacked on September 11, 2001 flew near or over Indian Point. The NRC refuses to require Entergy to safeguard Indian Point against terrorist attacks from the air.
- Lack of acceptable emergency warning system or evacuation plan: 2006 marked the fourth straight year that Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties refused to certify county-based evacuation plans prepared by Entergy, in large part because safe evacuation of the area has been found to be highly unlikely, if not impossible.
The Close Indian Point website points to incidents of unplanned outages in 2003 and radioactive water leaking in 2005. Riverkeeper has more information about efforts to stop the power plant's license renewal.
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"Indiant Point"?
;)
love the picture!!!
Political grandstanding for Cuomo Jr.
Nuke plants are an easy target - few folks will defend them. And what other energy sources does Cuomo propose?
NucUlar power plants aren't that much of a terrorist danger as they are an environmental disaster. The half-life of uranium, depleted uranium and the waste it produces is between 500 million to 4 billion years. It will be here LOOONG after were gone and most likely be discovered, still toxic & hazardous, by species that replace us.
who cares what other energy sources he proposes? i'd rather not melt or turn into a giant tumor, personally. figuring out how you can continue to watch tv is secondary.
Why do you think you will melt? Is that based on some fright movies from the 1970's? What's the safety record for nuke plants in this country? Aside from Three Mile Island (no deaths and no measurable injuries), what harm have nuke plants caused in this country? Meanwhile, we can measure the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels - as well as the difficulties in obtaining them. Ethanol seems nice, but we're still using fossil fuels to produce it. Wind, solar and the like are worth pursuing, but still not capable of producing as much power as is needed.
It's time to be realistic about nuclear power and ditch the scare tactics. Sadly and predictably, Cuomo is playing the scare ticket for personal and political gain.
"...two of the planes hijacked on September 11, 2001 flew near or over Indian Point."
but chose to bypass it for the more "dramatic" target
How exactly is it supposed to be defended from an air strike? You want to put anti-aircraft guns around the plant? That doesn't sound too feasible either.
I don't see why anti-aircraft guns/missiles on or near the plant grounds would be unfeasible.
Another genetic error in the person of A. Cuomo who, with a large staff and no real brains,can identify problem after problem. It runs in the family, so there must be a new tax just around the corner. This is just your basic "no nothing political posturing". I'll go get the dog and he'll chase them away.