Yesterday Governor Andrew Cuomo, who for years has advocated closing the Indian Point nuclear plant located about 30 miles from the city limits, announced that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission was making the plant "its first and top priority" as it reviews 27 nuclear plants nationwide. It makes sense they'd prioritize it, considering the plant is located near the intersection of two fault lines and is closer to an urban area than any other plant in the country. But after Cuomo made the big announcement, the NRC responded with "Wha?" more ›

As the NYC Office of Emergency Management mentioned yesterday, there will be a "marine law enforcement exercise" taking place today between 10 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. New Yorkers were told to "Expect additional marine vessel activity south of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York Harbor." And here are a few more details. It's part of the NYPD's "Securing the Cities" initiative and WCBS 2 adds, "The goal is protect the area from a potential "dirty bomb" or nuclear device. Participants on about 17 vessels will practice checking for radioactive material" (sort of like the highway terrorism drill held in Queens back in June). more ›

The National Parks Service has closed ballfields at Great Kills Park on Staten Island because radium was found in the soil. The Advance reports, "The startling find means that the park's five ballfields, located between Bay Terrace and Fieldway Avenue, will not be available all spring for league play." Though the "risk of significant exposure" is believed to be "very low," the NPS wants to do a secondary survey. Previously detected radioactive spots at the park have "equaled a fraction of the radiation used in a chest X-ray"; past radium was found in paints used in dental equipment, perhaps left there when Great Kills was a dump. Now, sports leagues must relocated: Some of the activities will be at Gateway's Miller Fields "while others will be played at fields provided by the city Parks Department." more ›

We received an alert saying an MTA bus set off a radiation detector on lower Broadway, in the Financial District. The bus and its passengers were held outside 25 Broadway for further inspection. What could it be, besides potential for the worst commute ever? Well, the request for emergency services was canceled when it was discovered one of the passengers had an implanted pacemaker--some pacemakers do use radioactive material. Phew! more ›

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... more ›