Nuclear Issues...District 19's Indian Point Nuclear Facility
Some issues a Congressman/woman deals with are local in scope, though requiring Federal Government to resolve the problems, fix or close broken facilities. Such is the case with our own Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant here in New York's 19th District. This was/is an issue John Hall was passionate about during the election, so I want to discuss the facility, and give voice to some KNOWN concerns which Sue Kelly failed miserably in having addressed during her twelve year tenure as Congresswoman. Contrary to the NRC who acts as the protectorate of the nuclear industry rather than the agency sworn to protect the general public, Indian Point is NOT SAFE, and the time has come to close the facility and begin the task of remediation of the reactors and spent fuel rod facilities which are in the early stages of failure.
A formal Verified Complaint was delivered to the NRC earlier this year, and after an almost three month delay, the NRC's answer sent via certified mail was disturbing, and leads a reasonable mind to but one conclusion...the citizens within a 50 mile radius of the facility are in grave and immediate danger, and the facility presents a clear and present danger to the citizens of New York state, and must be closed. Known problems with the facility include, but are not limited to the following issues.
1. Reactor Domes are cracking due to age, these stress fissures making operation of the reactors dangerous, and creating the potential for catastrophic failure of said Domes, with major release of fission materials into the atmosphere within a 25 mile radius of the facility in the first few minutes of Dome Failure. Entergy wishes to refurbish and rebuild the reactor Domes and this unacceptable, and should not be allowed without a full and complete EIS of the site. The NRC has tried to avoid this reality by claiming redesign of the facilities and subsequent rebuilds would not constitute SIGNIFICANT action, and is therefore exempt from EIS requirements.
2. Spent Fuel Rod storage tanks/facilities are failing with radioactive waste streams leaching into the soil around the facility, and migrating off site in the direction of the Hudson River. Again, the NRC is trying to sidestep proper hearings and studies of the company's desire to dry using dry cask storage on the site, with the movement of spent rods from the failing storage tanks into said caskets.
3. Entergy/Indian Point staff have an ongoing problem of employees being unable to pass various tests required for operational safety at the plant, yet are allowed to continue working in secured areas of the facility without proper certifications.
4. The entire facility's security measures are woefully inadequate should a terrorist group attempt to gain access to the facility, or in a worse case scenario fly a plane into the reactors, or spent fuel rod storage buildings. The NRC has lied to the general public, telling us that the likelihood of an aerial attack is highly unlikely, despite the very real attacks on the World Trade Center Towers less than 40 miles from said Nuclear Plant just over five years ago. A small well armed an dedicated group of trained terrorists could easily overtake the facilities perimeter defenses in less than 10 minutes, and breach interior defenses at the facility shortly after gaining access to the site.
5. The emergency notification system, as well as the emergency evacuation plan for the communities surrounding the facility are broken and flawed respectfully, and will not work in the case of a real time emergency. For proof of this, we only need to look at the failure of the evacuations during various Hurricanes in the 2005 Hurricane season, such as in Texas, where people sat in traffic lines for 24 hours, their vehicles running out of fuel, and some people dying in a host of horrific accidents...in the case of a real nuclear containment emergency at the Indian Point Plant, the magnitude of human tragedy as a result of a non workable evacuation plan would see death tolls rising into the tens if not hundreds of thousands of people. Within hours, all sense of a lawful society would break down, anarchy ruling supreme in the panic and hopeless desperation of the situation.
The NRC, various local governmental bodies, and the senior staff of Entergy have routinely held meetings in such a fashion as to mitigate and limit public participation and involvement in the regulatory process for this facility. The standard operating procedure is to hold meetings at times inconvenient for public participation, and to limit that participation further, but allowing the NRC and Entergy to use up most of the allotted time babbling between themselves as they fall over one another in patting backs and giving glowing remarks about promises made but NEVER KEPT. Questions which these two stakeholders find inconvenient, or that they do not want to answers are pushed aside with a promise of "looking into it, and getting back to us at some future date and time which never materializes. I was personally at one meeting where Congresswoman Sue Kelly replied to a query from one of her constituents that she was not there to discuss issues, but ONLY TO OBSERVE the meeting, and take back to Washington what she saw...EXCUSE ME?
Indian Point is a problem, and this author is calling on John Hall to create a Blue Ribbon Citizen's Commission to fully investigate Indian Point, and to submit their findings and recommendations to the Congress for immediate action against both the facility, and the NRC.
This Blue Ribbon Commission should include AVERAGE CITIZENS, rather than biased members of self serving local groups and governments more concerned with their own finances than human life and public safety. Further, it is suggested that Congressman Elect John Hall introduce legislation during Speaker Pelosi's first 100 hour agenda that would call for the IMMEDIATE SHUT DOWN of Indian Point during the investigation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the plant facility. Lastly, it is requested that all stakeholders who so wish be placed on the service list for ALL DOCUMENTS generated regarding Indian Point, and its owner Entergy.
Some issues a Congressman/woman deals with are local in scope, though requiring Federal Government to resolve the problems, fix or close broken facilities. Such is the case with our own Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant here in New York's 19th District. This was/is an issue John Hall was passionate about during the election, so I want to discuss the facility, and give voice to some KNOWN concerns which Sue Kelly failed miserably in having addressed during her twelve year tenure as Congresswoman. Contrary to the NRC who acts as the protectorate of the nuclear industry rather than the agency sworn to protect the general public, Indian Point is NOT SAFE, and the time has come to close the facility and begin the task of remediation of the reactors and spent fuel rod facilities which are in the early stages of failure.
A formal Verified Complaint was delivered to the NRC earlier this year, and after an almost three month delay, the NRC's answer sent via certified mail was disturbing, and leads a reasonable mind to but one conclusion...the citizens within a 50 mile radius of the facility are in grave and immediate danger, and the facility presents a clear and present danger to the citizens of New York state, and must be closed. Known problems with the facility include, but are not limited to the following issues.
1. Reactor Domes are cracking due to age, these stress fissures making operation of the reactors dangerous, and creating the potential for catastrophic failure of said Domes, with major release of fission materials into the atmosphere within a 25 mile radius of the facility in the first few minutes of Dome Failure. Entergy wishes to refurbish and rebuild the reactor Domes and this unacceptable, and should not be allowed without a full and complete EIS of the site. The NRC has tried to avoid this reality by claiming redesign of the facilities and subsequent rebuilds would not constitute SIGNIFICANT action, and is therefore exempt from EIS requirements.
2. Spent Fuel Rod storage tanks/facilities are failing with radioactive waste streams leaching into the soil around the facility, and migrating off site in the direction of the Hudson River. Again, the NRC is trying to sidestep proper hearings and studies of the company's desire to dry using dry cask storage on the site, with the movement of spent rods from the failing storage tanks into said caskets.
3. Entergy/Indian Point staff have an ongoing problem of employees being unable to pass various tests required for operational safety at the plant, yet are allowed to continue working in secured areas of the facility without proper certifications.
4. The entire facility's security measures are woefully inadequate should a terrorist group attempt to gain access to the facility, or in a worse case scenario fly a plane into the reactors, or spent fuel rod storage buildings. The NRC has lied to the general public, telling us that the likelihood of an aerial attack is highly unlikely, despite the very real attacks on the World Trade Center Towers less than 40 miles from said Nuclear Plant just over five years ago. A small well armed an dedicated group of trained terrorists could easily overtake the facilities perimeter defenses in less than 10 minutes, and breach interior defenses at the facility shortly after gaining access to the site.
5. The emergency notification system, as well as the emergency evacuation plan for the communities surrounding the facility are broken and flawed respectfully, and will not work in the case of a real time emergency. For proof of this, we only need to look at the failure of the evacuations during various Hurricanes in the 2005 Hurricane season, such as in Texas, where people sat in traffic lines for 24 hours, their vehicles running out of fuel, and some people dying in a host of horrific accidents...in the case of a real nuclear containment emergency at the Indian Point Plant, the magnitude of human tragedy as a result of a non workable evacuation plan would see death tolls rising into the tens if not hundreds of thousands of people. Within hours, all sense of a lawful society would break down, anarchy ruling supreme in the panic and hopeless desperation of the situation.
The NRC, various local governmental bodies, and the senior staff of Entergy have routinely held meetings in such a fashion as to mitigate and limit public participation and involvement in the regulatory process for this facility. The standard operating procedure is to hold meetings at times inconvenient for public participation, and to limit that participation further, but allowing the NRC and Entergy to use up most of the allotted time babbling between themselves as they fall over one another in patting backs and giving glowing remarks about promises made but NEVER KEPT. Questions which these two stakeholders find inconvenient, or that they do not want to answers are pushed aside with a promise of "looking into it, and getting back to us at some future date and time which never materializes. I was personally at one meeting where Congresswoman Sue Kelly replied to a query from one of her constituents that she was not there to discuss issues, but ONLY TO OBSERVE the meeting, and take back to Washington what she saw...EXCUSE ME?
Indian Point is a problem, and this author is calling on John Hall to create a Blue Ribbon Citizen's Commission to fully investigate Indian Point, and to submit their findings and recommendations to the Congress for immediate action against both the facility, and the NRC.
This Blue Ribbon Commission should include AVERAGE CITIZENS, rather than biased members of self serving local groups and governments more concerned with their own finances than human life and public safety. Further, it is suggested that Congressman Elect John Hall introduce legislation during Speaker Pelosi's first 100 hour agenda that would call for the IMMEDIATE SHUT DOWN of Indian Point during the investigation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the plant facility. Lastly, it is requested that all stakeholders who so wish be placed on the service list for ALL DOCUMENTS generated regarding Indian Point, and its owner Entergy.
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