It's too risky to keep Indian Point nuclear power plant open: Gov. Cuomo

[Jmaxfie1]

Source: NY DAILY NEWS

Gov. Cuomo on Wednesday called for shutting down the Indian Point nuclear power plant after a federal report branded it the most vulnerable to earthquakes in the nation.

"The suggestion is that of all the <104> power plants across the country, that the Indian Point power plant is most susceptible to an earthquake because Reactor No. 3 is on a fault ," Cuomo said as nuclear meltdown fears deepened in Japan.

"It should be closed. This plant in this proximity to the city was never a good risk."

Cuomo, who has long opposed the plant, spoke after new data from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission show the Hudson River plant was the most vulnerable to a quake.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/17/2011-03-17_gov_risky_indian_point_should_be_shut.html

[Lucinda]

1. Less than 50 miles from 20 million people AND it's on a fault?

Mind boggling. Who would think this was a good location to begin with?

[truthisfreedom]

2. Well, let's guess. Democrats, probably.

dripping sarcasm.

[tclambert]

8. Well, that way it's close to customers

and close to water. You need lots of water for cooling. Proximity to customers cuts down on transmission losses. If you built it in the middle of the desert, you'd have to transmit the electricity a long way to reach customers, and you'd have to pipe in cooling water from far away. And that would COST MORE.

One of the large subject areas in which private enterprise does a worse job than government is "health and safety." Government sees health and safety as important priorities, business sees them as costs to cut.

[MichellesBFF]

11. Also

There are no deserts in NY!

[RoccoR5955]

29. Because it's close to water, it heats the water and kills fish

The Hudson was once had a great fishing industry. Since IP came on line, that has dwindled to the point where today, there is practically none. The shad no longer come up river to spawn for some reason. I wonder if that heated water is one of the reasons why they do not come up to spawn.

[defendandprotect]

55. Polluting the Hudson and air quality -- and not cost effective -- close them all down -- !!

PLUS, we can only expect increasing seismic activity with Global Warming --

time to move on to GREEN/SANE alternatives -- and stop the insanity of burning

fossil fuels -- or building any more reactors --

and a bad bet to keep any of these older ones open any longer.




The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

If you knew this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know, pass it along -- !!

:)

[truedelphi]

80. Hi defend and protect -

I should have known such decent environmental thinking was coming from you!

(missed seeing yr user handle when I dropped in on your remark.)

[wordpix]

81. +1 and let's also shut down the ones in CA on faults. CA could run on solar & wind

Lots of sun throughout the state and steady breezes on coast

[Ptah]

70. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is in the middle of the desert.

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Verde_Nuclear_Generating_Station

Located in the Arizona desert, Palo Verde is the only nuclear generating facility in the world
that is not situated adjacent to a large body of above-ground water. The facility evaporates
water from the treated sewage of several nearby municipalities to meet its cooling needs.

[Jersey Devil]

12. I am about 25 miles south of Indian Point

They would have to evacuate all of NYC, most of LI, all of Bergen County (pop about 1 million), Jersey City and Newark and all the cities in between. Just ridiculous.

[leftynyc]

40. Don't forget Westchester County

(which is where I live) - 950,000 people. Then northern counties like Dutchess, Putnam and Ulster.

[defendandprotect]

57. Remember that they tried to put a reactor out on Long Island ... !!

Fortunately, Gov. Mario Cuomo, his father, fought against it -- and succeeded.






The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

If you knew this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know, pass it along -- !!

:)

[wordpix]

82. then there's Millstone in CT that has been renewed until 2035 and 2045--plenty of issues there

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/mar/15/nuclear-power-play-look-industry-tri-state/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millstone_Nuclear_Power_Plant
snip
Background

The Millstone site covers about 500 acres (2 km²). The power generation complex was built by a consortium of utilities, using Niantic Bay (which is connected to Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean) as a source of coolant water.

Although located in Waterford, Millstone is most clearly seen from downtown Niantic. It is visible from the Niantic Boardwalk area and from the Niantic River Bridge, and is also visible to Amtrak customers on the NEC line which as it skirts Niantic Bay.

Millstone earned OSHA's top award for workplace safety on October 14, 2004,<1> and earned the Top Industry Practice/ Framatone ANP Vendor Award for its work developing novel ultrasonic leak inspection techniques in March 2001.<2>

Millstone Units 2 and 3, both pressurized water reactors (one from Westinghouse and one from Combustion Engineering), were sold to Dominion by Northeast Utilities in 2000 and continue to operate.

On November 28, 2005, after a 22-month application and evaluation process, Millstone was granted a 20-year license extension to both units 2 and 3 by the NRC.<3>
Licensing history and milestones
Unit 1

Millstone 1 was a General Electric boiling water reactor, producing 660 MWe, shut down in November 1995 before being permanently closed in July 1998. Three buildings were damaged by the accident. On February 20, 1996 a leaking valve forced the shutdown of this unit, and unit 2; multiple equipment failures were found.

* Construction Permit Issued: May 19, 1966
* Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) Filed: November 1, 1968
* Provisional Operating License Issued: October 7, 1970
* Full Term Operating License Issued: October 31, 1986
* Full Power License: October 7, 1970
* Initial Criticality: October 26, 1970
* Synchronized to the Grid: November 1970
* Commercial Operation: December 28, 1970
* 100% Power: January 6, 1971
* Leaking valve forced shutdown multiple equipment failures detected: February 20, 1996
* Permanently Ceased Operations: July 21, 1998

Unit 2

Millstone 2 is a Combustion Engineering plant built in the 1970s, and has a maximum power output of 2700 MWth (870 MWe). It has 2 steam generators, and 4 reactor cooling pumps (RCP). It is currently undergoing an upgrade to its safe shutdown system which already met NRC standards. During its refueling outage in October 2006, the operator installed a new pressurizer.

* Construction Permit Issued: December 11, 1970
* Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) Filed: August 15, 1972
* Full Term Operating Licensing Issued: September 26, 1975
* Full Power License: September 26, 1975
* Initial Criticality: October 17, 1975
* Commercial Operation: December 26, 1975
* 100% Power: March 20, 1976
* “Stretch Power”: June 25, 1979
* Operating License Extension Requested: December 22, 1986
* Operating License Extension Issued: January 12, 1988
* Full Term Operating License Expires: December 11, 2010
* Operating License Expires: July 31, 2015
* Extended Operating License Expires: July 31, 2035

Unit 3

Millstone 3 is a Westinghouse plant that started operating in 1986, and has a maximum power output of 3411 MWth (1150 MWe). Recently, the NRC approved a power uprate for Unit 3 that will increase its electrical output 7.006% to 3650 MWth (1230 MWe. The increase will take effect by the end of 2008.<4>

* Construction Permit Issued: August 9, 1974
* Initial Criticality: January 23, 1986
* Commercial Operation: April 23, 1986
* Operating License Expires: November 25, 2025
* Extended Operating License Expires: November 25, 2045

Events

On February 26, 1996, A leaking valve forced the shutdown of units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures were found.

On April 17, 2005, Millstone plant safely shut down without incident when a circuit board monitoring a steam pressure line short-circuited, which caused the board to malfunction and indicate an unsafe drop in pressure in the reactor's steam system, when in reality there was no drop in steam pressure. The cause was attributed to "tin whiskers". In response to this event, Millstone implemented a procedure to inspect for these whiskers at every refueling outage, or 18 months. David Lochbaum, a scientist affiliated with the Union of Concerned Scientists, while remaining critical of the processes leading to the discovery of the whiskers, praised Millstone for its handling of the situation.<5>

In September, 2009, unit-2 shut down when an electrical storm caused power fluctuations. When workers tried to restart the unit, they discovered a small leak in the reactor coolant pump. Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Millstone-2-operating-again-after-shutdown-6891.php#ixzz1GtOgmyQM

12/21/2009 Millstone Unit 3 Reactor Trip and Shutdown Greater Than 72 Hours.

07/27/2009 Millstone Unit 2 Reactor Trip and Shutdown Greater Than 72 Hours

[underpants]

13. Whomever had the money to get it approved

[LibertyLover]

56. It sure is - a branch of the Ramapo (as in Ramapo, NJ) fault

which is active. When I lived in northern New Jersey, not too far from Ramapo, we had several small quakes from that fault. If you are familiar with the Star Trek IV movie, you know the line that Spock gives about in the late 20th century nuclear reactors were located on earthquake faults? Well, I saw that movie with friends in White Plains, NY, also not far from Indian Head. We had recently had a small swarm of small quakes, but ones that could be felt. That line drew a lot of nervous laughter in the theater.

[Ramulux]

3. Glad to see this

[aquart]

4. He's finally done something I agree with.

A small cheer. Rah!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

35. that's what I said

[LawnKorn]

5. We need to close all nuclear plants. They are far too dangerous

Every single nuclear plant is a accident waiting to happen with catastrophic results.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. And replace them with what?

windmills?

We'd need a bunch of them. and fast.

[reformist2]

25. A surtax on excessive electricity use.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

60. Lobbyists would kill this

The aluminum industry uses mass quantities of electricity, as do other industries.

And the electricity to cool huge buildings to near freezing is also enormous. Big buildings, ice-cold, in a hot environment. Like Vegas casinos.

Even the northern US uses a ton of electricity to cool the buildings. The southern US would probably collapse without A/C. We are no longer able to just roll down the car windows. We are no longer able to tolerate sweat.

[reformist2]

73. You make it sound like we need every kilowatt produced, and that nobody wastes energy.

[RoccoR5955]

31. Replace them with hydro/tidal power based in the East River

Back in the late 70s, I proposed a plan, that would have placed nacelles, with turbines inside of them, off the bridges in the East River. The ten bridges could have at least four nacelles each. That would be 40 turbines that would create much needed power for NYC, IN NYC.
The City Council essentially told me that I was crazy. Later, in the 90s, they placed a couple of poorly designed turbines, designed like small windmills, in the East River. Needless to say, they failed.
My nacelle design would channel only the amount of water that the turbines inside the nacelles would be able to handle, no more, no less. This would be instead of small windmill-like designs, which would use all the power of the 4.5 knot current (at peak ebb and flow). Too much stress on the blades lead to their failure. Smaller turbines, like those in jet engines, would not be subject to as much stress on each of the blades, and thus be less susceptible to failure, because there would be many more blades, much smaller.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

62. The East River can't replace power for all the reactors in the U.S.

I don't know about stretching the array of nacelles across the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and every other water inlet/outlet.

Would these things survive a good tsunami? Or a hit from a drifting barge?

At least it's a positive idea for replacement technology, so thank you for that.

:hi:

[hedgehog]

69. It doesn't have to replace power from every reactor in the US,

just replace some power from one of them.

There is no one big answer to the energy problem, just hundreds of little ones!

[RoccoR5955]

72. No, just Indian Point...f you read my OP, you would find that I had designed it as a solution

ONLY for Indian Point. There can be others. Perhaps the Chesapeake Bay has strong winds, and wind power could be more appropriate in that situation. My point is that, instead of thinking of huge singular projects to provide energy, why not many small projects to provide energy, near where it is needed. My other point is that if you come up with an idea that is ahead of its time, you are often thought of as being insane. Finally, I have always said, "I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid."

[plumbob]

61. We can get a bunch of them and fast. 25% of all electricity

in Texas last October and November was from wind generators. The temporary slowdown is while 3 big new transmission lines are built to carry more load - turns out the only problem with wind is that it produces more electricity than the current grid can handle, so around 1/3 are idle, waiting on carrying capacity.

Which will be completed by September.

Months, not years.

Of course, if there is an earthquake with wind generators, and they fall over, all that wind will just blow all over the place. There's always that drawback.

[boppers]

74. My "wife" works in wind...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfHxINzGeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEccgR0q-o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppLh5pGX3qQ

Pretty interesting failures.

[plumbob]

76. Yep, pretty interesting. No one was injured or killed, and nobody needed

to be evacuated. Pieces could be picked up without hazmat protection of any kind.

As compared to, oh, say, a hypothetical situation where an earthquake and tsunami cause several nuclear reactors to burn and explode with the concomitant side effects - with damage in the hundreds of billions.

[boppers]

79. Actually...

http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/accidents.pdf

73 turbine human fatalities in the last 40 years.

The current strategy is to "pre-evacuate", by making sure turbines aren't near humans.

Note: I am not arguing that turbines and nuclear are equal in danger, I am am pointing out that wind has some issues to iron out, as well. *Any* time you're dealing with industrial energy generation, there are risks. Some risks are greater than other, but there isn't a "no-risk" option.

[plumbob]

85. Gosh, nearly two people a year died from turbines.

Hmm, how are we doing with other controversial technology not-yet-proven and obviously dangerous-to-human-life?

he table below shows alcohol-impaired** motor vehicle fatalities in the US for 2008.
State Total Fatalities* BAC=.08+
Number Number Percent
Texas 3,382 1,269 38
California 3,434 1,029 30
Florida 2,978 875 29
Pennsylvania 1,468 496 34
North Carolina 1,433 423 30
Georgia 1,493 416 28
South Carolina 920 403 44
Illinois 1,043 362 35
Ohio 1,190 356 30
New York 1,231 341 28
Louisiana 912 338 37
Tennessee 1,035 327 32
Alabama 966 315 33
Virginia 824 294 36
Missouri 960 310 32
Michigan 980 282 29
Arizona 937 266 28
Mississippi 783 266 34
Oklahoma 749 244 33
Indiana 814 208 26
Wisconsin 605 208 34
Kentucky 826 200 24
Washington 521 182 35
Arkansas 600 171 28
Colorado 548 173 32
New Jersey 590 154 26
Maryland 591 152 26
Minnesota 456 135 30
Oregon 416 136 33
Kansas 385 145 38
Massachusetts 363 124 34
West Virginia 380 128 34
Nevada 324 107 33
New Mexico 366 105 29
Iowa 412 89 22
Connecticut 264 86 32
Montana 229 91 40
Idaho 232 78 34
Nebraska 208 55 27
Wyoming 159 67 42
Utah 275 46 17
New Hampshire 139 45 32
North Dakota 104 47 46
Hawaii 107 42 39
Delaware 121 45 37
Maine 155 43 28
South Dakota 119 34 29
Rhode Island 65 25 38
Alaska 62 21 33
Vermont 73 12 16
Dist of Columbia 34 9 26
National 37,261 11,773 32
Puerto Rico 399 132 33



Heavens to Betsy! 37,000+ victims of autos in just one year! Wow. Perhaps we should direct a few of our energies this way.

And so I believe that I will just pronounce myself satisfied with turbine safety.

BTW, 14 children died in just five years on playground equipment in just one city, Brisbane. Maybe they shoulda let the kids play on the turbines instead.

Thanks for the comment!

[BrightKnight]

71. Coal - the largest off shore wind plant is 300 megawatts and a nuclear plant generates 20+ gigawatts

Wind plants rarely operate anywhere near capacity. Nuclear plants operate near capacity more than 99% of the time. There is no way to scale renewable energy to replace Nuclear.

Coal generates hundreds of millions of tons of coal ash a year. Coal ash is radioactive and it is very toxic. Accelerating global warming might not be the best plan.

[plumbob]

77. Nuclear in Texas has a total capacity of 2.5 gigawatts. Wind more than 9.7 gigawatts

with another 27 gigs planned in the next 10 years.

Looks like nukes are already passed by 300% using wind in Texas. Soon to be 1100%.

No need for coal or natural gas or nukes.

[LynneSin]

54. We should ban all cars - they too are dangerous

We should ban all playgrounds, those can cause accidents

We should ban all factories - any of them could explode and kill people.

We should ban all airplanes - look what happened on 9/11.

While we're at it we should ban all tall buildings because they are nothing more than sitting targets for death and danger.

Let's ban the use of fire because how many lives have been killed because of people not using it properly.

We need to move everyone out of the major cities on the East Coast and Gulf because they are nothing more than targets for hurricanes.

:eyes:

[plumbob]

63. Good, but let's start with the biggest risks first.

I believe you'll agree that the current tragedy in Japan exceeds the worst car wreck on record.

Same for playgrounds.

Same for factories.

Same for 9/11

Same for any tall building, including 9/11

Same for any fire

Same for any hurricane.

Believe me, by the time we get the money powers to tear down all existing nuclear plants, you and I will both be long buried.

Yes, they are that greedy. And no, they don't give a fuck about anything other than money.

So now that our list is ready, take down the highest priority and most dangerous first - nuclear reactors.

[defendandprotect]

75. We certainly need safer cars -- see: "TUCKER" -- and electric cars ...

see: "Who Killed The Electric Car?"

If we have any cars, playgrounds and factorories with radiation WASTE pools like Fukushima --

then we should ban them!

If any cars, playgrounds and factories are spewing out radiation like Fukushima --

then we should ban them!

Other than that, I think we'll avoid the childishness you're suggesting.

[LawnKorn]

6. K&R

[truthisfreedom]

7. There's a sh*tload of those reactors in the US.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/118064259.html?cmpid=15585797

[madmax]

10. I live about 4 miles from this one

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/guards-sound-alarm-over-security-at-shearon-harris-nuclear-plant/Content?oid=1196255

You can say, I'm not too happy. :wow: :scared:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

41. Indy Point should have been closed 20 years ago..I have lived in fears shadow for way to long too

[madmax]

50. That must be excruciating - 20 years!!

I knew about the plant before we bought this townhouse but, like so many others I was lulled into a false sense of security. Yes, I remember Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island but, haven't we made great progress and it's safe now? :eyes:

Perfect example of your average American asshat. Not proud of that but, that's what I feel like now.

:hug: maybe there's hope the light is shinning bright on Japan.

[onlyadream]

14. I'm on Long Island and there is NO WAY OUT

if something were to happen at Indian Pt. In addition, there are two other nuclear reactors in Southern CT (from what I can see on a map I googled). What the heck were they thinking????? The people here have only one way off the island.

At least they never opened up the one in Shoreham!!

[mdmc]

15. at least I can head north

not that I care to outrun a nuke..

[Jennicut]

16. Yup, and the southern CT/NYC area is extremely congested to begin with.

I thankfully live in Northern CT. But I have family on Long Island. A lot of people of the Throgs Neck Bridge all at once would be pretty bad.

[RoccoR5955]

33. I was active in the beginning of the planning of Shoreham.

And saw to it, along with many others, that it never opened. It was a long hard battle, that took a lot out of me, but it was successful.

[onlyadream]

64. Then I owe you a great big THANKS!

:fistbump:

A guy I worked with told me that they wanted to open more plants on LI, but when they were told "no", they redesigned the Shoreham plant. He said that it was like a mac truck engine jammed into a VW Bug. Not. Safe.

[SHRED]

17. Diablo and San Onofre also

[Arugula Latte]

67. Yes -- Diablo doesn't even have earthquake emergency response plan. In California.

Also, the plants can't take a quake above 7. Goddamn, the way these asshole who push these plants risk the health and safety of millions of people just makes my blood boil.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/california-nuclear-emergency-response_n_836751.html

Oh, and Scalia had a hand in the lack of plan.Qu'elle surprise. :grr:

[drm604]

18. I'm 17 miles from Limerick

NRC: Limerick nuclear plant is third-highest earthquake risk in U.S.
http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2011/03/17/springford_reporter_valley_item/news/doc4d80eb69ccb2b467713934.txt

[enough]

22. Me too. (nt)

[Rebubula]

19. The sky is falling

Keep up the good work, Chicken Little.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

37. wtf? Indian Point has been leaking and faulty for 20 yrs....what's your problem?

[MrNJ]

45. RE: the sky is falling

Exactly.

Never mind that coal produces much more radiation and countless more people died digging for coal then in all nuclear power accidents combined.

[jillan]

46. That's great you feel that way. Hopefully you live close to a nuclear power plant so you may

enjoy all that it produces.

Nobody wants coal either.

[MrNJ]

52. Nobody wants to live in the dark either

Until we invent new power sources, we have to pick among existing technologies for our power needs.

[wordpix]

83. if you live near Fuku, the sky IS falling & it's no laughing matter it could happen here

[LanternWaste]

65. I imagine many people conflate concern with alarmism....

I imagine many people conflate concern with alarmism... degrees of a thing can be difficult for many people.

[Corgigal]

20. Finally

I never thought I would see the day. I grew up in Ossining New York and I have a thyroid condition. Which I didn't think it was a big deal until I found this just recently;

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/11/18/ny-indian-point-thyroid-cancer.htm


. The thyroid cancer rates in those four counties around Indian Point are also among the highest in the U.S., with a rate of thyroid cancer that is 66% above the U.S. average, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


No idea if my twenty years of living in Ossining New york, 8 miles from Indian Point, are cause and affect but it's not worth the risk. While I miss my home in Westchester county and glad I don't live close to this plant anymore. It has frightened people for years.

[Lenomsky]

21. huh really

"In the 1950s, Edward Teller developed technology that would go a long way toward eliminating all the expense, delay, and risk associated with these reactors. Teller advocated nuclear power plants that would be "walk-away safe" - that is, capable of running without supervision - and that could be "operated by children." But the concept was shelved because it would produce no excess plutonium for bombs."

WOW

[drm604]

23. Where is that quote from? n/t

[Frisbee]

24. RE: Where is that quote from?

See post #7

[RoccoR5955]

26. Well that's one thing he's done right so far

I am disappointed in some of his policies so far. He's not his father, who I thought was one of the best governors NY ever had. At least in my lifetime.

[EJ24]

27. Good for him.

[reformist2]

28. So many reactors are going to get shut down now.

[Arugula Latte]

68. I wish, but I'll believe it when I see it.

The nuclear lobbying industry has their claws in lots of politicians. Also, it costs big $$$$$ to close them down.

[Liberalynn]

30. Glad to see this Governor Cuomo

is following in his Dad's footsteps as concerns the nuclear industry. His Dad wasn't a big fan either.

I hope this Governor Cuomo does shut at least the most vulnerable down.

[Mason Dixon]

32. What there was no fault line when he was Gov

On March 10, 2009 the Indian Point Power Plant was awarded the fifth consecutive top safety rating for annual operations by the Federal regulators

[Mason Dixon]

36. The fault line is under NYC

It is sometimes referred to as the 125th street fault line. The last earthquake in NYC was last December. They happen fairly frequently and no one really knows it as they are so small.

By this knee jerk rationale we should go ahead and abandon all the tall buildings, the subway, tunnels, bridges. And while we're at it lets all fire up the coal furnaces again

20 million people are gonna get powered a windmill

[RoccoR5955]

42. The fault line is the Ramapo Fault, not the 125th St fault.

It is not even in the same formation. Believe me, as I was a Geology major in College. The fault lies on top of the formation of Manhattan Schist that makes up the bulk of Manhattan Island. The deposits on top of this base formation make up what is known as the Newark Basin. They were deposited between the Ordivician to the Triassic Eras.
Back in the 70s, there was not as much knowledge as to the impact of these. They were thought to be quite inactive, but as more research has been done, it has been found that the Ramapo fault is fairly active.

[Mason Dixon]

43. Like i said

Commonly referred to as the 125th street fault line

[RoccoR5955]

53. No, the 125th St. Fault line is a completely separate fault.

It is part of the deposit over the Manhattan Schist, but it is its own fault, separate from the Ramapo Fault.

[Mason Dixon]

58. Fair enough

The ones in the NE USA are not the same as those in the ring of fire. I think it's irresponsible of the governor to condem one site based on the dynamics of another. Especially with no suggestion of how replace the pier supplied.

One little fun fact for you is the NYC subway uses the same amount of power as the city of Buffalo.

[RoccoR5955]

39. Nice Try Mason Dixon. In 2009, and the 5 previous years...

...who appointed those Federal regulators?
Do you think that there could be any credibility to any of the regulators that were appointed by Dumbya? Wasn't the head of FEMA a guy who raised and trained show horses? I wonder what animals the nuclear agency regulators raised for shows... Probably cats.

[Mason Dixon]

44. If neither one of us know

Who appointed these regulators, then how is your argument dubya did it. It could bave been Nixon for we know. This is the site that screams for regulations and federal safe guards. If we can't trust the fed who do we have to go to.

Incidentally that stat was lifted Dell wikipedia

[wordpix]

84. lest we forget the "regulators" are often nuke industry promoters

http://www.nukefree.org/news/NEWSIGN-ONLETTERTOPRESIDENTOBAMAONNRCCOMMISSIONERS

July 31, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

We write to you with deep concern regarding recent media reports that you are considering nominating William Magwood to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Mr. Magwood's
background, experience, and apparent key interests are in the realm of nuclear power's promotion, not its regulation to protect public health, safety and the environment. We urge you to instead nominate a strong regulator to the NRC Commission who has demonstrated a commitment to public safety, rather than to nuclear power industry promotional and financial
interests.

In the 1970s, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was abolished due to the inherently
contradictory nature of its mandate, to both promote atomic energy and regulate its safety. The
AEC was replaced by a promotional agency (first the Energy Research and Development
Administration, and ultimately the Department of Energy, DOE), as well as by a separate safety
regulatory agency, the NRC.

NRC's supposed mandate, reflected in its oft repeated slogan "Protecting People and the
Environment," is to protect public health, safety and the environment from the radiological risks
of commercial atomic reactors and related uranium fuel chain activities. As concerned citizen
groups and community organizers watch-dogging nuclear power facilities know all too well,
NRC often fails to live up to its mission statement. In fact, there are numerous examples of
agency foot dragging and "enforcement discretion" extended over decades for widespread noncompliance on critical reactor safety issues, including fire protection and emergency core cooling systems. All too often, NRC rubberstamps nuclear applications after inadequate safety and security reviews, thus serving more as a lax facilitator for, rather than a watchdog on, the
industry it is supposed to regulate.

NRC's own inspector general concluded that such prioritization of industry financial interests
over public safety by NRC led to a near disaster at the Davis-Besse nuclear reactor near Toledo
in 2002, due to a massive corrosion hole in the reactor's lid that nearly breached the pressure
vessel and risked a loss of reactor coolant accident. Similarly, the rupture of a steam generator
tube at the Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City in 2000 risked a cascade of
ruptured tubes and loss of reactor coolant accident. As reactors deteriorate with age, such breakdown phase accident risks increase requiring increased vigilance and enforcement. In addition, proposed new reactors would come with inherent increased break-in phase accident risks, due to bugs that have yet to be worked out. Due to such increased risks, the NRC needs strong safety regulators, not industry promoters.

Mr. Magwood served for seven years as the head of the Office of Nuclear Energy at DOE. In that
position, he was one of the chief proponents for nuclear power. Mr. Magwood helped lead the
Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, Nuclear Power 2010, and the Generation IV Nuclear Energy
Systems Initiative. He also served as the first chairman of the Generation IV International Forum
and as chair of the Steering Committee on Nuclear Energy Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation. The role of an NRC Commissioner is supposed to be quite different from such nuclear power proponent activities.

At DOE, and as recently as May 2009, Mr. Magwood has been promoting the Yucca Mountain
dumpsite proposal. Referring to foreign counterparts he took to Yucca Mountain for tours during
his DOE tenure, Mr. Magwood was quoted in the ClimateWire as saying "They had an
experience similar to what I have. You go to the top of the mountain, and you realize that you're
really in the middle of nowhere. They all wished they had some kind of desolate area like this
and wonder why we're having this argument." Of course, Nevadans living along transportation
routes and close to Yucca Mountain do not consider their state a wasteland, suitable for
radioactive waste dumping.

Both during your presidential campaign and after assuming office, you have clearly stated that
Yucca Mountain is not an option for high-level radioactive waste disposal. We thank you for
your wise decision. Thus, we are deeply concerned that as an NRC Commissioner, Mr.
Magwood would support this Yucca dump proposal in contradiction to your stated policy.

We are also concerned about Mr. Magwood's support for the Bush administration's Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), and its proposed revival of commercial radioactive waste
reprocessing. We thank you for terminating the GNEP programmatic environmental impact
statement last month. As recently as this year, Mr. Magwood has been promoting commercial
radioactive waste reprocessing. We are concerned that he would continue to promote
reprocessing, which would be highly inappropriate as an NRC Commissioner.

The current open seats on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission present you with a vital
opportunity to steer NRC back to its mandated mission to protect public safety, security, health
and the environment. We urge you in the strongest possible terms to nominate persons devoted to
nuclear safety, rather than to the nuclear industry's expansion.

Sincerely,



*******

For Individuals:

Beyond Nuclear Bulletin
July 28, 2009

Top Stories
Sign grassroots letter to President Obama
opposing William Magwood nomination to NRC

Background: Last week, the New York Times reported that President Obama would soon nominate William Magwood to fill an open seat on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Mr. Magwood served for seven years as head of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy. While there, he was a chief proponent for the expansion of atomic energy, helping lead the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (radioactive waste reprocessing), Nuclear Power 2010 program, and the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative. Also while at DOE, and as recently as this year, Mr. Magwood has expressed support for commercial radioactive waste reprocessing, as well as the Yucca Mountain, Nevada high-level radioactive waste dumpsite proposal. If nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Magwood would serve a five year term as one of five NRC Commissioners, with the possibility that he serve additional five year terms after that.

Our View: President Obama should nominate strong regulators to the NRC Commission, persons who have demonstrated a commitment to public safety, rather than to nuclear power industry promotional and financial interests. The current open seats on the NRC present President Obama with a vital opportunity to steer NRC back to its mandated mission to protect public safety, security, health and the environment. Mr. Magwood's background, experience, and apparent key interests are in the realm of nuclear power's promotion, not its regulation. Mr. Magwood's support for the Yucca dump is in clear contradiction to President Obama's clear policy statement that Nevada is no longer an option for high-level radioactive waste disposal. And Mr. Magwood's support for reviving commercial radioactive waste reprocessing in the U.S. for the first time in nearly four decades would be an inappropriate policy position for an NRC Commissioner. For this reason, he should not be nominated, nor confirmed, to co-lead the NRC.

What You Can Do: Sign onto a group letter urging President Obama to nominate a strong regulator, rather than an industry promoter, to the NRC. To sign on, [e-mail] with your name, organization, city and state. Given the imminence of Mr. Magwood's nomination, this letter will be sent to the White House the following day. In addition, please phone the White House comment line at [phone], to urge President Obama to nominate a strong safety regulator, rather than a nuclear industry promoter like Mr. Magwood. Also, phone U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office at [phone], and U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer's office at [phone], and urge that Mr. Magwood's nomination be blocked due to his support for the dangerous Yucca Mountain dumpsite proposal.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

34. I agree...Good on you Governor Cuomo !

[Myrina]

38. ....what genius put it in that dangerous a spot in the first place?!?!

:wow:

[FourScore]

47. Ya think? n/t

[starroute]

48. Here's some history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Point_Energy_Center

The plant is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, and includes two operating Westinghouse pressurized water reactors – designated Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3 – which Entergy bought from Consolidated Edison and the New York Power Authority respectively. The facility also contains the permanently shut down Indian Point Unit 1 reactor. . . . Indian Point 1, built by Consolidated Edison, was the first of three reactors at this location. It was a 275-megawatt pressurized water reactor and was issued an operating license on March 26, 1962 and started operations on September 16, 1962. . . .

The two additional reactors, Indian Point 2 and 3, were built in 1974 and 1976. Together they generate up to 30% of the electricity used in New York City, depending on a variety of conditions.

On May 2, 2007, the NRC announced that the "License Renewal Application for Indian Point Nuclear Plant is available for Public Inspection". This initiated Entergy's effort to extend the operating licenses of each unit by 20 years. . . .

On December 1, 2007, Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and New York Governor Elliot Spitzer called a press conference with the participation of environmental advocacy groups Clearwater and Riverkeeper to announce their united opposition to the re-licensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of the Attorney General requested a hearing as part of the process put forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In September 2007 The New York Times reported on the rigorous legal opposition Entergy faces in its request for a 20-year licensing extension for Indian Point Nuclear reactor 2.

[starroute]

49. And a bit more on Entergy

Entergy's name is familiar to me primarily because as of 2000-01 they were a lobbying client of Diane Allbaugh -- the wife of Joe Allbaugh, who was a member of Bush's inner circle, was on Cheney's energy task force, and served as head of FEMA during the first Bush administration. But prior to that, Entergy (which started out in Arkansas) had been a major supporter of Bill Clinton and had attempted to entered into a joint venture with the Lippo Group, which had its own Clinton-era scandals.

Greg Palast has chronicled a lot of the 1990s dirt involving both Entergy and Southern Co. -- but the games played by these energy firms aren't limited to the Clinton administration. By the early 2000s, Haley Barbour was lobbying for Southern Co., and the same firm currently stands to gain a couple of new nuclear plants in Alabama if Obama's push goes through.


http://www.zcommunications.org/california-reamin-by-greg-palast

California Reamin'
By Greg Palast

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

There was no way that Southern was going to let Enron and the Brits have all the loot to themselves. In 1995, the Atlanta company, besieged at home by consumers and regulators, bought up England's South Western Electricity Board. In England, Southern could charge double what they charged in Georgia and earn five times the profit allowed by U.S. regulators. This was the first purchase ever by an American power company outside the United States. The takeover was new, bold - and illegal.

Or, at least the law said so. ... Despite a formal complaint by elderly "New Deal" Democratic congressmen, the Securities and Exchange Commission blessed the Southern Company purchase after the fact. Getting the SEC to bend over wasn't easy, but then, Southern had political insurance: Entergy International of Little Rock, Arkansas. Bill Clinton was president, and Entergy, his wife's former client, also wanted a piece of the English action.

Entergy, the near-bankrupt owner of some badly built nuclear plants and lines running across Louisiana and Arkansas, soon became the proud owner of giant London Electricity. In just eighteen months, Entergy would "flip" London to the French government for a gain of over $1 billion. The return on investment was infinite; Entergy bought London without putting up one dime in equity cash. ...

The new government of Tony Blair was outwardly hostile to the American colonizers. But in 1998, while working undercover for the Observer newspaper, I secretly recorded the details of a backroom deal between government ministers and a power company executive to let Reliant of Houston take over the second largest company in England. I also learned that Blair had personally overruled his regulators to allow Enron and Entergy to build new deregulated power plants - the special request of the Clinton White House.

[closeupready]

51. Amen to that.

+1000.

[ramapo]

59. Don't worry, can't happen

The thing about getting older is you see the same bullshit recycled endlessly over the decades.

Indian Point has long been a center of controversy. The first reactor there was closed long ago due to safety considerations. Beyond that, the line has basically been: Do not worry. The plant is safe and there are more than adequate safeguards in place to guard against any contingency. We need the electricity generated by the plant. Power produced there is clean, especially when compared to coal. Three Mile Island demonstrated that even a serious accident is in effect minor. Chernobyl was a disaster because of a number of factors, none of which have any relation to any US reactor.

If Japan manages to avoid a full-scale meltdown disaster, then this event will be hailed by the industry as proof positive that nuclear is just spiffy ok to go. Reading some of the news accounts, I am amazed at the happy talk. For example, even if there is a full meltdown, then there just "might" be some increased risk of cancer in the affected population.

What is not really mentioned is that the worst threat is from the containment pools. Every nuclear facility in the United States has these sitting time bombs. The reactors are truly the least of our problems as they are quite well protected and shielded. As we have seen in Japan, containment pools have little protection or shielding.

The nuclear waste problem is just another of the serious problems that has been kicked down the road, decade after decade. The industry argues it is too expensive to afford cooling pools the same protection as the reactor. Nobody wants a waste facility, even out in the middle of the freaking desert and nobody wants to move used fuel rods to such a facility even if one existed.

So the industry, government, and yes the public have all agreed over the past decades to basically ignore this problem and hope for the best. After all, the worst never happens.

Well, the worst is pretty close to reality in Japan. But even if it comes to be, the pollyannas will say, can't happen here. We don't get tsunamis up the Hudson River and the Ramapo Fault is just a little fault anyway.

After 9/11 there was great concern because the hijacked planes had flown so near Indian Point. What if they had crashed into the reactors was the big question. The reality is, and the spin was, hey no problem, the containment domes would hold. However if somebody took out the containment pools with a plane, the picture would be much darker.

Just like every other complex problem facing our society, this one will go unanswered. There will be much talk to and fro, for and against. Angst will be great for a time and then complacency will set in again. If a problem is difficult or expensive to solve, then it is a problem that society would just rather not deal with.

So don't worry folks. If you are pro-nuke you will be happy. Indian Point will stay open. If you are pro-industry, don't worry. There will be no requirements to store used fuel under hardened, fail-safe containment structures. If you are scared shitless by all this, don't worry. The odds are that all will be ok. I live about 25 miles from Indian Point. However, I am west of the plant and the prevailing winds are generally from the west so we are not in the worst location. But odds (and winds) are funny. Sometimes they just don't work out as expected. Just ask the Japanese.

[lovuian]

66. Hello!!! Shut it down

before its too late

[freshwest]

78. Wow, someone with a working brain was elected.

Of course, he wasn't a teabagger or dittohead.

Good work New Yorkers.

Now take out the rest of the trash.


:dem: