Weighing the Risks of the Indian Point Power Plant

The nuclear power plant at Indian Point, located in Buchanan, NY.

The nuclear power plant located in Indian Point, NY, was closed for public and environmental safety reasons on Thursday, March 1, when toxic gases began to collect in the plant’s electricity transformer. This incident adds further controversy to the argument against the continuance of the power plant; the Indian Point location was shut down less than two months before for a total of eight days due to a leaking pump that was dispelling small amounts of radioactive water. Located merely 35 miles from Manhattan, the power plant generates over 2,000 megawatts of electricity to supply the majority of power to all of New York City and its nearby county of Westchester (The Huffington Post); however, with recent shutdowns and accidents (namely the 17-day power outage thanks to a malfunction within the plant), skeptics of the Indian Point power plant are concerned that the nuclear activity will result in public and environmental harm. Although it is a major supplier of efficient electricity for the nation’s largest and brightest city, its string of shutdowns have revealed that the federal government has allowed the plant’s owners, Entergy, to operate the location despite its failure to comply with “safety risks in the areas of fire, earthquake, and possible terrorist attacks” (Lydon). Attorney Paul Gallay has made the connection between the plant’s recent operation flaws and the consequences of a possible major accident at Indian Point; if the state of New York experiences a situation similar to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in the event of an Indian Point malfunction, “the damages range from evacuating 5.6 million people, to 1.3 million possible cancer cases and evacuating everyone out to and including Manhattan” (Lydon). At this point in time, the biggest concern for the plant’s opposition (including New York governor Andrew Cuomo) is the possibility of an earthquake at the location of the Indian Point power plant; the estimated number on the Richter scale for the two fault lines near the nuclear plant has increased to 7.0, leaving a dim future for the plant that can only withstand a 5.0 magnitude in the event of such seismic activity (Lydon). Despite these negative predictions, the decision of whether or not to shut down the Indian Point power plant altogether is not easily reachable due to the extremely high energy outsource needed to power New York City, especially in the upcoming hot summer. If Entergy and the supporters of the Indian Point power plant, such as Mayor Bloomberg, expect to simmer down the opposition and keep the location operating, they must begin by adhering to strict safety standards in order to prevent shutdowns and eliminate any possibility of an accident or a meltdown. For an informative report from NBC News on the conflict associated with the Indian Point power plant, please visit this link.

 

 

Sources:

Associated Press. “Indian Point 2 Nuclear Reactor Back In Service.” The Huffington Post. 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Lydon, Patrick. “Is the Indian Point Nuclear Plant Unsafe?” The Energy Collective. 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

New York, CBS. “Indian Point Nuke Plant Back In Service After Day Offline.” CBS.com. 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Segar, Mike. “The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York, is seen from across the Hudson River, April 6, 2010.” Photo. Reuters. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

 

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