Indian point should be shut down....period. Those who akin humans taming fire to human use of nuclear energy and that we are the masters of atomic energy are just plain ignorant. Ask the Japanese how well Fukushima is going for them...more than a year after the accident it is STILL leaking radioactive matter into the soil, ground water and ocean. They had a chance two years BEFORE the disaster to shut down this older plant at Fukushima, but the wonderful folks at TEMPCO decided that talking about shutting the plant down might lead to more anti-atomic energy sentiment...so they did nothing.....and look what happened. The air, water and soil will be polluted for thousands of years!! Does NYC need their own Fukushima style disaster courtesy of Indian Point before they realize....Gee, maybe we should have shut it down before this disaster happened? What fools ye mortals be!
Teresa E Tutt, PhD - 13 years ago
The controlled release of nuclear energy is humankind's greatest discovery since the taming of fire. Those who do not understand this are not paying attention.
Go Nukes!
Eric Holme - 13 years ago
There is a new game in town called CARBON CREDITS.
I was at a coal fired plant in Ohio in November. FOUR of the six generators have been shut down for two years. Instead of generating electricity the Utility Company is being paid for carbon credits. This utility delivers power to the PJM power pool.
What if this utility shuts down more coal fired plants? Where will our electric supply
come from?
Where are the environmentalists going to place the solar and wind generators.
If they cover the whole of Long Island with solar panels and the whole of New Jersey with wind turbines (1) Where will we build our homes. (2) Where will we get the remaining 1000 megawatts needed to replace IP #3?
Brian C - 13 years ago
Not as simple as it seems. Read about Vermont Yankee plant, also owned by Entergy. Huge legal and legislative battle over re-licensing. Assuming that efforts to shut down Indian Pt were successful, we would need a massive upgrade of the distribution grid in order to import renewable power that is plentiful today in update New York, but cannot reach us due to the outmoted grid. Be prepared for messy legal and permitting battles to run new transmission lines into our area and NYC. I would prefer to see Indian Point go away, but am very mindful that the alternatives will require huge investment and disruption, and yes, even higher electricity bills. Sometimes we do feel puny and desparate, but it can be done! Look at how the Hudson river has been improved since 1970!
Realist - 13 years ago
I want what everyone wants, the Gene Roddenberry universe (food replicators, perfectly clean warp drive, the works). For those that think it’s out of reach, it’s just a matter of time (note the prevalence of touch screens, and how similar they are to the science fiction of 15 years ago). Perfectly clean & sustainable energy means wind and solar, and we will get there… eventually. Realistically, the technological leaps in transmission and power storage (vital for wind and solar to work as baseload sources) are a minimum of 50 years away, more realistically 150 years. The only question remains is what bridging technology do we use to get there. As bad as nuclear power may be, it does the least overall damage to the environment compared to coal and natural gas. No greenhouse gas emissions, no global warming, and a lower volume of waste. The French have been using nuclear power for 50 years, and fit all of the waste in a building the size of a football field. Compare that to the tons of CO2 from natural gas, and mile lone train of hazardous coal ash from coal plants, and I think the only choice for the planet right now is nuclear power.
Trung Huynh - 13 years ago
I'm 100% support nuclear energy. However, Safety in operating nuclear power plants is the top priority. If the plant isn't safe enough then we should shut it down.
In this case, the plant passed the inspections from the NRC then why do we have to shut it down. Nuclear energy bring greats impacts in our economy as well as our society.
Clean Air - 13 years ago
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/cleanair.htm
Rick - 13 years ago
NRC reports and assessments show the reactor is safe with a green status on all systems. why shut it down if it's operating fine and delivering clean energy??
Richard P. Potekhen - 13 years ago
I am an analytical (home-office) engineer, who worked at Indian Point during an outage a few years ago. I was favorably impressed with the people, their work ethic, and the culture there. My experience in the nuclear industry spans 38 years; I have worked outages at five different plants and have had a working relationship with numerous other individuals at nuclear utility plants and offices. I would have no hesitation about living and working in the neighborhood of Indian Point.
Jim - 13 years ago
Shut them down? Should we build more coal plants? Maybe we should consider solar or wind, try using all the power you use now for your computer and electronic products. Until there is an effective replacement looks like nuclear power is here to stay.
Shenendoa - 13 years ago
So, you people moved into an area where there was a nuclear plant for years and now you want to close it down instead of picking up and moving. Are you people that stupid?
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
KH said:
"If the plant closes, all of NY will be paying three to four times more for electricity bills. ... The people in Maine are now paying four times as much as they used to after the plant in that state was shut down."
Where do you get this data? I know many people all over Maine from Portland up to Caribou and I don't hear anybody complaining about electric rate other than the usual seasonal grousing.
Are these figures from the helpful PR nuke info mill ?
Why are so many Americans so proud of our dirty, dangerous and always risky use of nuke power. Our recklessness will drive us more quickly into second then third world status. Do we all still look at post-Fukushima Japan as the paragon of an industrial nation? I think they just slipped a notch because of the "accident" causing the loss of parts for my Toyota.
THINK ALTERNATIVE AND MAKE IT WORK! That's the challenge, not how many arms we can twist with tortured statistics to keep reckless, finger-crossing shortcut-oriented industrialists in business.
KH - 13 years ago
If the plant closes, all of NY will be paying three to four times more for electricity bills. Indian Point produces much more power than most plants. They have two active units. If those units close, the energy will need to be bought from Canada or elsewhere at a much higher rate. The people in Maine are now paying four times as much as they used to after the plant in that state was shut down. Other providers promise great rates for a year or so and then they more than triple the rates. I have a family member who has worked at both units in Indian Point. It is a well run plant and the major components have been replaced.
Mademoiselle - 13 years ago
Do you really think it's a good idea to spread radiation? NO! If you keep this plant, think about all the damage your little company shall do, soon enough, the whole world will be filled with unclean air of radiation and all the children of these wonderful people shall end up dying at age 60! Already, my dream country that I want to live in has radiation, yet I won't give up my dream of getting there, so don't make matters any worse! I live RIGHT next to New York and it is a known FACT that New York is the most populated city of America and its states next to it are extremely populated too! In my opinion, this is a rash idea to even THINK of keeping this dangerous and nuclear plant, you said so yourself that this is the most dangerous plant to be found in America! And also, let me tell you one thing, will money really matter in the end when even your company can be found dead themselves because of this plant? Will you be happy to know that the people that are still alive shall turn on you and your company shall stop making money because the people have become so angry?
KC - 13 years ago
My father was one of the team of clean-up workers and engineers who entered TMI (Three Mile Island) after the meltdown. An amazing number of those men (including my father) developed bizarre and often fatal forms of cancer. Of the four I know involved in TMI clean-up, two developed brain tumors, one (a non-smoker) devloped an aggressive and rapidly fatal form of lung cancer, and the fourth got thyroid cancer.
The official death toll (for the "general public") from TMI was zero. But the real toll - among the workers - was far greater.
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
Marc said:
“Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
... Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight froCDC website...”
By how far is it possible for you to miss the point? Judging from your comments, it’s pretty far.
Yes, smokers die from smoking. Now, to perhaps learn a little about sarcasm, please read the cowboy comment again. Oh, yes, you may have to remove your head from ...well, never mind.
Bye bye.
Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
Funny you should mention taking a smoke break while on your high horse about 40,000 deaths related to the Chernobyl incident by 2065. I'd like to know where you got that information. (I'm guessing your backside) Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight from the CDC website...
By how far is it possible for you to miss the point? Judging from your comments, it’s pretty far.
Yes, smokers die from smoking. Now, to perhaps learn a little about sarcasm, please read the cowboy comment again. Oh, yes, you may have to remove your head from ...well, never mind.
Bye bye.
Marc - 13 years ago
Here's an interesting article regarding the dangers of Nuclear power to that of Fossil Fuels.
Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
Funny you should mention taking a smoke break while on your high horse about 40,000 deaths related to the Chernobyl incident by 2065. I'd like to know where you got that information. (I'm guessing your backside) Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight from the CDC website...
"Cigarette smoking causes about 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States each year. Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the following:
•443,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
•49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure
•269,655 deaths annually among men
•173,940 deaths annually among women"
These numbers are only for the U.S., I wonder how astronomical the numbers all over the world are. Go ahead and do the calculation out to 2065 yourself and don't forget to bump it up for population growth. Makes your 40,000 look pretty ridiculous.
Why don't you try protesting something that actually does kill people?
Nuclear Power, when properly managed, is the safest and cleanest form of energy production available today.
Marc - 13 years ago
Three Mile Island...Chernobyl...Choose your incident and stick to it. You mentioned Three Mile before but if you'd like to talk Chernobyl that's fine too.
Chernobyl was a graphite cooled reactor with a positive temperature coefficient of reactivity. This means that as the water in the primary system got hotter, reactor power went up, which caused temperature to go up and so forth. Graphite cooled reactors are inherently unstable, making operation very difficult. Combine that with the Soviet Union's lackluster training program and your have a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what happened.
There are no Graphite cooled reactors in the United States. Every U.S. reactor is water cooled and designed to have a negaitve temperature coefficient of reactivity. A Negative TCoR means that an increasing temperature causes power to go down, causing temperature to go down, causing power to go up, causing temperature to go up, and the cycle continues. These reactors ultimately find an equilibrium and are inherently stable. That, combined with the ridgid training schedules required to work in the nuclear industry in the United States, make future accidents very unlikely.
Yes, there is a lot more that goes into it than that but I'm not teaching a Nuclear Engineering class here.
At Indian Point, Operators, both licensed and non-licensed, attend training for a full week out of every month. This training it federally regulated and monitored. That makes their continuous training program more ridgid than most any profession out there, including doctors, whom you trust with your life on a regular basis.
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
Marc said...
“Number of people that died as a result of the Three Mile Island Incident = 0 (zero)”
Isn’t it interesting how statistics can turn an ethical and safety issue into a board game?
It is predicted that by 2065 there will have been over 40,000 cases of cancer directly resulting from the Chernobyl incident. Are all you statisticians willing to try it again? After all, it will happen again most certainly. The question is how lucky will the region be? Is this your lucky decade?
The sad fact remains that it is the single most deadly dangerous form of power generation in terms of what it can do (and has already done) to local populations. It’s sheer lunacy to threaten so many citizens in the name of cheap and critically dangerous fuel.
I don’t want it in my backyard and if you care about your children and grandchildren, you shouldn’t want it next door either,
All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break.
My last comment ‘cause I gotta go make a living.
richie - 13 years ago
Doesn't matter if they are safe or not. This is the wrong question. What matters is what do you do with the nuclear waste? Until there is a viable answer which is not bury it underground and worry about it later then nuclear plants are a danger to society and all future societies. It's that simple.
Johnny Reb - 13 years ago
Here's a suggestion: All you NIMBY anti-nuclear north-easterners put your money where your mouths are - disconnect from the grid - now! If you all do, maybe teh nukes in your backyard can shutdown.
The Other Gary - 13 years ago
1) Something tells me Chuck Park has no idea how much it costs to build and license a nuclear plant.
2) David Grossman has no idea what he is talking about. The operating costs of a nuclear power plant are actually much cheaper than most other types of energy. What do you suggest? Wind farms? Solar Fields? Neither of these is feasible as the primary power source of the american people, there is simply no way to produce sufficient power to meet the demand.
What is your alternative, david? Nuclear has proven to be more environmentally friendly than all of the other main power producers, but in your rant about how "In the last 50 years we have done more to the air, earth and water than in all the rest of history", you neglect to mention that the entirety of that harm was done not by nuclear but by fossil fuel plants. Where is your Ignorant rant about the evil of fossil fuel plants?
3) Gary Gladstone: How much do you know about the Nuclear fuel cycle? Criticality? How about neutron flux densities? Do you know the specific operating parameters of the AP1000?
Your silly rant about the fact that the Cheif Nuclear operator of the plant not knowing about a new design of an unrelated field to his own is quaint. Would you insult a botanist for not knowing about the very same plane? How about a geologist?
We understand that you were a Janitor assigned to help mop up some coffee spilled by the operators at TMI, but that does not make you qualified to judge the situation that you obviously know/knew very little about. That is by far the WORST accident that has ever happened on american soil in a nuclear plant.
To put that in perspective, There are 104 Reactors in the United states. Many have been operating for a half century. There has been ONE major accident, in which ZERO people were seriously hurt or died.
Marc - 13 years ago
Number of people that died as a result of the Three Mile Island Incident = 0 (zero)
CLT - 13 years ago
Garry Gladstone. You talk about science. Obviously you were cutting classes. How many lives were lost in the meltdown of Three Mile Island? If you choose to live the rest of your life in unjustifiable fear so be it. I have only one life to live and I will not allow stupidity and terrorists to scare me to the point that I will not even come out of my house. My family and I chose to live the lives we deserve to live WITHOUT fear and having to look over our shoulders every time we get on a plane or drive over a bridge or take a trip to New York City or go on vacation by any means of public transportation. Get real, get educated. There are 104 nuclear power plants in the US which by the way are there to produce power and that's it. That's not including the smaller reactors used for the medical field which probably range in the 1000's. Go to a plant and take a tour and learn something. People have fears because they do not educate themselves. It's called fear of the unknown. You have heard of that statement, right? 50 years that site has been in operation generating power. 50 years you and your politicians had to replace the power it produces so you had a leg to stand on in your arguement. 50 years of sit ins from the hippies of the 70's, people holding signs on a street corners yelling not in my backyard and 50 years of people like you stopping the construction of other types of electric generation such as the hydro electric power plant in Orange County because it would upset the beautiful landscape of the land or the new high line they wanted to build and extend from upstate New York for the grid. Again, signs in all of the upstate towns, villages and cities like Utica that said not in my backyard. You are your own worst enemy.
Ken Wayne - 13 years ago
As a right-wing conservative, I strenuously support American Business and lower prices for power. But I have to say that when I think of the horror show that could unravel so quickly from an accidental or deliberate malfunction,(such as cooling), it frankly scares the hell out of me. I know that alot of folks would be affected if they were to shut it down, but I think we have to find another way.
Bobby - 13 years ago
Gary, you are now in my territory. L 1011 , 747, 757, 767 A320 I don't care what, would be shredded into a million pieces by impact, those planes are simply wood, yes wood wrapped by a Hexcel cover. Nothing to worry about. I worry about rolling blackouts 32% of our energy comes from that plant. Let science and not something you think you know about decide. You think Solyndra was an accident? It was designed to fail. Also my expertise. Your being played and the tax payer by an administration that owes too much. Solyndra and a bunch of other garbage we funded used old technology that was already failing. This admin doesn't care about you and I, its all about how to get billions out of the treasury. I voted for him and take responsibility for my actions and they were dead wrong. Those plants are safe let people work.
Frieda Berryhill - 13 years ago
Einstein said "Into the Village square we must bring the matter of Atomic Energy. Well it is there now and it is loosing
Hammer - 13 years ago
Entergy should hit these guys with a defamation lawsuit... I'm not quite sure how they're able to print some the things they do but, 90% of the stories are deliberately over exaggerated to shed a negative light on the nuclear industry. The truth of the matter is that Indian Point is extremely safe while being maintained, owned, and operated to the highest of standards. The economic part of it (e.g job creation, local business, tax income for surrounding communities, affordable power, etc) is another undeniable aspect of this argument but safety obviously takes precedence.
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
"Bobby" again said, "This is why America is in distress and decline. We have no thinkers anymore only people that react to propaganda put in their ear by lowlife politicians or lobbyists with agendas..."
A perfect description of the above writer. Maybe living so close had fried some brain cells at a slightly higher dosage than sunshine. It's not about jobs, it's about survival after a statistically probable future incident.
You say, "Get a life." I say, I already have one and want to keep it.
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
"Bobby"" said ...Gary Gladstone, What are you tallking [sic] about 1 tick and your dead? Reactors don't work that way. Are you kidding me? They aren't simple explosive devices with a timer that you read about on TV. "
The "tick" reference was a literary reference to problem moment or irregular event. It was not a reference to a clock.
I certainly know how reactors can fail and release radioactive materials. I worked as a consultant for GPU at Three Mile Island after the "incident" at that site. One of the chief engineers bragged to me that even though it was directly under that approach path to Harrisburg Airport, "... The reactor structure can withstand the impact from a Boeing 727." When I asked him if it could withstand impact from the newly released Lockheed 1011 trimotor (twice as large and heavy) he responded, "What's a 1011?"
The 1011 was already in use and he had no idea about the upgraded threat, only what the industry spin was regarding safety. The 1011 and DC-10, both twice as big as a 727 (already serving Harrisburg) had been talked about in public media for two years before he made that statement to me.
So, do you think I should listen to any safety assurances offered by plant owners?
It's a risk, pure and simple and the hazard is immeasurable to local residents. You should know this and look more into your soul than tour change purse.
First off, why is the Journal allwoed to print such blantant lies whos obvious goal is to incite unrest and paint unreal pictures of situation capable of causing general panic?
"... reactor was taken offline Tuesday after a massive water pump overflowed inside the containment dome, .." REALY?
First and formost there was NO OVERFLOW INSIDE CONTAINMENT - there was a leak in a seal flow in a closed piping system - but I know that doesnt seel papers now does it?
SO they lie and the other opponents swear to it and the public says Oh My God we have to close the place down......
There was a nuc plant in Long Island that never actualy got to generate electricity thanks to the present govenor's father and the jerry mandering kind of manipulations, that where instuted by similar irresponsible reporting and misinformation. Of course they told the public that the rates would not be impacted by closing the place - a mere pennis a day -
Right - ask the folks working minimum wage jobs all along long island about how those minimal pennies a day have made things for them.....
You have very similar situation in this instance - the Govenor want to bolster his reputation on the back of hopefully closing Indian Point, he garners the favor of the local media as such a pretty boy - so the go right along.... grasping at any straw that he can to feather his nesst - and the heck with anyone else.
Manage the plant responsibly, and with the correct oversight and it will serve us well right on through a second license, while the taxes that ENtergy pays on their 5 mill per day profits can go towards funding more reliable future power generation sources, and fund the final clean up and closure when the time is appropriate; so we dont have to foot that bill directly. In the mean time, maybe the govenor and his fellow politicians can do something about the not in my back yard mentality this is so prevelant in this area when it comes to any attempt to cite a new generation facility, be it wind , solar, gas, oil, water, goethermal or what have you.
Hell they cant even get a energy storage facility cited in New York state - and those are needed to store the electricity that is generated from sources like solar forwhen the sun goes down, or from wind when the mass air flows become still and the windmills have nothign to turn them....
They just want an easy target - to ride to death no matter who their antics hurt nor how much it costs people who can barely afford to live in this state at the minimum wages now typicaly earned -
First off, why is the Journal allwoed to print such blantant lies whos obvious goal is to incite unrest and paint unreal pictures of situation capable of causing general panic?
"... reactor was taken offline Tuesday after a massive water pump overflowed inside the containment dome, .." REALY?
First and formost there was NO OVERFLOW INSIDE CONTAINMENT - there was a leak in a seal flow in a closed piping system - but I know that doesnt seel papers now does it?
SO they lie and the other opponents swear to it and the public says Oh My God we have to close the place down......
There was a nuc plant in Long Island that never actualy got to generate electricity thanks to the present govenor's father and the jerry mandering kind of manipulations, that where instuted by similar irresponsible reporting and misinformation. Of course they told the public that the rates would not be impacted by closing the place - a mere pennis a day -
Right - ask the folks working minimum wage jobs all along long island about how those minimal pennies a day have made things for them.....
You have very similar situation in this instance - the Govenor want to bolster his reputation on the back of hopefully closing Indian Point, he garners the favor of the local media as such a pretty boy - so the go right along.... grasping at any straw that he can to feather his nesst - and the heck with anyone else.
Manage the plant responsibly, and with the correct oversight and it will serve us well right on through a second license, while the taxes that ENtergy pays on their 5 mill per day profits can go towards funding more reliable future power generation sources, and fund the final clean up and closure when the time is appropriate; so we dont have to foot that bill directly. In the mean time, maybe the govenor and his fellow politicians can do something about the not in my back yard mentality this is so prevelant in this area when it comes to any attempt to cite a new generation facility, be it wind , solar, gas, oil, water, goethermal or what have you.
Hell they cant even get a energy storage facility cited in New York state - and those are needed to store the electricity that is generated from sources like solar forwhen the sun goes down, or from wind when the mass air flows become still and the windmills have nothign to turn them....
They just want an easy target - to ride to death no matter who their antics hurt nor how much it costs people who can barely afford to live in this state at the minimum wages now typicaly earned -
Bobby - 13 years ago
Gary Gladstone, What are you tallking about 1 tick and your dead? Reactors don't work that way. Are you kidding me? They aren't simple explosive devices with a timer that you read about on TV. They boil water, to spin turpines. They can't explode. This is incredible that I have to read such stuff in todays day and age. People need to be informed how things work, and yes solar is incredibly inefficient, 13% of the energy that hits the cell converts to electricity. Not too good, and wind gee, why not be outraged at the anount of birds they kill evry year. But one tick? This is why America is in distress and decline. We have no thinkers anymore only people that react to propaganda put in their ear by lowlife politicians or lobbyists with agendas. I don't work near the reactor but live close and have for decades. Not a glow to show here. Get a life.
DadinWestchester - 13 years ago
This is an OpEd piece obviously. Only the vocal opponents seem to come out to these polls. As far as I'm concerned Nuke power is still viable and should be pursued in a reliable manner.
X - 13 years ago
I work at indian point, and let me say that if we have even the smallest hiccup in service or operation the Journal News will make it seem like a catastrophe. I go to work every day without even the slightest fear being harmed by nuclear energy. So some of these blogs I'm reading are being written by sensationalists or ignoramousts.
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
Bobby said;
“... Plutonium? These aren't like the Iranian reactor being built to destroy Israel. Get your facts right. They are not heavy water reactors ANd[ besides Wind & Solar are incredibly inefficient, and unreliable....”
-
What on Earth does reliability have to do with the decision when one tick and you’re dead? Doesn’t this call into question your definition of “reliable?” Wouldn’t you rather have a broken wind generator blade than a county-sterilizing cancer cloud from a little nuclear “oops?” Isn’t that a little like riding with the family on bald tires?
##
Gary Gladstone - 13 years ago
This is a decision that should be based on science and not political considerations like jobs or the costs associated with all the necessary workarounds.
The undisputable fact is that most of Putnam County lies in the lee of the prevailing winds from the Southwest.
In other words, any incident or disaster that releases poisonous levels of radiation will destroy all of Putnam County.
The life-altering consequences of such a mass poisoning and the loss of all use of the lands and the resulting permanent end to all real estate value for the next hundred or more years should be enough of a warning to thinking people.
What are you saying to your children? It’s OK to save a few dollars for cheaper and more life-threatening and dangerous consumption?
There is no question that this plant no longer meets the current stated safety standards. Why are we even discussing this? Close it before we all die for cheaper dishwasher power.
Raymond Reber - 13 years ago
The Journal News does the public a diss-service by running a 3/4 page Community View by a very anti nulear org without running a counter opinion as most reputable newspapers would.
Such articles feed on the public's fears unjustly. Using the arguement that Indian Pt poses heightened risk because millions live within 50 miles is a red herring. The number does not affect the risk factors. If only 1 million lived near the plant would they feel safer. Aslo, claiming flooding, tornadoes, fires, and terroists could cause a disaster like that in Japan is absurb but typical of the fear they try to put in the public's mind.
Joe - 13 years ago
If anyone is to say that Indian Point should be closed it is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not politicians. It is also important to consider that Indian Point employs over 1,000 people, and in this economy can we afford to have an extra 1,000 people go on unemployment? Nuclear power happens to be one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy around, in fact no one in the United States has ever been injured as a result of a commercial nuclear facility. In terms of environmental friendliness nuclear power plants emit no emissions into the atmosphere. All over the world nations are looking to find safe and renewable energy and many of them have come to embrace nuclear power. As of today China has 14 rectors and another 25 in construction, and as a result of this they are becoming much more energy independent. The fact of the matter is that if we are serious about clean energy and becoming energy independent, then nuclear power cannot be tosses aside.
Birgit Robertson - 13 years ago
Do they seriously believe that when that siren goes off signaling a real emergency, anyone would
actually leave this area "in an orderly fashion"? All the bus drivers would patiently wait at the
designated stops, abandoning their own families, then proceed to evacuate the area in non-
existing traffic! Give me a break!!!! Close the things down before they break down!! Before it's
too late!!
Bill - 13 years ago
* We need a project like New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI) to bring us more than double the power Indian Point produces down from upstate NY & Quebec, where it is now surplus.
* Ask your insurance company if you are covered for losses in case of an Indian Point accident…
* There is a government ‘insurance’ that will give you a small portion a penny, for hundreds of dollars of your loss. If your house is worth 600,000; you may get a few hundred for everything. You will have to move to a far away place, because metro New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey will be DEAD. DEAD.
* If you can’t even buy insurance against a nuclear accident, how can you believe IP is either safe or a good risk?
Susan Peck - 13 years ago
I live in Verplanck. If I happen to be coming down Broadway around "rush hour"(5 pm ish), past the plant, there is plenty of traffic coming out of the plant with a traffic cop directing traffic. The first time I saw this, I almost had a heart attack thinking something was wrong but quickly realized they were just workers leaving work.
In the event there was something wrong, do they still want us to wait for a bus? Does anyone know what the procedure is?
Thanks.
Chet Carlin - 13 years ago
My wife and I lived in Peekskill within sight of Indian Point for a number of years. There were scares regularly and futile discussions about escape routes in the event of a disaster (there are none). Close the damn thing.
Bobby - 13 years ago
To David grossman, Plutonium? These aren't like the Iranian reactor being built to destroy Israel. Get your facts right. They are not heavy water reactors ANd besides Wind & Solar are incredibly inefficient, and unreliable. Your problem here is that Obama in his first act as President closed the Yucca Mountain depository in violation of contract law causing issues that are being exploited by people uninformed like you. Cuomo like his Dad is a nuclearphobe and as we can see that wasn't just a short term problem he created like you suggest here. Its caused long term(decades) harm. No Dave you are uniformed and wrong. Your probably against the whole idea of frakking as well. The whole groundwater contamination madness. Sorry again. Big bets were placed on solar & wind by donors to this admin and they are losing to more efficient cleaner job creating, yes job creating economics. So my advice step back, get informed and stop listening to highly paid lobbyists with an agenda.
Chuck Park - 13 years ago
1. Do not renew licenses.
2. Decommission and demolish IP 1, 2, & 3
3. Build 2 modern Nuclear plants on the site. Nuclear power plants built with modern technology will be safer, greener, more reliable, and way more efficient.
David M. Grossman - 13 years ago
Nuclear power is an obsolete form of energy now. It is expensive, its by products like plutonium are some of the most dangerous elements on earth and will not go away. It is time for humanity all over the world to make the transition to sustainable, renewable forms of energy and do it before we degrade the earth's environment anymore. In the last 50 years we have done more harm to the air, earth and water than in all the rest of history. We need to come out of the pathological state of denial we are in as a civilization and really look to the future not the short term balance sheet that will get us nowhere. It is time to say good by to nuclear energy even if it causes some short term hardship for a few and work for a brighter tomorrow.
Indian point should be shut down....period. Those who akin humans taming fire to human use of nuclear energy and that we are the masters of atomic energy are just plain ignorant. Ask the Japanese how well Fukushima is going for them...more than a year after the accident it is STILL leaking radioactive matter into the soil, ground water and ocean. They had a chance two years BEFORE the disaster to shut down this older plant at Fukushima, but the wonderful folks at TEMPCO decided that talking about shutting the plant down might lead to more anti-atomic energy sentiment...so they did nothing.....and look what happened. The air, water and soil will be polluted for thousands of years!! Does NYC need their own Fukushima style disaster courtesy of Indian Point before they realize....Gee, maybe we should have shut it down before this disaster happened? What fools ye mortals be!
The controlled release of nuclear energy is humankind's greatest discovery since the taming of fire. Those who do not understand this are not paying attention.
Go Nukes!
There is a new game in town called CARBON CREDITS.
I was at a coal fired plant in Ohio in November. FOUR of the six generators have been shut down for two years. Instead of generating electricity the Utility Company is being paid for carbon credits. This utility delivers power to the PJM power pool.
What if this utility shuts down more coal fired plants? Where will our electric supply
come from?
Where are the environmentalists going to place the solar and wind generators.
If they cover the whole of Long Island with solar panels and the whole of New Jersey with wind turbines (1) Where will we build our homes. (2) Where will we get the remaining 1000 megawatts needed to replace IP #3?
Not as simple as it seems. Read about Vermont Yankee plant, also owned by Entergy. Huge legal and legislative battle over re-licensing. Assuming that efforts to shut down Indian Pt were successful, we would need a massive upgrade of the distribution grid in order to import renewable power that is plentiful today in update New York, but cannot reach us due to the outmoted grid. Be prepared for messy legal and permitting battles to run new transmission lines into our area and NYC. I would prefer to see Indian Point go away, but am very mindful that the alternatives will require huge investment and disruption, and yes, even higher electricity bills. Sometimes we do feel puny and desparate, but it can be done! Look at how the Hudson river has been improved since 1970!
I want what everyone wants, the Gene Roddenberry universe (food replicators, perfectly clean warp drive, the works). For those that think it’s out of reach, it’s just a matter of time (note the prevalence of touch screens, and how similar they are to the science fiction of 15 years ago). Perfectly clean & sustainable energy means wind and solar, and we will get there… eventually. Realistically, the technological leaps in transmission and power storage (vital for wind and solar to work as baseload sources) are a minimum of 50 years away, more realistically 150 years. The only question remains is what bridging technology do we use to get there. As bad as nuclear power may be, it does the least overall damage to the environment compared to coal and natural gas. No greenhouse gas emissions, no global warming, and a lower volume of waste. The French have been using nuclear power for 50 years, and fit all of the waste in a building the size of a football field. Compare that to the tons of CO2 from natural gas, and mile lone train of hazardous coal ash from coal plants, and I think the only choice for the planet right now is nuclear power.
I'm 100% support nuclear energy. However, Safety in operating nuclear power plants is the top priority. If the plant isn't safe enough then we should shut it down.
In this case, the plant passed the inspections from the NRC then why do we have to shut it down. Nuclear energy bring greats impacts in our economy as well as our society.
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/cleanair.htm
NRC reports and assessments show the reactor is safe with a green status on all systems. why shut it down if it's operating fine and delivering clean energy??
I am an analytical (home-office) engineer, who worked at Indian Point during an outage a few years ago. I was favorably impressed with the people, their work ethic, and the culture there. My experience in the nuclear industry spans 38 years; I have worked outages at five different plants and have had a working relationship with numerous other individuals at nuclear utility plants and offices. I would have no hesitation about living and working in the neighborhood of Indian Point.
Shut them down? Should we build more coal plants? Maybe we should consider solar or wind, try using all the power you use now for your computer and electronic products. Until there is an effective replacement looks like nuclear power is here to stay.
So, you people moved into an area where there was a nuclear plant for years and now you want to close it down instead of picking up and moving. Are you people that stupid?
KH said:
"If the plant closes, all of NY will be paying three to four times more for electricity bills. ... The people in Maine are now paying four times as much as they used to after the plant in that state was shut down."
Where do you get this data? I know many people all over Maine from Portland up to Caribou and I don't hear anybody complaining about electric rate other than the usual seasonal grousing.
Are these figures from the helpful PR nuke info mill ?
Why are so many Americans so proud of our dirty, dangerous and always risky use of nuke power. Our recklessness will drive us more quickly into second then third world status. Do we all still look at post-Fukushima Japan as the paragon of an industrial nation? I think they just slipped a notch because of the "accident" causing the loss of parts for my Toyota.
THINK ALTERNATIVE AND MAKE IT WORK! That's the challenge, not how many arms we can twist with tortured statistics to keep reckless, finger-crossing shortcut-oriented industrialists in business.
If the plant closes, all of NY will be paying three to four times more for electricity bills. Indian Point produces much more power than most plants. They have two active units. If those units close, the energy will need to be bought from Canada or elsewhere at a much higher rate. The people in Maine are now paying four times as much as they used to after the plant in that state was shut down. Other providers promise great rates for a year or so and then they more than triple the rates. I have a family member who has worked at both units in Indian Point. It is a well run plant and the major components have been replaced.
Do you really think it's a good idea to spread radiation? NO! If you keep this plant, think about all the damage your little company shall do, soon enough, the whole world will be filled with unclean air of radiation and all the children of these wonderful people shall end up dying at age 60! Already, my dream country that I want to live in has radiation, yet I won't give up my dream of getting there, so don't make matters any worse! I live RIGHT next to New York and it is a known FACT that New York is the most populated city of America and its states next to it are extremely populated too! In my opinion, this is a rash idea to even THINK of keeping this dangerous and nuclear plant, you said so yourself that this is the most dangerous plant to be found in America! And also, let me tell you one thing, will money really matter in the end when even your company can be found dead themselves because of this plant? Will you be happy to know that the people that are still alive shall turn on you and your company shall stop making money because the people have become so angry?
My father was one of the team of clean-up workers and engineers who entered TMI (Three Mile Island) after the meltdown. An amazing number of those men (including my father) developed bizarre and often fatal forms of cancer. Of the four I know involved in TMI clean-up, two developed brain tumors, one (a non-smoker) devloped an aggressive and rapidly fatal form of lung cancer, and the fourth got thyroid cancer.
The official death toll (for the "general public") from TMI was zero. But the real toll - among the workers - was far greater.
Marc said:
“Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
... Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight froCDC website...”
By how far is it possible for you to miss the point? Judging from your comments, it’s pretty far.
Yes, smokers die from smoking. Now, to perhaps learn a little about sarcasm, please read the cowboy comment again. Oh, yes, you may have to remove your head from ...well, never mind.
Bye bye.
Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
Funny you should mention taking a smoke break while on your high horse about 40,000 deaths related to the Chernobyl incident by 2065. I'd like to know where you got that information. (I'm guessing your backside) Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight from the CDC website...
By how far is it possible for you to miss the point? Judging from your comments, it’s pretty far.
Yes, smokers die from smoking. Now, to perhaps learn a little about sarcasm, please read the cowboy comment again. Oh, yes, you may have to remove your head from ...well, never mind.
Bye bye.
Here's an interesting article regarding the dangers of Nuclear power to that of Fossil Fuels.
http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/fossil-fuels-deadlier-than-nuclear-radiation
Gary Gladstone said "All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break."
Funny you should mention taking a smoke break while on your high horse about 40,000 deaths related to the Chernobyl incident by 2065. I'd like to know where you got that information. (I'm guessing your backside) Let's take a look at some figures regarding smoking straight from the CDC website...
"Cigarette smoking causes about 1 of every 5 deaths in the United States each year. Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the following:
•443,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
•49,400 deaths per year from secondhand smoke exposure
•269,655 deaths annually among men
•173,940 deaths annually among women"
These numbers are only for the U.S., I wonder how astronomical the numbers all over the world are. Go ahead and do the calculation out to 2065 yourself and don't forget to bump it up for population growth. Makes your 40,000 look pretty ridiculous.
Why don't you try protesting something that actually does kill people?
Nuclear Power, when properly managed, is the safest and cleanest form of energy production available today.
Three Mile Island...Chernobyl...Choose your incident and stick to it. You mentioned Three Mile before but if you'd like to talk Chernobyl that's fine too.
Chernobyl was a graphite cooled reactor with a positive temperature coefficient of reactivity. This means that as the water in the primary system got hotter, reactor power went up, which caused temperature to go up and so forth. Graphite cooled reactors are inherently unstable, making operation very difficult. Combine that with the Soviet Union's lackluster training program and your have a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what happened.
There are no Graphite cooled reactors in the United States. Every U.S. reactor is water cooled and designed to have a negaitve temperature coefficient of reactivity. A Negative TCoR means that an increasing temperature causes power to go down, causing temperature to go down, causing power to go up, causing temperature to go up, and the cycle continues. These reactors ultimately find an equilibrium and are inherently stable. That, combined with the ridgid training schedules required to work in the nuclear industry in the United States, make future accidents very unlikely.
Yes, there is a lot more that goes into it than that but I'm not teaching a Nuclear Engineering class here.
At Indian Point, Operators, both licensed and non-licensed, attend training for a full week out of every month. This training it federally regulated and monitored. That makes their continuous training program more ridgid than most any profession out there, including doctors, whom you trust with your life on a regular basis.
Marc said...
“Number of people that died as a result of the Three Mile Island Incident = 0 (zero)”
Isn’t it interesting how statistics can turn an ethical and safety issue into a board game?
It is predicted that by 2065 there will have been over 40,000 cases of cancer directly resulting from the Chernobyl incident. Are all you statisticians willing to try it again? After all, it will happen again most certainly. The question is how lucky will the region be? Is this your lucky decade?
The sad fact remains that it is the single most deadly dangerous form of power generation in terms of what it can do (and has already done) to local populations. It’s sheer lunacy to threaten so many citizens in the name of cheap and critically dangerous fuel.
I don’t want it in my backyard and if you care about your children and grandchildren, you shouldn’t want it next door either,
All you cowboys who have convinced yourselves that it’s cheap and safe are living in the wrong century. Light up and take a Marlboro break.
My last comment ‘cause I gotta go make a living.
Doesn't matter if they are safe or not. This is the wrong question. What matters is what do you do with the nuclear waste? Until there is a viable answer which is not bury it underground and worry about it later then nuclear plants are a danger to society and all future societies. It's that simple.
Here's a suggestion: All you NIMBY anti-nuclear north-easterners put your money where your mouths are - disconnect from the grid - now! If you all do, maybe teh nukes in your backyard can shutdown.
1) Something tells me Chuck Park has no idea how much it costs to build and license a nuclear plant.
2) David Grossman has no idea what he is talking about. The operating costs of a nuclear power plant are actually much cheaper than most other types of energy. What do you suggest? Wind farms? Solar Fields? Neither of these is feasible as the primary power source of the american people, there is simply no way to produce sufficient power to meet the demand.
What is your alternative, david? Nuclear has proven to be more environmentally friendly than all of the other main power producers, but in your rant about how "In the last 50 years we have done more to the air, earth and water than in all the rest of history", you neglect to mention that the entirety of that harm was done not by nuclear but by fossil fuel plants. Where is your Ignorant rant about the evil of fossil fuel plants?
3) Gary Gladstone: How much do you know about the Nuclear fuel cycle? Criticality? How about neutron flux densities? Do you know the specific operating parameters of the AP1000?
Your silly rant about the fact that the Cheif Nuclear operator of the plant not knowing about a new design of an unrelated field to his own is quaint. Would you insult a botanist for not knowing about the very same plane? How about a geologist?
We understand that you were a Janitor assigned to help mop up some coffee spilled by the operators at TMI, but that does not make you qualified to judge the situation that you obviously know/knew very little about. That is by far the WORST accident that has ever happened on american soil in a nuclear plant.
To put that in perspective, There are 104 Reactors in the United states. Many have been operating for a half century. There has been ONE major accident, in which ZERO people were seriously hurt or died.
Number of people that died as a result of the Three Mile Island Incident = 0 (zero)
Garry Gladstone. You talk about science. Obviously you were cutting classes. How many lives were lost in the meltdown of Three Mile Island? If you choose to live the rest of your life in unjustifiable fear so be it. I have only one life to live and I will not allow stupidity and terrorists to scare me to the point that I will not even come out of my house. My family and I chose to live the lives we deserve to live WITHOUT fear and having to look over our shoulders every time we get on a plane or drive over a bridge or take a trip to New York City or go on vacation by any means of public transportation. Get real, get educated. There are 104 nuclear power plants in the US which by the way are there to produce power and that's it. That's not including the smaller reactors used for the medical field which probably range in the 1000's. Go to a plant and take a tour and learn something. People have fears because they do not educate themselves. It's called fear of the unknown. You have heard of that statement, right? 50 years that site has been in operation generating power. 50 years you and your politicians had to replace the power it produces so you had a leg to stand on in your arguement. 50 years of sit ins from the hippies of the 70's, people holding signs on a street corners yelling not in my backyard and 50 years of people like you stopping the construction of other types of electric generation such as the hydro electric power plant in Orange County because it would upset the beautiful landscape of the land or the new high line they wanted to build and extend from upstate New York for the grid. Again, signs in all of the upstate towns, villages and cities like Utica that said not in my backyard. You are your own worst enemy.
As a right-wing conservative, I strenuously support American Business and lower prices for power. But I have to say that when I think of the horror show that could unravel so quickly from an accidental or deliberate malfunction,(such as cooling), it frankly scares the hell out of me. I know that alot of folks would be affected if they were to shut it down, but I think we have to find another way.
Gary, you are now in my territory. L 1011 , 747, 757, 767 A320 I don't care what, would be shredded into a million pieces by impact, those planes are simply wood, yes wood wrapped by a Hexcel cover. Nothing to worry about. I worry about rolling blackouts 32% of our energy comes from that plant. Let science and not something you think you know about decide. You think Solyndra was an accident? It was designed to fail. Also my expertise. Your being played and the tax payer by an administration that owes too much. Solyndra and a bunch of other garbage we funded used old technology that was already failing. This admin doesn't care about you and I, its all about how to get billions out of the treasury. I voted for him and take responsibility for my actions and they were dead wrong. Those plants are safe let people work.
Einstein said "Into the Village square we must bring the matter of Atomic Energy. Well it is there now and it is loosing
Entergy should hit these guys with a defamation lawsuit... I'm not quite sure how they're able to print some the things they do but, 90% of the stories are deliberately over exaggerated to shed a negative light on the nuclear industry. The truth of the matter is that Indian Point is extremely safe while being maintained, owned, and operated to the highest of standards. The economic part of it (e.g job creation, local business, tax income for surrounding communities, affordable power, etc) is another undeniable aspect of this argument but safety obviously takes precedence.
"Bobby" again said, "This is why America is in distress and decline. We have no thinkers anymore only people that react to propaganda put in their ear by lowlife politicians or lobbyists with agendas..."
A perfect description of the above writer. Maybe living so close had fried some brain cells at a slightly higher dosage than sunshine. It's not about jobs, it's about survival after a statistically probable future incident.
You say, "Get a life." I say, I already have one and want to keep it.
"Bobby"" said ...Gary Gladstone, What are you tallking [sic] about 1 tick and your dead? Reactors don't work that way. Are you kidding me? They aren't simple explosive devices with a timer that you read about on TV. "
The "tick" reference was a literary reference to problem moment or irregular event. It was not a reference to a clock.
I certainly know how reactors can fail and release radioactive materials. I worked as a consultant for GPU at Three Mile Island after the "incident" at that site. One of the chief engineers bragged to me that even though it was directly under that approach path to Harrisburg Airport, "... The reactor structure can withstand the impact from a Boeing 727." When I asked him if it could withstand impact from the newly released Lockheed 1011 trimotor (twice as large and heavy) he responded, "What's a 1011?"
The 1011 was already in use and he had no idea about the upgraded threat, only what the industry spin was regarding safety. The 1011 and DC-10, both twice as big as a 727 (already serving Harrisburg) had been talked about in public media for two years before he made that statement to me.
So, do you think I should listen to any safety assurances offered by plant owners?
It's a risk, pure and simple and the hazard is immeasurable to local residents. You should know this and look more into your soul than tour change purse.
#
First off, why is the Journal allwoed to print such blantant lies whos obvious goal is to incite unrest and paint unreal pictures of situation capable of causing general panic?
"... reactor was taken offline Tuesday after a massive water pump overflowed inside the containment dome, .." REALY?
First and formost there was NO OVERFLOW INSIDE CONTAINMENT - there was a leak in a seal flow in a closed piping system - but I know that doesnt seel papers now does it?
SO they lie and the other opponents swear to it and the public says Oh My God we have to close the place down......
There was a nuc plant in Long Island that never actualy got to generate electricity thanks to the present govenor's father and the jerry mandering kind of manipulations, that where instuted by similar irresponsible reporting and misinformation. Of course they told the public that the rates would not be impacted by closing the place - a mere pennis a day -
Right - ask the folks working minimum wage jobs all along long island about how those minimal pennies a day have made things for them.....
You have very similar situation in this instance - the Govenor want to bolster his reputation on the back of hopefully closing Indian Point, he garners the favor of the local media as such a pretty boy - so the go right along.... grasping at any straw that he can to feather his nesst - and the heck with anyone else.
Manage the plant responsibly, and with the correct oversight and it will serve us well right on through a second license, while the taxes that ENtergy pays on their 5 mill per day profits can go towards funding more reliable future power generation sources, and fund the final clean up and closure when the time is appropriate; so we dont have to foot that bill directly. In the mean time, maybe the govenor and his fellow politicians can do something about the not in my back yard mentality this is so prevelant in this area when it comes to any attempt to cite a new generation facility, be it wind , solar, gas, oil, water, goethermal or what have you.
Hell they cant even get a energy storage facility cited in New York state - and those are needed to store the electricity that is generated from sources like solar forwhen the sun goes down, or from wind when the mass air flows become still and the windmills have nothign to turn them....
They just want an easy target - to ride to death no matter who their antics hurt nor how much it costs people who can barely afford to live in this state at the minimum wages now typicaly earned -
First off, why is the Journal allwoed to print such blantant lies whos obvious goal is to incite unrest and paint unreal pictures of situation capable of causing general panic?
"... reactor was taken offline Tuesday after a massive water pump overflowed inside the containment dome, .." REALY?
First and formost there was NO OVERFLOW INSIDE CONTAINMENT - there was a leak in a seal flow in a closed piping system - but I know that doesnt seel papers now does it?
SO they lie and the other opponents swear to it and the public says Oh My God we have to close the place down......
There was a nuc plant in Long Island that never actualy got to generate electricity thanks to the present govenor's father and the jerry mandering kind of manipulations, that where instuted by similar irresponsible reporting and misinformation. Of course they told the public that the rates would not be impacted by closing the place - a mere pennis a day -
Right - ask the folks working minimum wage jobs all along long island about how those minimal pennies a day have made things for them.....
You have very similar situation in this instance - the Govenor want to bolster his reputation on the back of hopefully closing Indian Point, he garners the favor of the local media as such a pretty boy - so the go right along.... grasping at any straw that he can to feather his nesst - and the heck with anyone else.
Manage the plant responsibly, and with the correct oversight and it will serve us well right on through a second license, while the taxes that ENtergy pays on their 5 mill per day profits can go towards funding more reliable future power generation sources, and fund the final clean up and closure when the time is appropriate; so we dont have to foot that bill directly. In the mean time, maybe the govenor and his fellow politicians can do something about the not in my back yard mentality this is so prevelant in this area when it comes to any attempt to cite a new generation facility, be it wind , solar, gas, oil, water, goethermal or what have you.
Hell they cant even get a energy storage facility cited in New York state - and those are needed to store the electricity that is generated from sources like solar forwhen the sun goes down, or from wind when the mass air flows become still and the windmills have nothign to turn them....
They just want an easy target - to ride to death no matter who their antics hurt nor how much it costs people who can barely afford to live in this state at the minimum wages now typicaly earned -
Gary Gladstone, What are you tallking about 1 tick and your dead? Reactors don't work that way. Are you kidding me? They aren't simple explosive devices with a timer that you read about on TV. They boil water, to spin turpines. They can't explode. This is incredible that I have to read such stuff in todays day and age. People need to be informed how things work, and yes solar is incredibly inefficient, 13% of the energy that hits the cell converts to electricity. Not too good, and wind gee, why not be outraged at the anount of birds they kill evry year. But one tick? This is why America is in distress and decline. We have no thinkers anymore only people that react to propaganda put in their ear by lowlife politicians or lobbyists with agendas. I don't work near the reactor but live close and have for decades. Not a glow to show here. Get a life.
This is an OpEd piece obviously. Only the vocal opponents seem to come out to these polls. As far as I'm concerned Nuke power is still viable and should be pursued in a reliable manner.
I work at indian point, and let me say that if we have even the smallest hiccup in service or operation the Journal News will make it seem like a catastrophe. I go to work every day without even the slightest fear being harmed by nuclear energy. So some of these blogs I'm reading are being written by sensationalists or ignoramousts.
Bobby said;
“... Plutonium? These aren't like the Iranian reactor being built to destroy Israel. Get your facts right. They are not heavy water reactors ANd[ besides Wind & Solar are incredibly inefficient, and unreliable....”
-
What on Earth does reliability have to do with the decision when one tick and you’re dead? Doesn’t this call into question your definition of “reliable?” Wouldn’t you rather have a broken wind generator blade than a county-sterilizing cancer cloud from a little nuclear “oops?” Isn’t that a little like riding with the family on bald tires?
##
This is a decision that should be based on science and not political considerations like jobs or the costs associated with all the necessary workarounds.
The undisputable fact is that most of Putnam County lies in the lee of the prevailing winds from the Southwest.
In other words, any incident or disaster that releases poisonous levels of radiation will destroy all of Putnam County.
The life-altering consequences of such a mass poisoning and the loss of all use of the lands and the resulting permanent end to all real estate value for the next hundred or more years should be enough of a warning to thinking people.
What are you saying to your children? It’s OK to save a few dollars for cheaper and more life-threatening and dangerous consumption?
There is no question that this plant no longer meets the current stated safety standards. Why are we even discussing this? Close it before we all die for cheaper dishwasher power.
The Journal News does the public a diss-service by running a 3/4 page Community View by a very anti nulear org without running a counter opinion as most reputable newspapers would.
Such articles feed on the public's fears unjustly. Using the arguement that Indian Pt poses heightened risk because millions live within 50 miles is a red herring. The number does not affect the risk factors. If only 1 million lived near the plant would they feel safer. Aslo, claiming flooding, tornadoes, fires, and terroists could cause a disaster like that in Japan is absurb but typical of the fear they try to put in the public's mind.
If anyone is to say that Indian Point should be closed it is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not politicians. It is also important to consider that Indian Point employs over 1,000 people, and in this economy can we afford to have an extra 1,000 people go on unemployment? Nuclear power happens to be one of the cleanest and safest forms of energy around, in fact no one in the United States has ever been injured as a result of a commercial nuclear facility. In terms of environmental friendliness nuclear power plants emit no emissions into the atmosphere. All over the world nations are looking to find safe and renewable energy and many of them have come to embrace nuclear power. As of today China has 14 rectors and another 25 in construction, and as a result of this they are becoming much more energy independent. The fact of the matter is that if we are serious about clean energy and becoming energy independent, then nuclear power cannot be tosses aside.
Do they seriously believe that when that siren goes off signaling a real emergency, anyone would
actually leave this area "in an orderly fashion"? All the bus drivers would patiently wait at the
designated stops, abandoning their own families, then proceed to evacuate the area in non-
existing traffic! Give me a break!!!! Close the things down before they break down!! Before it's
too late!!
* We need a project like New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI) to bring us more than double the power Indian Point produces down from upstate NY & Quebec, where it is now surplus.
* Ask your insurance company if you are covered for losses in case of an Indian Point accident…
* There is a government ‘insurance’ that will give you a small portion a penny, for hundreds of dollars of your loss. If your house is worth 600,000; you may get a few hundred for everything. You will have to move to a far away place, because metro New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey will be DEAD. DEAD.
* If you can’t even buy insurance against a nuclear accident, how can you believe IP is either safe or a good risk?
I live in Verplanck. If I happen to be coming down Broadway around "rush hour"(5 pm ish), past the plant, there is plenty of traffic coming out of the plant with a traffic cop directing traffic. The first time I saw this, I almost had a heart attack thinking something was wrong but quickly realized they were just workers leaving work.
In the event there was something wrong, do they still want us to wait for a bus? Does anyone know what the procedure is?
Thanks.
My wife and I lived in Peekskill within sight of Indian Point for a number of years. There were scares regularly and futile discussions about escape routes in the event of a disaster (there are none). Close the damn thing.
To David grossman, Plutonium? These aren't like the Iranian reactor being built to destroy Israel. Get your facts right. They are not heavy water reactors ANd besides Wind & Solar are incredibly inefficient, and unreliable. Your problem here is that Obama in his first act as President closed the Yucca Mountain depository in violation of contract law causing issues that are being exploited by people uninformed like you. Cuomo like his Dad is a nuclearphobe and as we can see that wasn't just a short term problem he created like you suggest here. Its caused long term(decades) harm. No Dave you are uniformed and wrong. Your probably against the whole idea of frakking as well. The whole groundwater contamination madness. Sorry again. Big bets were placed on solar & wind by donors to this admin and they are losing to more efficient cleaner job creating, yes job creating economics. So my advice step back, get informed and stop listening to highly paid lobbyists with an agenda.
1. Do not renew licenses.
2. Decommission and demolish IP 1, 2, & 3
3. Build 2 modern Nuclear plants on the site. Nuclear power plants built with modern technology will be safer, greener, more reliable, and way more efficient.
Nuclear power is an obsolete form of energy now. It is expensive, its by products like plutonium are some of the most dangerous elements on earth and will not go away. It is time for humanity all over the world to make the transition to sustainable, renewable forms of energy and do it before we degrade the earth's environment anymore. In the last 50 years we have done more harm to the air, earth and water than in all the rest of history. We need to come out of the pathological state of denial we are in as a civilization and really look to the future not the short term balance sheet that will get us nowhere. It is time to say good by to nuclear energy even if it causes some short term hardship for a few and work for a brighter tomorrow.