(published - 3/27/02)
Written by Frank Carbone Jr.
Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Evacuation Plans?
I attended the public hearing on the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday evening, March 21st. The meeting was held at the Westchester County Government Center in White Plains which is approximately 20 miles from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. It took us about one hour to travel to White Plains from the Town of Newburgh. As my buddy Dennis and I walked towards the Government Center I couldn’t help but notice the many folks who were walking into the building. We soon found out there wasn’t any more standing room left in the meeting room. More than 200 folks congregated in the large lobby of the government center. It was very noisy and there were chants from both sides of the issue - “shut it down” and “keep it open.”
I spoke to one of the folks who appeared to be guiding people who were leaving the meeting and others who wanted to enter. I asked how many folks the meeting room upstairs could hold. She responded with 450 people maximum. Visible nearby was a very large room behind a row of about 8 large doors along a long wall - designed to move many folks in and out quickly. I asked her how many folks the larger would room would hold - she said about 4,000 but the room was already set up for another meeting and they didn’t want to use it for the Indian Point meeting.
It just happens that the city of White Plains is very close to being equidistant to Indian Point as Newburgh/New Windsor and other regions of Orange County. And as the crow flies the Orange County border is about 10 miles from Indian Point. So why would there be a public meeting with concerned citizens and public servants in White Plains and not in the Newburgh/Orange County Area? Does the fact that there is a large river separating us have something to do with the mind set of the people and the public servants of Orange County?
Depending upon where one lives in the Hudson Valley within a 10 mile (radius) of Indian Point or even within the 15, 20, 25 and 50 mile radius - the population numbers can add up quickly. I understand that there is an evacuation plan for folks who live within a 10 mile radius. This would include parts of south eastern Orange County.
We waited in the lobby until enough folks left the meeting and we were then able to get into the meeting room with 450 others. Many speakers were folks who worked at the power plant and many others were concerned citizens and neighbors of the plant who traveled from many different communities around Indian Point.
The speakers who worked at the Indian Point Plant naturally defended the safety, security and the operations of the power plant.
The citizen/folks who questioned the safety, security and operations of the plant clearly were concerned and even cited other major fiascos at other Nuclear Power Plants around the country and the world. I remember seeing a recent documentary on the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant fiasco that took place in Pennsylvania about 15 years ago. Other speakers and a flier stated that the Indian Point Plant has been ranked by the NRC as the nation’s most troubled reactor. And in the past 2-1/2 years, Indian Point had two major emergencies (ref. www.closeindianpoint.org). The biggest concern is the threat of terrorism to the plant.
It seem as though the plant may be a sitting duck. With recent reports of the military wanting to pull back air and river patrols in the NYC and Hudson River regions.
I can only hope that Orange County public servants and community leaders plan to have a public hearing somewhere in our region for the folks of Orange County. I’m sure other counties will follow the lead of Westchester County. I hope that some readers of the Times are Orange County Legislators and other OC public servants who can make a difference and call for a hearing in Orange County.
I've got my own concerns for the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in addition to all of the previously mentioned concerns. Reliabilty of the plant’s safety, security and operations is sometimes difficult to determine especially if the measurements are being done by an engineering firm hired by those who would be measured. And anytime another government agency gets involved there's always concerns about politics and big business influencing the decision making process.
Some of my concerns are as follows:
Can the plant be protected against a terrorist attack?
In the event of a malfunction, a release or possible melt-down how will the evacuation limits be determined - e.g., 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 mile radius?
Can grid lock be prevented? Some of our busy roads get jammed now even without having an emergency.
What are the specific evacuation plans for folks who live in the different zones?
Where and how far do we have to travel for uncontaminated, food, water and shelter?
If you haven’t heard of or thought of these questions before please contact your town, county or state legislator and express any concerns that you may have. It's much better to question, brainstorm, plan and be proactive now than to react to a potential out of control situation later.
I feel that it's better to plan a safe and orderly shutdown of the plant as soon as possible rather than an emergency shutdown under stressful conditions and where millions of residents will need to be quickly evacuated, transported, fed and housed.
(edited 3/14/11)