By
Jay Syrmopoulos
Buchanan, NY — An uncontrollable radioactive flow from the
Indian Point nuclear power plant continues leaking into groundwater,
which leads to the Hudson River, raising the specter of a Fukushima-like
disaster only 25 miles from New York City.
The Indian Point nuclear plant is located on the Hudson River,
approximately 25 miles North of NYC, and serves the electrical needs of
an estimated 2 million people. Last month, while preparing a reactor for
refueling, workers accidentally spilled some contaminated water,
containing the radioactive hydrogen isotope tritium, causing a massive
radiation spike in groundwater monitoring wells, with one well’s
radioactivity increasing by as much as 65,000 percent.
Entergy, the Louisiana-based company that owns the plant, chalked up
the readings to “fluctuations that can be expected as the material
migrates.” According to Entergy, the tritium contaminated water spill
was contained within the plant, and never reached the Hudson or any
other water source.
“There is no impact to public health or safety,” Entergy spokeswoman Patricia Kakridas told RT.
Of course, the tritium leak is the ninth in just the past year, four
of which were serious enough to shut down the reactors. But the most
recent leak, however, according to an assessment by the New York
Department of State as part of its Coastal Zone Management Assessment,
contains a variety of radioactive elements such as strontium-90,
cesium-137, cobalt-60, and nickel-63, and isn’t limited to tritium
contamination.
Despite the assurances from Entergy, the area around Indian Point is a
“cancer cluster,” with the local rate of thyroid cancer rates
registering at 66 percent higher than the national average, according to
Joseph Mangano, Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health
Project (RPHP).
According to a report by
RT:
RPHP researchers compared the state and national cancer
data from 1988-92 with three other five-year periods (1993-97, 1998-02,
and 2003-07). The results, published in 2009, show the cancer rates
going from 11 percent below the national average to 7 percent above in
that timespan. Unexpected increases were detected in 19 out of 20 major
types of cancer. Thyroid cancer registered the biggest increase, going
from 13 percent below the national average to 51 percent above.
Incredibly, Entergy completely rejects the notion that their plant’s operations have caused an increase in cancer rates.
“There is no relation whatsoever,” Kakridas claimed.
When the study was conducted by RPHP, over 20 million people lived within a 50-mile radius of the nuclear plant.
“Everybody who lives near a nuclear plant is exposed to radiation.
Some plants are worse than others,” Mangano told RT. In the case of
Indian Point, it is a very old plant, and “there is a greater danger
because of a large population living close by.”
Numerous environmental groups call the latest problems just a symptom
of a much larger issue and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is partnering with
organizations The Sierra Club, Riverkeepers, Hudson River Sloop
Clearwater, the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, Scenic Hudson and
Physicians for Social responsibility in seeking the permanent closure of
the plant.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent a representative to the Indian Point plant, Neil Sheehan, who told
CBS News that the NRC is continuing to review the recent tritium leakage at Indian Point.
“We recently sent a radiation protection specialist to the plant to
assess the situation and learn more about what happened. He was assisted
by our three Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant on a full-time
basis,” he wrote in an email to CBS.
NRC is also currently reviewing Indian Point’s renewal license, which
would authorize it to continue operating for another 20 years.
“It’s a disaster waiting to happen and it should be shut down,” Paul
Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, a watchdog organization dedicated to
protecting the Hudson River, told CBS News.
“The good news is, advances in alternate power sources, grid
management and energy conservation have brought us to the day when the
aging, unsafe Indian Point can close,” Gallay said.
He pointed out numerous sources of energy for the region, including
600 megawatts in transmission system upgrades and another 500 megawatts
available through energy savings achieved through efficiency and
renewable energy.
“There will be enough power to keep the lights on in our homes and
hospitals, our businesses and schools — in every place that makes our
communities healthy and vibrant,” Gallay said.
U.S. Senator Chuck
Schumer has rejected calls
for the immediate closure of the nuclear power plant by Cuomo and
environmental groups, saying they should first demonstrate how to
replace the energy produced at the power plant, which supplies 25
percent of the power to the New York City area.
“I have told some of the environmental people, if you can show me a
plan to figure out a way to replace that electricity, fine, but if you
can’t, it’s going to raise electricity rates 30 or 40 percent, which are
high enough on average people and that’s not the way to go. In the
meantime, I have emphasized very strong safety,” Schumer said.
While Schumer’s sentiments are understandable, the reality is that
the sheer economic health costs of this plant’s operation far exceed the
savings in energy bills. With so many alternative sources of producing
clean energy, the reasoning for keeping such a toxic plant operational
is baffling. One can safely assume that there is some vested financial
interest in keeping this plant running; as always, simply follow the
money.
Jay Syrmopoulos is a political analyst, free thinker, researcher,
and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate
student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs.
Jay’s work has been published on Ben Swann’s Truth in Media, Truth-Out,
Raw Story, MintPress News, as well as many other sites. You can follow
him on Twitter @sirmetropolis, on Facebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu.