When Channel 12 Westchester News people do interviews, don't forget that you have to fill in on your own what they leave out.
Interviewing Entergy spokesperson Jerry Nappi this afternoon, the reporter let him get away with saying that the Indian Point "structures" are "safe."
Yes, the domes were built to withstand a lot of impact, but not the buildings where the spent fuel rods are stored. Entergy has been slow to put these highly radioactive rodes into dry casks, so there they sit, outside the domes and clearly not as "safe" as the Nuclear Industry wants you to believe.
I complained to Channel 12 News about not getting Entergy to speak about the whole picture, not just the bits that suit the corporation's needs.
Marilyn Elie has just circulated this:
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Indian Point is designed to withstand a 5.8 earthquake within a 50 mile radius of the plant.This is based on a 5.8 earth quake in New Jersey in 1894. This one was 5.9 and it was 200 miles away. The plant was not at risk, however, it is important to remember that the reactor building is the only building that is covered in the design basis. This means the systems that are needed in an emergency are not covered. Neither is the spent fuel pool or underground pipes. Fire fighting equipment is housed in a cinder block storage building that an earthquake could demolish. Even though this was not a radiological emergency, cell phone lines crashed and it was impossible to make calls, emergency or otherwise. How could the county plan to notify Westchester residents via cell phone have worked in a real emergency? What about notification to those outside the ten mile area? What about parents who work in NYC and their concern for children left in Westchester? What would they do in a radiological emergency? What would any of us in the 50 mile radius do, considering that our roads and bridges cannot even handle an ordinary rush hour?
This unpredictable act of nature brings home the fact that closing a nuclear reactor situated in a 50 mile radius of 20 million people is about a lot more than generating electricity. While we can generate electricity in many different ways, the potential loss of lives and damage to those of us in the Hudson River Valley and New York City is incalculable. While the probability of a natural or human caused catastrophic release of radiation at Indian Point remains low, the impact is simply to much to tolerate. Indian point must be closed.
It is vital for all of us to talk with elected decision makers and remind them of this fact. As this 5.9 earthquake clearly demonstrates, the time for counting megawatts is over.
