nuclear-news

Danger in relicensing Indian Point nuclear plant, says Connecticut Attorney General

Mr. Jepsen said that continued operation of the plants would “result in the accumulation of two more decades’ worth of spent nuclear fuel at a facility that is already overloaded.”
Without a federal long-term storage facility, the spent fuel will remain on site indefinitely.

Attorney general opposes relicensing Indian Point nuclear plant Ridgefield Press,  by Susan Kinsman, , 29 June 2012   Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said Thursday he opposes relicensing two Indian Point nuclear reactors in Buchanan, N.Y. until a thorough and complete investigation is made of environmental impacts from continuing their operation for 20 years, including spent fuel storage, the potential threat to public drinking water supplies and relocating large numbers of people in the event of an accident.

The Attorney General, a former Ridgefield resident, raised significant
public health and safety concerns for the residents of Connecticut in
his written comments submitted to the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, where the relicensing
application Indian Point Units 2 and 3 is under review. The facility
is owned by Entergy Nuclear Northeast.

“An accident or attack at Indian Point that resulted in a release of
radioisotopes could result in a major plume of wind-driven radioactive
debris that would immediately impact human health and safety in
Connecticut,” Attorney General Jepsen wrote.
“There is no federal first-response organization or system in place to
address a major incident or release at Indian Point… State and local
officials will be the ones to respond in an emergency and the full
financial burden of both responding to the initial incident, and to
any evacuation and resettlement of displaced persons, will fall on
state and local budgets,” Mr. Jepsen wrote.

Approximately one-third of Connecticut’s population, including
Litchfield and Fairfield Counties and Bridgeport, the state’s largest
city, are within a 50-mile radius of the plant, which is the
“ingestion pathway” emergency planning zone.

Important surface water resources are also located within this zone,
including major river systems and numerous lakes and reservoirs of
public importance.

Mr. Jepsen said that continued operation of the plants would “result in the accumulation of two more decades’ worth of spent nuclear fuel at a facility that is already overloaded.”

Without a federal long-term storage facility, the spent fuel will remain on site indefinitely.

“The environmental consequences of this result in the post-operating
period have never been analyzed,” Mr. Jepsen wrote…..
http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/theridgefieldpress/news/localnews/125505-attorney-general-opposes-relicensing-indian-point-nuclear-plant.html

June 30, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA