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New Paltz, NY – A new report summarizes the concerns of those most outspoken about the future of nuclear energy in the U.S. As WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Greg Fry reports, the beat goes on for those worried about the safety of nuclear power plants...
Unacceptable Risk: Two Decades of Close Calls, Leaks, and other problems at U.S. nuclear reactors. That's the name of a report released by the U.S Public Interest Research Group today, which analyzes instances of significance at U-S nuclear plants since 1990. The report cites four such instances since 1990, including an acid leak in 2002 at an Ohio plant, which compromised the safety of a reactor vessel head used to control highly pressurized steam.
State chapters, like NY-PIRG, the New York chapter of the organization, held conference calls to detail the underlying point of the report. Laura Haight is a Senior Environmental Associate with NY-PIRG. She says nuclear power can be made safer, but can not be made safe.
The report, however, lists many of the same concerns that those opposed to nuclear power have been raising since the first damage was done at the Fukushima plant in Japan, following that country's devastating earthquake.
Manna Jo Greene with the group Clearwater says the report ties in with the group's continued fight to have the Indian Point plant in Westchester County closed down.
When asked if the report has any new information, Haight responded by saying that it does a good job of looking at how individual problems can spiral into bigger troubles at a nuclear plant.
Groups like the New York Affordable Reliable Energy Alliance says that hysterical charges are being raised by NY-PIRG and anti-nuclear activists to instill fear. Entergy Corporation, which operates Indian Point, has consistently touted Indian Point's safety since the Japanese earthquake, and its ability to withstand earthquakes here in New York. The company has tried to counter mentions of a 2008 Columbia report, which cites the probability of a significant earthquake hitting the New York City area, caused by fault lines that run near the Indian Point reactors.
That was part of the conversation had by Columbia University researchers and Westchester County lawmakers Monday at the second of a series of committee meetings exploring the safety and potential risks brought on by Indian Point.
The report released Tuesday, however, was another attempt to get information out that the general public may not have known. Information, such as that from the group Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Dr. Andrew Kanter, who cited numbers showing the health risks for those living within range of a plant, should a meltdown occur.