Indian Point, Inside View

Nuclear plants routinely experience temporary shutdowns due to hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. No one gets irradiated. No meltdowns occur. Every costly study proving precautions safe begets another as it’s not the answer the Anties (anti—nukers) want to hear. Although 9-11 terrorists flew past (for good reason, no study), The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) financed a study showing no release of radiation due to a fully loaded 767 crashing into Containment OR Spent Fuel buildings. The only meltdown in the 40 years of nuclear power in our country (Three Mile Island, 1979) hurt no one because of sound reactor design. No‘ one mentioned that Indian Point, unlike Fukushima in Japan, has 6 large water tanks within it’s Containment building to quench the reactor, whether outside power or pumps are available or not. Anties want you to believe anyone with knowledge, even the NRC or FEMA, must be lying to protect their jobs, except them.

How about petitioning to open Yucca Mountain (ten years late due to Anties) to remove spent fuel and resolve the leaking pools issue they say is contaminating our water and possibly air, rendering property values useless? Also, propose a reprocessing plant at Yucca to re—enrich the 30 years of fuel, reducing the amount of mining for fresh ore. Envision Anties saying transporting the fuel is too dangerous, prostrating themselves in front of trucks leaving the plants.

Considering Indian Point runs 24/7 saving 2,000 gallons of oil / minute (68,00barrels/day) or 1.4 million rail cars of coal / year, it trips off—line as it’s designed to do about as frequently as a cars’ ‘check engine’ light comes up, and it’s about as big a deal! After running steady for hundreds of days, law (thanks again Anties) requires notifying the press, needlessly alarming the public to make the plant seem “troubling”. You may fix the usually non—nuclear broken part or resolve the external electric grid disturbance in hours, but public perception is clouded.

Indian Points’ 2,000MW (megawatts) is properly close to a high-demand region, costing us dearly if not available. Your electric bill will rise, and, taxes for lighting streets, municipal buildings, and schools. For 30 years Anties have been saying we have alternatives. Why aren’t they in place by now?

A 90MW, 90 windmill Windfarm in Illinois occupies 5,500 acres. It would require 114 square miles for 2,000 MW. You need a solar collector of 48 square miles to equal 2,000MW for energy available 25% of the day (6hrs) when shining, 0% when not, and always 0% when you need it at night. Storing it means you’re not using it, requiring many batteries. The biggest Superfund cleanup remediation, bigger than Love Canal, was just completed right here on the Hudson in Cold Spring from the dumping of Cadmium from only one battery plant!

So when you plug in your electric car at night when there’s no wind and the sun is on the other side of the earth, how does it charge?

FRANK J . RICEVUTO J R. Nelsonville, Putnam County, N.V. Retired Sr. Nuclear Electrical Technician 35 years @Indian Point Unit 1,2,3