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Coordinates: 41°16′11″N 73°57′08″W / 41.2697°N 73.9522°W / 41.2697; -73.9522
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On December 1, 2007, [[Westchester County]] Executive [[Andrew J. Spano]], [[New York Attorney General]] [[Andrew Cuomo]], and [[New York Governor]] [[Elliot Spitzer]] called a press conference with the participation of environmental advocacy groups [[Clearwater]] and Riverkeeper to announce their united opposition to the re-licensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. The [[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]] and the Office of the Attorney General requested a hearing as part of the process put forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.<ref>[http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/permits_ej_operations_pdf/noiindianpoint.pdf New York State Notice of Intention to Intervene]</ref> In September 2007 ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on the rigorous legal opposition [[Entergy]] faces in its request for a 20-year licensing extension for Indian Point Nuclear reactor 2.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/nyregion/24nuke.html?ref=nyregion "Indian Point Faces New Challenge From Opponents ", ''The New York Times'', 24 September 2007]: accessed 3 April 2010.</ref>
On December 1, 2007, [[Westchester County]] Executive [[Andrew J. Spano]], [[New York Attorney General]] [[Andrew Cuomo]], and [[New York Governor]] [[Elliot Spitzer]] called a press conference with the participation of environmental advocacy groups [[Clearwater]] and Riverkeeper to announce their united opposition to the re-licensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. The [[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]] and the Office of the Attorney General requested a hearing as part of the process put forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.<ref>[http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/permits_ej_operations_pdf/noiindianpoint.pdf New York State Notice of Intention to Intervene]</ref> In September 2007 ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on the rigorous legal opposition [[Entergy]] faces in its request for a 20-year licensing extension for Indian Point Nuclear reactor 2.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/nyregion/24nuke.html?ref=nyregion "Indian Point Faces New Challenge From Opponents ", ''The New York Times'', 24 September 2007]: accessed 3 April 2010.</ref>


On 3 April 2010 the Department of Environmental Conservation ruled that Indian Point violates the federal [[Clean Water Act]].,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/nyregion/04indian.html?src=me "Water Permit Denied for Indian Point ", ''The New York Times'', 3 April 2010:] accessed 3 April 2010</ref> because "the power plant’s water-intake system kills nearly a billion aquatic organisms a year, including the shortnose sturgeon, an endangered species." The state's claim was disputed by some local residents, who said the river "was in great shape".<ref>http://westchesternewsonline.com/state-dec-gets-earful-indian-point-public-hearing</ref>
On 3 April 2010 the Department of Environmental Conservation ruled that Indian Point violates the federal [[Clean Water Act]],<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/nyregion/04indian.html?src=me "Water Permit Denied for Indian Point ", ''The New York Times'', 3 April 2010:] accessed 3 April 2010</ref> because "the power plant’s water-intake system kills nearly a billion aquatic organisms a year, including the shortnose sturgeon, an endangered species." The state's claim was disputed by some local residents, who said the river "was in great shape".<ref>http://westchesternewsonline.com/state-dec-gets-earful-indian-point-public-hearing</ref>


The state is demanding Entergy construct new closed-cycle cooling towers, at a cost of over $1B, a decision that will effectively close the plant for nearly a year. Regulators denied Entergy's request to install [[fish screen]]s that they said would improve fish mortality more than new cooling towers.<ref name="thisweekinnuclear.com">http://thisweekinnuclear.com/</ref>
The state is demanding Entergy construct new closed-cycle cooling towers, at a cost of over $1B, a decision that will effectively close the plant for nearly a year. Regulators denied Entergy's request to install [[fish screen]]s that they said would improve fish mortality more than new cooling towers.<ref name="thisweekinnuclear.com">http://thisweekinnuclear.com/</ref>

Revision as of 01:40, 24 March 2011

Indian Point Energy Center
Entergy's Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) seen from across the Hudson River.
Map
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°16′11″N 73°57′08″W / 41.2697°N 73.9522°W / 41.2697; -73.9522
StatusOperational
Commission dateUnit 2: August 1, 1974
Unit 3: August 30, 1976
Decommission date
  • 30 April 2021
OperatorEntergy
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 1,012 MW
  • 1,299 MW
External links
Websitehttp://www.safesecurevital.org/
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York just south of Peekskill. It sits on the east bank of the Hudson River, 38 miles north of New York City. The power plant provides up to 30% of the electricity used by New York City and Westchester County.[1]

The plant is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, and includes two operating Westinghouse pressurized water reactors – designated Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3 – which Entergy bought from Consolidated Edison and the New York Power Authority respectively. The facility also contains the permanently shut down Indian Point Unit 1 reactor.[2] Total employment at the site is 1,683.[3]

Unit 1

Indian Point 1, built by Consolidated Edison, was the first of three reactors at this location. It was a 275-megawatt pressurized water reactor and was issued an operating license on March 26, 1962 and started operations on September 16, 1962.[4] The first core at the Indian Point power station used a thorium-based fuel, but it did not live up to expectations.[5] The plant was operated with uranium oxide fuel for the remainder of its operations.

The Unit 1 reactor was shut down on October 31, 1974 because the emergency core cooling system did not meet regulatory requirements. All spent fuel was removed from the reactor vessel by January 1976. The licensee, Entergy, plans to decommission Unit 1 with Unit 2.[6]

Units 2 and 3

The two additional reactors, Indian Point 2 and 3, were built in 1974 and 1976. Together they generate up to 30% of the electricity used in New York City, depending on a variety of conditions.[7]

A New York State Naval Militia Patrol Boat on anti-terrorism patrol near IPEC (August 26, 2009); the east tower of the Bear Mountain Bridge is in the background.

On May 2, 2007, the NRC announced that the "License Renewal Application for Indian Point Nuclear Plant is available for Public Inspection". This initiated Entergy's effort to extend the operating licenses of each unit by 20 years.[8] On March 10, 2009 the Indian Point Power Plant was awarded the fifth consecutive top safety rating for annual operations by the Federal regulators.[9][10]

Security

The plants are protected by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including a National Guard base within a mile of the facility, as well as by specialized and highly trained private off-site security forces.[11] Nuclear power plant security has been increased nationwide since 9/11. In the United States, nuclear plant security is tested by federal officials, including mock assault exercises overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to assess a plant's defenses in the event of an armed assault. In September 2006, the Indian Point Security Department successfully completed Force-on-Force exercises for the NRC.

On April 23, 2007, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined the owner of the Indian Point nuclear plant $130,000 for failing to meet a deadline for a new emergency siren plan. The 150 sirens at the plant are meant to alert residents within 10 miles to a plant emergency.[12]

Controversy and issues

  • During the September 11 attacks, American Airlines Flight 11 flew near the Indian Point Energy Center en route to the World Trade Center. Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers/plotters, had considered nuclear facilities for targeting in a terrorist attack. Entergy says it is prepared for a terrorist attack, and demonstrated that a large airliner crash into the containment building would not cause reactor damage.[13] Following 9/11 the NRC required operators of nuclear facilities in the U.S. to examine the effects of terrorist events and provide planned responses.[14]

A key tool for assessing the adequacy of nuclear plant security is the NRC’s Operational Safeguards Response Evaluation (OSRE) program. ... OSRE consists of “force-on-force” exercises or mock attacks in which the plant security force must prevent a small number of mock intruders, assisted by a single “passive” insider, from causing "significant core damage." ... Over the past decade, nuclear watchdog groups have argued before the NRC – unsuccessfully – that plant operators should be prepared to defend against at least 20 terrorists comprising several small teams attacking from different directions.[15]

  • On March 22, 2006 the New York Times reported finding radioactive nickel-63 and strontium in groundwater on site. The pool does not lead to a drinking water source and is presumed to contribute to the Hudson River.[16]
  • On February 23, 2007, Greenpeace co-founder and now opponent Patrick Moore wrote an opinion piece in the New York Post in favor of keeping Indian Point open, saying: "I strongly support renewal of the license for the Indian Point nuclear plants in Westchester, which provides 30 percent or so of the electricity used in the New York metro area."[17] Greenpeace forcefully disavows Moore. "Patrick Moore...exploits long-gone ties with Greenpeace to sell himself as a speaker and pro-corporate spokesperson, usually taking positions that Greenpeace opposes."[18] However, several other environmental leaders have expressed similar support for nuclear power.[19]
  • Researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have located a previously unknown active seismic zone running from Stamford, Connecticut, to the Hudson Valley town of Peekskill, New York - the Ramapo Fault - which passes less than a mile north of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.[20] However, Indian Point was built to withstand an earthquake of 6.1 on the Richter scale, according to a company spokesman. This is more than ten times powerful than the strongest earthquake recorded in the New York region.[21] In 2010, the similar San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, California, withstood a magnitude 7.2 quake (more than 100 times as powerful as any ever recorded in New York) without taking damage or needing to shut down.[22][23]
  • On January 7, 2010, NRC inspectors reported that an estimated 600,000 gallons of mildly radioactive steam was intentionally vented after an automatic shutdown of Unit 2. The levels of tritium in the steam were below those allowable by NRC safety standards.[24]
  • On November 7, 2010, an explosion occurred in the main transformer for Indian Point 2. The accident is still being investigated.[25]


Media coverage

HBO aired a television dramatization called Indian Point: Imagining The Unimaginable.[26] It first aired in 2004, and was directed by Rory Kennedy, the sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the legal counsel for the environmental advocacy group, Riverkeeper.

Recertification

The original federal licenses for the two reactors expire in 2013 and 2015, and a water quality certificate is a prerequisite for a 20-year renewal by the NRC.

On September 23, 2007, Friends United for Sustainable Energy (FUSE) filed legal papers with the NRC opposing the relicensing of the Indian Point 2 reactor. The group contends that the NRC improperly held Indian Point to less stringent design requirements. The NRC refutes this, stating the newer requirements were put in place after the plant was complete.[27]

On December 1, 2007, Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and New York Governor Elliot Spitzer called a press conference with the participation of environmental advocacy groups Clearwater and Riverkeeper to announce their united opposition to the re-licensing of the Indian Point nuclear power plants. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of the Attorney General requested a hearing as part of the process put forth by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[28] In September 2007 The New York Times reported on the rigorous legal opposition Entergy faces in its request for a 20-year licensing extension for Indian Point Nuclear reactor 2.[29]

On 3 April 2010 the Department of Environmental Conservation ruled that Indian Point violates the federal Clean Water Act,[30] because "the power plant’s water-intake system kills nearly a billion aquatic organisms a year, including the shortnose sturgeon, an endangered species." The state's claim was disputed by some local residents, who said the river "was in great shape".[31]

The state is demanding Entergy construct new closed-cycle cooling towers, at a cost of over $1B, a decision that will effectively close the plant for nearly a year. Regulators denied Entergy's request to install fish screens that they said would improve fish mortality more than new cooling towers.[32]

However, the DEC granted a clean water license permit to the nearby fossil-fuel fired Bowline Point Gas Power Plant, despite its cooling intake system that has similar effects on fish mortality. That plant proposed a change in its water intake system but did not convert to a closed system as required by the decision against Indian Point,[33] a decision which has led some observers to call DEC's ruling a "smoking gun" for the state's anti-nuclear bias.[32]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (April 3, 2010). "New York Denies Indian Point a Water Permit". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Status of Nuclear Energy in the United States". Argonne National Laboratories.
  3. ^ "NAM Says Indian Point License is Key to New York Power, Economy". National Association of Manufacturers. 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "New York Nuclear Industry". Energy Information Administration. 2007-02-02.
  5. ^ "Thorium Fuel for Nuclear Energy". American Scientist. Sep/October 2003. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Indian Point 1". Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
  7. ^ "New York Denies Indian Point a Water Permit", The New York Times. 3 April 2010
  8. ^ NRC press release on licensing
  9. ^ http://www.safesecurevital.org/
  10. ^ http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903110353
  11. ^ http://www.safesecurevital.com/
  12. ^ Buchanan: Nuclear Plant Owner Fined
  13. ^ Aircraft Crash Impact Analyses Demonstrate Nuclear Power Plant’s Structural Strength
  14. ^ Randal C. Archibold & Matthew L. Wald (July 26, 2003). "U.S. Approves Evacuation Plan For Indian Point Nuclear Plant". The New York Times.
  15. ^ http://www.riverkeeper.org/campaigns/stop-polluters/indian-point/regulations-nuclear-security/
  16. ^ More Contaminants Discovered in Water at Indian Point Plant Matthew L. Wald http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/nyregion/22nuke.html?_r=1&fta=y
  17. ^ Patrick Moore (February 23, 2007). "Nuclear & Green: Indian Point An Enviro Plus". New York Post.
  18. ^ http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/releases2/greenpeace-statement-on-patric
  19. ^ Barringer, Felicity (May 15, 2005). "Old Foes Soften to New Reactors". The New York Times.
  20. ^ http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-21-01.asp
  21. ^ Gardner, Timothy (August 22, 2008). "NY nuclear plant likely a quake risk: study". Reuters.
  22. ^ http://nuclearstreet.com/blogs/nuclear_power_news/archive/2010/04/06/san-onofre-nuclear-generating-station-unharmed-by-powerful-earthquake-04065.aspx
  23. ^ http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-04-04/local-county-news/san-clemente-nuclear-power-plant-survives-quake
  24. ^ Luby, Abby (January 7, 2010). "Nuclear steam leak intentional: Response to Indian Point plant shutdown". Daily News. New York.
  25. ^ Hutchinson, Bill (November 8, 2010). "Explosion closes Indian Point nuclear power plant near New York City; no danger of radiation leak". Daily News. New York.
  26. ^ http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/indianpoint/
  27. ^ Mathew L. Wald New York Times (September 23, 2007). "Indian Point Faces New Challenge From Opponents". The New York Times.
  28. ^ New York State Notice of Intention to Intervene
  29. ^ "Indian Point Faces New Challenge From Opponents ", The New York Times, 24 September 2007: accessed 3 April 2010.
  30. ^ "Water Permit Denied for Indian Point ", The New York Times, 3 April 2010: accessed 3 April 2010
  31. ^ http://westchesternewsonline.com/state-dec-gets-earful-indian-point-public-hearing
  32. ^ a b http://thisweekinnuclear.com/
  33. ^ "New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Draft Permit Renewal with Modification", "New York State Department of Environmental Conservation", 1 December 2005: accessed 1 June 2010



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