The Indian Point nuclear plant, located 35 miles north of New York City in Buchanan, has been plagued with problems. They include a series of unplanned shutdowns of the reactors, a malfunction of the new siren system, and leaks of radioactive material into the ground water. Political leaders are up in arms, pushing for legislation to provide additional oversight of the plant.
So it may be jarring to learn that Patrick Moore, one of the original founders of Greenpeace and holder of a Ph.D. in ecology, takes an opposite view. “I have no concerns about Indian Point. It”™s operating safely every day and has never caused an injury. It”™s the most inspected nuclear plant in the state,” Moore said in a recent interview.
Moore is dismissive of the radioactivity in the groundwater: “They don”™t know if it”™s going into the river. The amount of radiation is inconsequential. You are exposed to more radiation on a plane flight than by standing next to Indian Point.”
As for the malfunctioning sirens, Moore said glitches are common with any new system. “It”™s a technicality and has nothing to do with the operations of the plant.”
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, as well as U.S. Reps. John Hall, Nita Lowey and Maurice Hinchey have introduced legislation that would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to conduct an independent safety assessment to determine if the 35-year-old reactors are safe. Staff not currently involved with Indian Point would be brought in to do the exhaustive review to bring objectivity to the process.
Moore said the review would be a waste of money.
“The NRC has a protocol for requiring an independent safety assessment and it costs a lot of money,” he said, noting that Hall is asking for $25 million to be budgeted for the review. (For the record, Hall”™s bill authorizes $10 million for the ISA.) “It”™s coming out of the taxpayers”™ pockets. The NRC is saying there”™s no need for further inspections. Politicians are using this as a way of advancing their political careers, and I find it extremely irresponsible.”
Lisa Rainwater, Indian Point campaign director at Riverkeeper, the Tarrytown-based environmental organization that is lobbying to shut down the nuclear plant, had a simple explanation for the former eco-leader”™s support of nuclear power and Indian Point. “He is heavily paid by the nuclear industry. When you”™re paid by the industry, you say what is good for the industry and its profits.”
Moore served for nine years as president of Greenpeace Canada and is chairman and chief scientist at Vancouver-based Greenspirit Strategies Ltd., a consultancy specializing in environmental policy and communications for a range of sectors, including forestry, agriculture, mining and chemicals.
He is also co-chairman (along with former Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman) of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, which promotes the use of nuclear energy.
Rainwater contested Moore”™s downplaying of the problems at Indian Point, saying 7,000 New Yorkers have signed a petition for the independent assessment and numerous resolutions have been passed by local governments. In terms of spending taxpayer dollars on the assessment, she said Entergy”™s profits from the two reactors were $2 million a day. In comparison, the amount of public money required for a review was miniscule.
Furthermore, she said it was “disingenuous for anyone to say there is not a threat to public health and safety” from the leakage of radioactivity because “the fact is, they don”™t know how much has leaked into the groundwater or river.” Traces of radioactivity have been found in the Buchanan sewage system and four out of 12 Hudson River fish recently tested had detectable levels of Strontium 90, a highly toxic radioactive element, Rainwater said.
She also noted that Indian Point owner and operator Entergy Nuclear had failed to meet the NRC”™s Jan. 30 deadline to get the siren system working and was slapped with a $130,000 fine for not meeting the April 15 extension deadline.
Moore said critics ignore the fact that Indian Point is a major source of electrical power in the state ”“ it supplies about a quarter of the electricity in New York City and Westchester County ”“ and don”™t provide an alternative. “The politicians are not telling us what do instead. If we shut down Indian Point, the only alternative is to build a new fossil fuel or nuclear plant.”
Rainwater said Gov. Eliot Spitzer has a plan to cut energy consumption, invest in renewable projects and bring on clean plants. Instead of relying on nuclear, a better strategy is providing incentives for existing coal and gas plants in the state to upgrade their systems and retrograde their facilities to operate more efficiently and reduce carbon emissions, she said.
“If we could put a man on the moon, surely there is a way to replace a measly 200 megawatts” (the amount of power produced at Indian Point). Shifting more dollars into research and development for alternatives is also needed, Rainwater said. “In the last five decades $145 billion has gone into R&D for the nuclear industry, compared to $5 billion for all renewable energies combined.”
Still, Moore maintains nuclear “is cost-effective, safe and clean.”
