Nuclear Power

The aging Indian Point nuclear power plants are located on the banks of the Hudson in Buchanan, NY, just to the south of Peekskill. Approximately 20 million people (8 percent of the population of the United States) live within the surrounding 50-mile radius. It is the only nuclear reactor in the country to have received a RED rating for preparation and safety by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. To be clear, the Indian Point nuclear power plant has the worst safety record of any facility in the country. No other facility in the country poses as great a threat to the health and safety of so many people. No facility is more vulnerable to accidents or sabotage. The 50-mile radius includes all of New York City's five boroughs, as well as Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Bergen, and most of Orange and Fairfield Counties.

Despite the meltdown at Chernobyl, which left a permanent lethal zone of contamination around the city for 50 miles, there are no evacuation plans for the area of same size around Indian Point. Nonetheless, a US Government study shows a peak early fatality zone of 17.5 miles and a peak injury zone extending to 50 miles from the plant. The evacuation plan for the 10-mile radius of Peekskill and its environs is questionable at best. The current plan requires 8 to 10 hours for the 10-mile radius to be evacuated. It also calls for not disclosing news of an accident to the general public for several hours in an attempt to keep roads clear for buses of school children and nursing home residents. Further, reception centers for evacuees are located only between 10 and 23 miles from the plant.

The Indian Point Nuclear Reactor must be closed as soon as possible to avoid the risk to a densely populated area of catastrophic nuclear fallout from a terrorist attack. The plant should also be closed because of its aging structure and failing safety record not to mention the existence of ecologically more friendly energy generating systems.

This issue will be addressed as RiverWalk passes through the Peekskill area.

for more information check out:

http://www.closeindianpoint.org/