As its prepares for additional inspections at U.S. reactors
following accidents at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission will put its first priority on the Indian Point power
plant following a visit to the agency’s headquarters by members of New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s administration.
Cuomo, who’s long called for the plant’s closure, dispatched
New York’s attorney general and lieutenant governor to discuss the plant and
its relicensing at NRC headquarters Tuesday. Afterward, a press release from
the governor’s office announced:
“The NRC pledged to make Indian Point its first and top
priority in its review of seismic risk at 27 nuclear plants throughout the
country. At the request of the Cuomo administration, the NRC has also agreed to
a cooperative review of Indian Point as a joint effort between the NRC and New
York State. In addition, NRC Chair Greg Jaczko has agreed to conduct a personal
site inspection of Indian Point with New York officials.”
Plant owner Entergy submitted license renewal applications
for the plant’s reactors in 2007. State officials also asked the NRC Friday to
consider seismic risk in that process.
The plant, about 40 miles north of New York City, has long
been a target of anti-nuclear activists and politicians. Entergy officials, as
quoted in a Wednesday New York Times story, welcomed the NRC safety review and
said the plant was designed to withstand an earthquake much greater than any
recorded in the area.
According to the NRC, Indian Point operates two 1,025
megawatt Westinghouse pressurized water reactors first licensed in the 1970s.
By some accounts, it provides 30 percent of the electricity in New York City
and Westchester County.
Despite his longstanding opposition to the plant, the
Times story quoted Cuomo as saying decisions regarding Indian Point should
be made “based on sound information, not on emotion,” and he acknowledged it
would be difficult to replace the electricity the plant produces.