Buchanan: Fukushima on the Hudson (Indian Point Energy Center nickname)
The Indian Point Energy Center at Buchanan, New York, has frequently been called a “Fukushima on the Hudson (River).” An energy accident occurred at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, Japan, in March 2011. Indian Point has been called “Fukushima on the Hudson” since at least June 6, 2011, when activists protested that the plant was unsafe and should be closed.
The Indian Point Energy Center has also been called “Chernobyl on the Hudson.”
Wikipedia: Indian Point Energy Center
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, about 36 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. The plant generates over 2,000 megawatts (MWe) of electrical power. For reference, the record peak energy consumption of New York City and Westchester County (The Con Edison Service Territory) was set during a seven-day heat wave on July 19, 2013 at 13,322 megawatts. Electrical energy consumption varies greatly with time of day and season.
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. As of 2015, the number of permanent jobs at the Buchanan plant is approximately 1,000.
The original 40-year operating licenses for units 2 and 3 expired in September 2013 and December 2015, respectively. Entergy has applied for license extensions and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is moving toward granting a twenty-year extension for each reactor. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, however, wants the units shut down at the end of their current license periods. As of midnight on September 28, 2013, Unit 2 has entered its “Period of Extended Operation” (PEO) until the NRC makes a final determination on its license renewal application.
Wikipedia: Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故 Fukushima Dai-ichi (About this sound pronunciation) genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko?) was an energy accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. Immediately after the earthquake, the active reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions. However, the tsunami destroyed the emergency generators cooling the reactors, causing reactor 4 to overheat from the decay heat from the fuel rods. The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns and the release of radioactive material beginning on 12 March. Several hydrogen-air chemical explosions occurred between 12 March and 15 March.
Beyond Nuclear
June 6, 2011
Concerned citizens blast NRC: “No Fukushima on the Hudson!”
Chris Williams at Socialistworker.org has written an inspiring account of 600 concerned citizens taking over an NRC “annual performance review” of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. Williams describes an angry—yet calm—determination from growing numbers of concerned citizens to block Indian Point’s 20 year license extension, despite NRC’s rubber stamp tendencies to the contrary.
Twitter
Socialist Worker
@SocialistViews
No Fukushima-on-the-Hudson: more than 600 turn out to NRC hearing to call for shutdown of Indian Point http://socwrk.org/13761 #NoNukes
8:10 AM - 6 Jun 2011
EV Grieve
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2011
Activists in Tompkins Square Park call for the closure of Indian Point
(...)
COMMENTS
Anonymous said…
Fukushima on the Hudson: The Indian Point nuclear power plant is 25 miles from New York City and leaking radiation from decrepit 40 year old pipes. The plant contains the equivalent radiation of 1000 Hiroshima bombs. We have no workable evacuation plan for the 20 million people living in a 50 mile radius. Please help us get our voice heard by liking us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/ShutDownIndianPointNow
Thank you!
JUNE 12, 2011 AT 7:59 AM
Google Groups: Peace Action Manhattan
Fwd: FW: Reminder: June 23, 7PM - Fukushima on the Hudson - Forum in Sunnyside
John
6/22/11
——-Original Message——-
From: Bob Keilbach
To: VFPnyc034
Sent: Wed, Jun 22, 2011 7:48 am
Subject: FW: Reminder: June 23, 7PM - Fukushima on the Hudson - Forum in Sunnyside
FUKUSHIMA on the HUDSON
(the only safe nuclear reactor is 93,000,000 miles away)
Join us for a forum featuring speaker Ken Gale
author of “Chernobyl-on-the-Hudson”
and host & producer of Eco-Logic, one of WBAI-FM’s two environmental shows
YouTube
Ken Gale, Fukushima on the Hudson / New York’s Indian Point Power Plant, 14 November 2011
hotindiemedia
Published on Apr 2, 2012
Ken Gale, Host/Producer of Eco-Logic on WBAI-FM
16 April 2013, Global Information Network (New York, NY):
ENVIRONMENT: NEW YORK NUKE WASTE IN LIMBO AS CONCERNS RISE
By George Gao
NEW YORK, Apr. 16, 2013 (IPS/GIN) - Over one million kgs of nuclear waste sit in limbo on the banks of the Hudson River, in dry cask storage units and spent fuel pools just 60 kms north of New York City, according to environmental organisations.
(...)
Indian Point is classified as a potential target for terrorist attacks, due to its proximity to New York City and to over 20 million residents. It is also located precariously on two fault lines, which led critics to dub it “Fukushima on the Hudson”, in reference to the March 2011 nuclear catastrophe in Japan following an earthquake and a tsunami.
Aljazeera America
Fukushima on the Hudson: Could a nuclear accident happen near NYC?
New York’s Indian Point reactors are 40 years old and could threaten millions of people
October 14, 2013 1:00AM ET
by Wilson Dizard @willdizard
(...)
About 20 million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point, which is in Buchanan, N.Y., along the Hudson River, from which the nuclear plant draws approximately 2.5 billion gallons of water each day to cool its reactors and use in its turbines. Environmental groups have flagged Indian Point as one of the United States’ most dangerous nuclear plants, given its proximity to a major urban area and its persistent safety issues.
Salon
FRIDAY, APR 1, 2016 04:30 AM EDT
Fukushima on the Hudson: How America is vulnerable to nuclear disaster
Experts say the odds of a pipeline explosion near Indian Point are 1 in 1000. Those are still too high for comfort
ELLEN CANTAROW AND ALISON ROSE LEVY, TOMDISPATCH.COM