Room for a View > Briefs
The Plan is in the Can
by Lorna Tychostup

Emergency evacuation plans at the Indian Point nuclear plant, drawn up before ramifications of a spontaneous terrorist attack were ever considered as reality, simply won’t work—this according to the Pataki-commissioned report by private consultant and former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (fema) James Lee Witt. A different report, written last year by a consultant to Indian Point’s owner, Entergy, stated most of the plant’s security guards did not feel they could defend the two active reactors against a terrorist attack.

The current disaster plan is a disaster itself in that it only addresses evacuation of 298,013 people living within a 10-mile plant radius, despite the fact that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (nrc) has stated the peak fatality zone is a 17.5-mile radius, within which the most deaths would occur should an internal accident cause a large unacceptable dose of radiation to be released. There are no evacuation plans for people outside of the 10-mile radius, an area inclusive of New York City and 20 million people, where the federal government predicts possible contamination of water and food, and the spread of radiation sickness.

A coalition of 54 organ-izations, including environmental groups Clearwater and Riverkeeper, called on Governor Pataki to “shut down” Indian Point “immediately until the critical issues of public health and safety can be addressed.” Also issuing calls for the plant’s shutdown were representatives Eliot L. Engel (Democrat for Bronx, Westchester, and Rockland) and Sue Kelly (Republican for Katonah; Indian Point is in her district).

The evacuation plan is up for recertification by the New York State Emergency Management Office. Approval by recertification from New York would tell fema that “radiological preparedness” is in place. The recertification process takes into consideration checklists from the four counties surrounding the plant confirming their emergency procedures.

County executives Edward Diana (Orange), Andrew Spano (Westchester), and C. Scott Vanderhoef (Rockland) have said they would not agree to sign off on the checklist needed to certify. In addition to not signing the checklist, Vanderhoef has also sent a letter to Governor Pataki, fema, and the nrc requesting immediate closure of the plant in the absence of a workable plan and requested congressional hearings.

In early January, County Executive Robert Bondi (Putnam) made it clear he would certify the evacuation plan unless Putnam legislators instructed him to do otherwise. On January 23, Putnam legislators voted 6 to 2, directing Bondi not to certify the plan. While local officials do not have the power to order the shutdown of Indian Point, the refusal of the county executives of Orange, Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam to sign off on the evacuation plan sends a strong, unified message to Governor Pataki.
If Pataki refuses to recertify the plan, opponents of the plant believe the nrc could begin the process to have the plant shut down. The nrc has stated it could allow the plant to remain open without the emergency plan unless “reasonable assurance that adequate protective measures can and will be taken in event of a radiological emergency.”