Varying Views on Indian Point Tritium Leak

Many people and organizations have weighed in on the radioactive groundwater contamination at Indian Point over the weekend.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sending a specialist; the state has started an investigation; Entergy and the NRC have said it poses no danger to the public or the workers at the plant in Buchanan.

“I am requesting a copy of the NRC’s radiation report due to recent leaks into the groundwater at Indian Point which is located in our village of Buchanan and Town of Cortlandt,” said Supervisor Linda Puglisi. “Indian Point (Entergy) representatives did contact me with this information and stated that there is no health or safety consequences to the public; however an independent evaluation is needed.”

Foes of the Algonquin Pipeline expansion project past Indian Point were vehement.

“In light of Indian Point’s continuing safety breaches, it is clear that not only must the plant be shut down immediately, the construction of the AIM high pressure, toxic, fracked gas pipeline must also stop now” they said in a prepared statement. Nancy Vann, who had a section of her property in Cortlandt taken by Spectra via eminent domain, said: “Spectra claims to be concerned about my safety---but what about the safety of 20 million people at risk from a pipeline accident at Indian Point?”

Riverkeeper agreed that the plant should be shut down.

“Since May 2015, Indian Point has suffered seven major malfunctions, from pump failures to transformer explosions, to radiation leaks, power failures, fires and oil spills,” said Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay in a prepared statement. “In December, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered a full investigation, and he now warns that all these accidents demonstrate thatIndian Point can no longer operate safely. Indian Point should be closed pending completion of the Governor’s investigations....Who knows what’s going to happen next?”

But Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino warned against false hysteria:

This weekend, Entergy, the owner and operator of Indian Point, put out a report on its groundwater monitoring program at the power plant in Buchanan.

First and foremost, my concern is for the safety of the plant, the groundwater around it and the residents of Westchester County. To ensure our safety, I have been in direct contact with senior Entergy officials, who have briefed me and members of my administration.

These conversations have been constructive. Entergy has been very candid in saying elevated levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, were found in 3 of 40 testing sites as part of its longtime review program. The company says that these elevated levels are more than one thousand times below federal permissible limits, that the tritium did not affect any source of drinking water onsite or offsite and that remediation plans are being put in place.

The county will continue to verify and monitor the situation. Getting the facts and understanding them are critically important to serving the public interest. False hysteria is not.

With the issue placed in proper context, focus shifts to remediation and prevention. Toward that end, the county is working with Entergy and has contacted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency charged with monitoring and licensing Indian Point, to ensure that the tritium poses no danger to the public today or at any time in the future.

Indian Point, which supplies about 25 percent of the electricity for New York City and Westchester, remains a critical source of energy. The role of government is to make sure all sources of energy can be delivered to citizens in a safe manner. As County Executive, I am committed to making sure that all the necessary safeguards are in place at Indian Point and that those responsible for monitoring them are fulfilling their obligations to protect the public’s safety.

And State Sen. Terrence Murphy (R-Yorktown) said:

Having been briefed by senior Entergy officials on the tritium found in three of its forty wells, public safety needs to be our greatest focus.

I have been assured by Entergy that this incident poses no threat to the workers at Indian Point or the surrounding communities.

I remain committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure Indian Point is operated safely and will continue to monitor this situation closely.

PHOTO/Daniel Case via Wikipedia