“A Nuclear Regulatory Commission member plans to visit Indian Point next week, and federal elected officials are urging him to use the tour to
conduct a thorough evaluation of the plants’ emergency evacuation and
response plans.
In a letter sent yesterday to NRC Commissioner Gregory Jaczko, Reps. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, and Maurice Hinchey, D-Middletown, cited the flaws detailed in a 2003 report on Indian Point’s emergency plans and said the NRC needed to increase its oversight of the nuclear power plants in Buchanan. The report was prepared by James Lee Witt, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“It is my sincere hope that Commissioner Jaczko uses his visit to Indian
Point next week for more than a photo opportunity with the press,” Hinchey said. “It would be a wasted visit if Commissioner Jaczko doesn’t come away from his visit to Indian Point with a clear understanding that a lot of work has to be done to investigate the plant’s operations and evacuation plans in order to safeguard the people of New York and the surrounding areas.”
Jaczko, one of five NRC commissioners, is scheduled to visit the area
Wednesday and Thursday for stakeholder meetings, a visit to the state
Department of Transportation’s traffic management center and a tour of
Indian Point.
Westchester County officials also are reminding residents, businesses and
nonprofit groups to enroll in a program that would alert them by e-mail or
other electronic methods in the event of a significant emergency at the
plant. The confidential service is available at www.westchestergov.com.
The county has the ability to phone people during an emergency, but the
number of calls would require days to reach everyone. With text-messaging and e-mails, the task could be done more quickly, officials said.”
