FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:          7/9/03                          

For more information contact:                                                     

Lisa Rainwater van Suntum (646) 281-4426

Kyle Rabin (845) 424-4149 x 239

COALITION COMMENDS WESTCHESTER COUNTY RESOLUTION OPPOSING RENEWAL OF INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT LICENSE

  A resolution, co-authored by Westchester County Legislators Michael Kaplowitz and Marty Rogowsky and presented today to the Westchester County Legislature’s Environment & Health and the Energy Committees, sends a clear message to Entergy that any attempt to gain re-licensure of the aged plant will be opposed.  

  WHITE PLAINS, NY (July 8, 2003)  The Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), a coalition of 58 citizen, environmental, health, and public policy organizations, commends Westchester County Legislators Michael Kaplowitz and Marty Rogowsky for co-authoring and introducing a resolution to the county legislature’s Environment & Health and Energy Committees today.  The resolution opposes the re-licensing of Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3, when their licenses expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively.  It also calls for direct action by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), demanding not only that it prohibit the re-licensing of the aged nuclear reactors but that it does so in an expedient manner in order that all affected agencies, offices, and parties may begin focusing their efforts on alternative energy sources.

“This is definitely the right move at the right time,” said Lisa Rainwater van Suntum, PhD, project coordinator of IPSEC.  “Legislators Kaplowitz and Rogowsky are taking proactive measures to ensure that while the battle to shut down Indian Point continues, Entergy and the NRC do not dismiss the grave concerns of those living within the 50-mile radius of these two aging nuclear reactors.  The plants’ history is checkered with mechanical problems.  As the plants are designed for a life span of 40 years, re-licensing for an additional twenty would only put the public at greater risk of serious malfunctions.  Re-licensing would also perpetuate the creation of and further stockpiling of irradiated fuel rods onsite.  Where is another 20 years of nuclear waste going to be stored?  Indian Point’s spent fuel pools, which remain the most vulnerable target, are bursting at the seams with spent fuel rods jammed tightly together.  The pools cannot be re-racked any further to squeeze in additional spent fuel rods, and it is not clear whether hardened dry cask storage can handle all the fuel older than five years,” commented Rainwater van Suntum.

  IPSEC calls on other elected officials to draft similar resolutions that will send a clear message to Entergy and the NRC that under no circumstances will the 20-million residents within the 50-mile radius and their elected officials accept the re-licensing of Indian Point 2 & 3.

  Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC). IPSEC is a coalition of fifty-eight civic, environmental, health and public policy organizations that formed in response to a flood of citizen concerns about the safety of Indian Point nuclear power plants after the terrorist attacks on 9.11.01.  Our goal is to ensure the safety and security of our neighborhoods by bringing about the immediate closure of Indian Point and its safe and orderly decommissioning.   For a list of member organizations, please go to: www.IPSECinfo.org.

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