“Buchanan – Among those being considered for a top-to-bottom review of safety at the Indian Point nuclear power plant is the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. nuclear watchdog better known for inspections in North Korea than upstate New York.

A spokesman for Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, said the congresswoman was told yesterday by Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Dale Klein that the agency might conduct the safety review. “Klein mentioned IAEA as a possibility,” said the spokesman, Kevin Callahan.

In a statement yesterday, the NRC said it plans to conduct a review of reactor oversight at the Indian Point plant, “and perhaps others.” Plans for the review will be finalized within 30 days, the NRC said. The agency did not mention who would conduct the assessment.

Kelly said Klein’s commitment was a “step in the right direction” to “ensure that surrounding communities are protected from any gaps or weaknesses” in plant operation.

But Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, was less upbeat. “What the NRC has announced is that it will review its oversight process, not conduct new oversight. We need a comprehensive review of Indian Point overall, not a bureaucratic assessment of how things are reviewed.”“

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