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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), and Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) today said that any security review short of a full Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would be considered insufficient. The comments from the House members came as an immediate response to an announcement from NRC Chairman Dale Klein that he has ordered the agency to develop a plan to review the process of how the Indian Point plant's safety is evaluated, but not an overall review of the safety procedures themselves.
"While I am pleased that the NRC recognizes there are problems with the Indian Point power plant, nothing less than a full Independent Safety Assessment will be sufficient to help adequately protect the 20 million residents living in the shadow of Indian Point," Hinchey said. "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. What the NRC is doing is equivalent to an office reviewing its fire evacuation route in place of also reviewing how the building could be made more fireproof."
Lowey said, "“The NRC is continuing to blow smoke when it comes to performing a complete and independent safety analysis at Indian Point. If the NRC wants to get serious about safety at Indian Point, the agency will initiate a complete Independent Safety Assessment to review the actual safety and security standards in place instead of wasting time on assessing the NRC review process. This falls far short of what the communities surrounding Indian Point need.”
Engel said, "This is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. While I continue to believe our constituents' safety requires nothing less than a comprehensive Independent Safety Assessment on Indian Point, I am pleased that the new Chairman of the NRC recognizes that the repeated system malfunctions at Indian Point seriously warrant more oversight."
Earlier this year, Hinchey introduced a measure that Lowey and Engel cosponsored, which would require the NRC to conduct an ISA of the Indian Point nuclear power plant. The legislation would force the NRC to report its findings on the safety of Indian Point no later than six months from the day the measure is signed into law. The bill requires a focused, in-depth ISA of the design, construction, maintenance, and operational safety performance of Indian Point. It also demands a comprehensive evaluation of the emergency evacuation plan for the nuclear power plant in the event of a terrorist attack or radiological accident. The NRC's announcement today only focuses on a review of the safety procedures and does not deal with the overall design, construction, and maintenance of the plant.
Indian Point, which is located 24 miles north of New York City, has experienced a series of safety problems throughout the span of its operation. In light of the fact that Entergy, the company which owns Indian Point, is anticipated to seek a 20-year license extension by 2007 for both reactors, Hinchey and his colleagues are pushing for an ISA. The House members said an ISA conducted now would afford Entergy the opportunity to identify and rectify potential safety problems with the facilities to prevent additional problems and accidents.
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