My perspective is that if a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami only cause a partical meltdown that ends up causing by far less loss of live and less injury than the quake and tsunami, why close Indian Point?
I would force Consolidated Edison to comply with fire codes within a reasonable amount of time or face steep fines. Besides you still have to replace that 30% of the energy with some other source.
Simply closing the plant without replacing the energy with another souce would cost a lot more with the potencial of rolling blackouts, etc..
They should requiring all of these plants comply with all codes period. If a code was put in after a plant was built the plant should be required to comply within reasonable time. Only if it is not possible to comply should there be an exemption.
The Indian Point nuclear power plant is located just 35 miles outside of New York City - within the exclusion zone U.S. authorities have recommended for Japan.
Closing a controversial nuclear power plant that’s located near New York City — in a fault zone — will cost residents just an additional 18 cents per day on their electric bills, according to news reports.
Consolidated Edison, the city’s public utility company, told CNN that the closure of the Indian Point Energy Center would run the typical resident approximately US$65 per year. That is equivalent to buying fewer than five packs of cigarettes at a bodega.
Indian Point is the longstanding bête noire of activists and nuclear watchdogs in the Empire State. The nuclear crisis in Japan has heightened criticism of the facility, which requires relicensing to continue its operations.
The facility, which supplies the state with up to 30 percent of its energy needs, has recently requested over 100 exemptions from fire codes.
Indian Point resides just 35 miles from New York City, and is now the government’s top priority in a post Fukushima review of the seismic risks facing U.S. nuclear power plants. An accident holds the potential to be catastrophic.
Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs have a high population density: The 2010 census tallied 8,175,133 people living in the city proper. The official count may be even higher.
That number does not include residents of north Jersey and Long island, who would fall just outside of the exclusion zone that the Japanese government has put in place around Fukushima.
The entire city and much of its surrounding suburbs – including exclusive beach communities and business centers — would be enveloped if the U.S. government’s recommendation of a 50-mile exclusion zone were being enforced. Evacuation would not be an option.
Have you ever tried leaving Long Island during rush hour traffic under “normal” conditions? Salvation would come down to just a few vital bridges and tunnels in and around Manhattan. Forget about an evacuation – it’s just not happening.
Speaking as a New Yorker, $65 is a bargain to me; the human suffering and impact on the national economy would cost us far more than it would to shutter Indian Point. There are newer, better technologies - both nuclear and renewable. Let’s use them.
