NEW YORK—Like many power plants in the nation, Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y., is aging. And along with aging, comes risk.
Following a court ruling, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must review the risks from storing nuclear waste before renewing the nuclear plant’s operating licenses, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement.
“There is no question that on-site storage of nuclear waste could pose long-term health and environmental risks,” Schneiderman said.
U.S. Appeals Court sided with Schneiderman’s office in a court decision that will force NRC to examine “the dangers and consequences” of long-term nuclear waste storage at Indian Point, as well as alternatives.
Indian Point’s two reactors were licensed almost 40 years ago. The licenses expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively, so the NRA is considering renewing the licenses.
Earthquake risk is one factor that the commission, and the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has been studying, particularly after the Japanese disaster last year.
The court decision on June 8 means the NRC cannot license or relicense any other power plant, or Indian Point, before looking at “the consequences of long-term on-site storage of nuclear waste,” according to Monday’s press release on the issue.
Yet in an interview with The Epoch Times last year, Joseph Mangano of The Radiation and Public Health Project, which is opposed to renewing Indian Point’s operating licenses, said the NRA has, in its 37-year history, never closed down a nuclear power plant.
Indian Point supplies 30 percent of New York City’s energy demand, according to New York Independent Systems Operator.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
