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Urges Philipstown Residents to Take Interest in Indian Point Relicensing
Dear Editor,
I am pleased to hear that the Philipstown Town Board will soon be discussing Entergy’s expected request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a 20 year license renewal of Indian Point 2 and 3. I strongly oppose relicensing, which would extend plant operations to 2033 and 2035, respectively, and I look forward to a lively discussion of the facts.
Just recently, the NRC has let us know, once again, that they are not fulfilling their role to "protect public health and safety." On May 18, the NRC ruled that a petition by Riverkeeper requesting backup power sources for emergency notification sirens did not meet the criteria for an Emergency Enforcement Petition. It’s difficult to understand how such a request could be considered as anything but an emergency situation. Instead of assuring at the bare minimum, that 300,000 residents living near Indian Point are notified in the event of a radiological emergency and a loss of electrical power, the NRC ruled that the request should go through the "petition for rulemaking," a process that often takes 2 years.
Some nuclear power plant companies like Pacific Gas & Electric have made sure their siren systems are backed up. American Electric Power has even equipped one of its nuclear power plant siren systems with photovoltaic backup. Unfortunately, Entergy has chosen instead to rely on bullhorns in the event of both a radiological emergency and a loss of electrical power. For this reason and many, many more, I strongly urge everyone to take an interest in the relicensing issue and look for announcements of the Philipstown Town Board’s upcoming relicensing workshop.
Donna Light-Donovan
Garrison
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