Sirens By August 24th...Who Cares, By The Time They Sound, It Will Be Too Late For Us

Entergy has informed the NRC that their new emergency siren system will be up and running properly no later than August 24th...over four months past the deadline is unacceptable, and the $130,000 fine inadequate as well. However, let's be honest with ourselves. If there is a nuclear incident or terrorist attack at Indian Point, by the time those alarms start sending out their warning, it will already be far to late for many of us.

Entergy can march Paul Newman through the plant, they can pay Patrick Moore big bucks to act as their corporate shill, and even bring in Christine Todd Whitman to lie to us about the glory of nuclear, and in the end it will not matter if the site is attacked, or a fast moving event strikes the facility known as Indian Point. Folks like myself can jump up and down, try to warn the general population about the risks, and that too does not matter if no one is paying us heed. There is never any joy in saying, " I told you so." We live in a time of apathy, three monkeys seeing, hearing and speaking no evils...where is and Indian Point employee stepping forth to speak the truth to the world? Where is a rightious man or woman on the inside ready to do what's right for humanity?

Wake up people, the siren system is nothing more than a placebo, and like the evacuation plan, like sheltering in place, it too shall fail us in our time of need.

Indian Point nuke plant owner pledges new siren system by Aug. 24

May 23, 2007, 5:56 PM EDT

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) _ When the owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant decided it couldn't meet an April 15 deadline for installing a new emergency siren system, it asked for an extension to Aug. 31.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission refused, fined Entergy Nuclear $130,000 and demanded that it come up with a new plan.

On Wednesday, Entergy said its new plan was to have the sirens up and running by Aug. 24, a week earlier than its original request.

The 150 sirens are meant to alert residents within 10 miles to any emergency at the two-reactor installation in Buchanan on the Hudson River, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan. Despite extensive testing by Entergy and a 2 1/2-month extension granted by the NRC in January, many sirens failed to respond to a radio activation signal during their final test before the deadline.

An older system remains in place and can be used in emergencies.

Entergy submitted its new plan in a letter to the NRC, saying it anticipates being ready by July 18 but might need more time to deal with "potential schedule uncertainties."

"Therefore Entergy is committing to August 24, 2007, as the latest date anticipated for declaring the new siren system operable," the letter said.

NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci said the commission would examine the plan "to make sure it's acceptable" and would have no immediate comment on it.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.