Press Release-Fuse USA Files 26 Contentions
Public Trust in government institutions is the fundamental currency of our American democracy, our economy, and our way of life, and nowhere is that trust more important than in the regulation of our nation's most dangerous and complex industry: commercial nuclear power. On going investigative research by FUSE (Friends United for Sustainable Energy), a not-for-profit nuclear watchdog organization overseeing the Indian Point nuclear complex, has alleged in their Formal Petition to Intervene that Entergy's Indian Point reactors are in violation of NRC 10 CRF Regulations, and present a clear and present danger to human health and the environment.
For forty years the owners of Indian Point have routinely avoided complying with some of the most important federal regulations designed to protect the health of our children and families from the terrible risks of a nuclear accident or terrorist attack. The errors are so serious that FUSE has filed allegations with the NRC, and will be asking the New York Attorney General's office and Congressman John Hall to investigate. Most importantly, the 30 million people who live in the shadow of the Indian Point nuclear reactors have unwittingly been subjected to risks much greater than they were ever aware.
Worse, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency entrusted with ensuring nuclear safety, has either been party to the wrong-doing, or has utterly failed in its job to protect the public.
The problems uncovered by FUSE fall into numerous safety and aging management areas crucial to the License Renewal Application review process. These include a General Design Basis different than the one the facility was licensed too, serious fatigue, leak and corrosion issues, and a host of problems that affect public health and safety.
Before a facility can be relicensed for another 20 years of operation, it must have adequate aging management plans in place, must be capable of preventing off site radiological incidents that could affect public health and the environment. The cornerstone of meeting these critical obligations to public health and safety is a truthful and accurate General Design Criteria.
It appears the Public Trust has been broken, that Indian Point has never been in compliance with regulations, and that regulators have not been doing their job. public record shows major differences between federal nuclear guidelines and the way Indian Point Unit 2 nuclear reactor was actually built. There is a public process that the NRC should have gone through to address those differences, but that process was never followed. As a result, nuclear safety at Indian Point has been seriously compromised, and the public has been put at risk. At the very least, public trust has been seriously violated at a time when Entergy is seeking permission to run the aging nuclear reactor for another 20 years.
FUSE
21 Perlman Drive
Spring Valley, NY 10977
(845) 371-2100
http://www.fuseusa.org
(Contentions PDF document can be downloaded from the home page)
Media Contact:
Sherwood Martinelli
(914) 384-5848
(914) 734-1955
uraniumhotspot@aol.com
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