What in the world has happened to Riverkeeper? In a recent article, "Indian Point reveals plan for changes, " Entergy promises $100 Million for PR work with local municipalities, tours to increase "buy in" with wary locals, increased emergency facilities to allay resident fears (and better cover their own bee-hinds in the event of a nuclear "incident"), education to replace skiddish nuke workers who, as a rule, don't actually care much for working in leaky, un-safe plants, and making the power plant's elevation and shrubbery look oh-so-purdy!My word! Riverkeeper's commentary on the way this $100 Mill is being spent simply defies belief! Reportedly, according to the stated quote of Riverkeeper's program director for the Hudson River, "If Entergy wants to pay for this study and wants to spend more money to make improvements on the plant, it's hard to argue with that."
As I see it, even from 170 miles away? It's as easy as pie to argue with the self-serving types of so-called "improvements" Entergy plans on making! Just for starters? It would certainly be a nice gesture if Entergy would use that money instead to make reparations to the millions adversely affected by deadly radioactive contamination of the air, groundwater, Hudson River, and Atlantic Coast for more than four and one-half decades.
Next, while they're at it? Perhaps Entergy could consider putting a few more bucks into trying to stop the leaks under the second radioactive waste fuel pool that have been contaminating both the area's groundwater and the Hudson for an unknown number of years. Now mind you, I'm not saying there's an easy "fix" for this catastrophic enviro-disaster. I'm simply saying that some more money thrown in this direction might be better appreciated in the scheme of our grandchildren's futures than merely spending "improvement" monies on schooling new nuke workers, conducting nuclear plant tours (with accompanying "dosing" for kids on class and scout troop trips), beefing up community emergency response services, slapping on a coat of fresh paint for the building facade, and planting some viburnum and holly bushes to spruce up the grounds!
You see, when a corporation is permitted by the federal government to nuke a community? There are, out of necessity, some quite hefty costs the nukers must be made to pay. So when we're talking about "improvements?" We need instead to be talking about substantial remediation and reparations of such a magnitude that, in the blink of any eye... we've already blown the entire $100 Mill already!
Case in point is the high cost to human health by virtue of living near a nuclear power plant.
Environmental restoration aside, medical bills alone incurred via radioactive poisoning caused by venting and leaking of 3 reactors (and nuclear fuel pools) into the environment over 46 years within the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area are of a truly incalculable magnitude.
I mean, in as far as a nuked-out Hudson and greater NYC metropolitan area, with regard to our precious children who come down with asthma and leukemia, and our friends and family with their autoimmune and neuro-muscular system disorders, breast and pancreatic cancers? Can someone tell me how you even put a dollar amount on such "costs?"
No two ways around it. $100 Million ain't gonna even begun to cut it in terms of the types of "improvements" Entergy's going to have to come up with in order to made good on the damage to public health and environmental degradation and devastation Indian Point owners and operators have been steadily perpetrating since 1962.
Permission to forward to everyone in the greater NYC tri-state area. Certainly, if the local supposed watchdog group for the Hudson is going to applaud this horrid use of $100 Million? This fact needs to be broadcast far and wide as nothing more than the Public Relations boosting stunt it is... a purely CYA effort on the part of Entergy's public image efforts, undoubtedly in need of a pretty major overhaul!
And as far as so-called enviro groups implying these types of "improvements" are a positive thing in terms of the Hudson? Why, this is nothing more than a whitewashing of real "improvements" that are sorely, critically needed with regard to the devastation being caused every day by toxic, radioactive and life-destroying Indian Point routine operations.
Cathy Garge
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