Indian Point Radiation Contributed to Or Caused My Wife's Cancer

Sure the Pro-Industry folks wish I would simply go away...hard to do when you live three miles from a problem plagued dangerous nuclear reactor wrongfully trying to get itself relicensed for another 20 years of operation...even harder to do when you find out your wife has breast cancer and you are convinced that Entergy's poor management, and Indian Point's leaking reactors play a crucial role in that cancer, and in the cancer of two of our cats. Carrying on the fight I was meant to be involved in, have recently filed more Petitions with the NRC...for those battling Entergy in the License Renewal Case, you might find the NRC's most recent response to that Petition interesting.

Mr. Martinelli,

The NRR Petition Review Board (PRB) has reviewed your 10CFR2.206
petition dated March 30, 2008, which requests enforcement action against
Indian Point 2 and 3. Your petition requests that the NRC suspend the
units operating licenses. You also requested that the NRC halt the
license renewal process.

You provided some supporting facts and known issues in your petition.

The PRB proposes to reject, due to insufficient facts, the basis in
paragraphs 1 and 2 as a basis for plant license suspension as the PRB
has no evidence that the current releases from the plant exceed the
NRC's regulatory limits. It is noted here, that though a release may

be within LEGAL LIMITS, it might not be low enough to protect human

health and the environment...the NRC is charged with protecting our

health first and foremost, and if that means ceasing operations because

NOW ADMITTED RELEASES are causing cancers, human health is at

risk, then the NRC must do its job, and suspend operations at the plant

until such time as the LEAKS into air, water and ground at stopped.

For paragraphs 3 and 4, the PRB is not aware of any hot leg leaks at
the facility (even if there were, there is no path to the groundwater).
The PRB is also not aware of any leaks in violation of the NRC's
regulations. This is a lie...the TRITIUM LEAKS are not within the

the constraints of the license, and the ongoing two year investigation

is proof of this reality. However, there are underground plumes containing
radioactive isotopes which have reached the Hudson River. The Press, The public

and attorneys need to TAKE NOTICE of this admission...we have the NRC admitting

in this email to me that radioactive leaks from the plant are reaching the Hudson River

The PRBproposes to combine this aspect of your petition with your previous
petition dated June 25, 2007, on groundwater contamination, which the
NRC accepted for review by letter dated February 1, 2008. A proposed
Director's Decision is being prepared for this petition, and is expected
to be issued by May 30, 2008.

For paragraph 5, the PRB acknowledges that Entergy is in violation of
two NRC orders on the new siren system, and the new siren system is
still not in operation. With my wife now in a high risk group, a non-working

siren in the case of a release puts her at HIGH RISK of additional exposure

further elevating her cancer risk...yet the NRC refuses to take the needed

action of CLOSING THE PLANT till the sirens are working. Why?

The PRB proposes to combine this aspect of your
petition with your previous petition dated September 28, 2007, on the
new siren system, which the NRC accepted for review by letter dated
February 12, 2008. A proposed Director's Decision is being prepared for
this petition. Due to the complexities involved with this proposed
Director's Decision, it is not expected to be issued until October
2008.

You also requested that the NRC halt the license renewal process for
Indian Point 2 and 3. Because this request is not for an
enforcement-related action, it does not meet the criteria for acceptance
in the 10 CFR 2.206 process. My request is an enforcement-related action.

The board has the right to take action on ANY LICENSE or License procedure

because of rules violations, and that would include stopping the license renewal activity

until such time as Entergy is within FULL COMPLIANCE.

You may discuss your petition with the PRB if you desire to comment on
the PRB's recommendations or present additional information. This may be
in a public meeting at NRC headquarters in Rockville, MD, or by
teleconference. If it is by teleconference, it will be recorded,
transcribed, and added to the public record. Please let me know by April
22, 2008, if you want a discussion with the PRB, and I will arrange a
mutually agreeable date. The licensee will be invited to participate.

Your petition has not been made public yet, but I am in the process of
making it public. It should be available in ADAMS on our web site by
April 23, 2008. It has been assigned ADAMS number ML080950265.


John P. Boska
Indian Point Project Manager, DORL
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
301-415-2901
email: jpb1@nrc.gov

RiverKeeper Behind Times...Raises Paste and Cut Issue

Greetings Readers:

First, do apologize for having been out of site, and out of mind for well over a week here, but afraid that the flu bug took a serious bite out of me...still not up and running 100 percent, but am slowly getting back in action. Since we missed our deadline for the BAA's (Baboon Ass Awards) we will be posting those this coming Monday...the day my own beloved Ohio State plays for the National Championship.

The big news out on the street yesterday and today is the filing of a Petition to halt the licensing process until there is an investigation of the NRC's cut and paste licensing process. Well GEE, correct me if I am wrong, but both FUSE USA and Green Nuclear Butterfly brought this issue to the light of day LAST SUMMER, pointed out, and provided proof that numerous LRA and SER's contained identical language? So nice to know that Riverkeeper invited us to SIGN ON to said petition...NOT. Guess they want every one thinking it was their BRILLIANT research that uncovered this? Be honest folks, they had to wait for the IG's report, Sherwood Martinelli discovered it ALL ON HIS OWN before the IG's findings were announced.

Meanwhile, on another front, we have it from GOOD SOURCES, that the NRC is being awfully quiet about FUSE USA's latest round of filings, and that they are desparately looking for a way to TOSS THEM out of the mix. God forbid they have access to some of the crap that is going to come out in the hearing process! Who knows what they might do with such sensitive information...LIKE MAKE IT PUBLIC!

Friday
January 4, 2008

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/IP_Rvkpr-04Jan08.html

Copyright © 2008 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.
This story may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent.

Citizens groups file petition to halt NRC relicensing review

Tarrytown – The Riverkeeper organization Thursday joined regional and national nuclear watchdog groups in petitioning the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend current license renewal proceedings for the Indian Point, Oyster Creek, Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plants until what it calls “an objective and independent investigation” is conducted into the current license renewal process.

The petition is in response to an NRC Regulatory Commission Office of the Inspector General audit in September 2007 which found the NRC staff failed to verify the authenticity of technical safety information in over 97 percent of the renewal applications audited by OIG; and NRC staff reviewers routinely ‘cut and pasted’ whole sections of the renewal application text into their own safety reviews, rather than write their own evaluations.

Most recently, Entergy Nuclear Northeast submitted its application for a 20-year license extension of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan. Riverkeeper and New York State have petitioned to intervene in the relicensing proceedings, raising a number of issues ranging from safety and security to environmental impacts.

“For years, Riverkeeper has been gravely concerned about the NRC’s lackluster approach to regulating the nuclear industry,” notes Lisa Rainwater, Riverkeeper’s Policy Director. “The results of the NRC Inspector General’s internal investigation confirm what Riverkeeper and other nuclear watchdog groups have been saying all along--the NRC is rubberstamping license renewal applications and failing to verify that these plants will be run safely during a twenty-year license extension. This cavalier approach to public safety must end.”

Riverkeeper’s announcement and claims “are more fear-mongering and name calling by Riverkeeper,” said Paul Steidler, director of Communications for the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance. “At the end of the day the NRC has an excellent track record. In more than 50 years of operation no worker or member of the public has ever died because of radiological missteps at a commercial U.S. nuclear power plant. If Riverkeeper has specific scientific or engineering concerns about Indian Point or any other plant, they should bring these to the attention of the NRC first, and save fear mongering press releases for later.”

One Year Anniversary of Green Nuclear Butterfly

Greetings Readers:

Who would have thought a year ago that Green Nuclear Butterfly would generate the kind of buzz and excitement that it has, would have caused such a stir in the Nuclear Industry as these titans of lies hang on to our every word, their spy masters checking our blog on a daily basis to find out what's new.

In one year, we have blossomed and grown into one of the top Anti Nuclear Ezines on the net, and have published over 600 entries. Additionally, we have played a crucial role in the formation of FUSE USA (http://www.fuseusa.org) which met the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's Christmas Eve deadline to yet again refile their contentions.

We'll be releasing our Top Ten BAA list on New Year's day (Jim Steet's is a sure winner), and 2008 promises to be a banner year as we report on the aging Indian Point nuclear reactors, and other news from the spin miesters over at NEI. So, thanks for a GREAT YEAR, and we look forward to being your Anti-Nuclear news source in the year to come.

The PERFECT Entergy Christmas Card?

Should Governors Use National Guard Troops To Close Down and Secure Aging Reactors

Time and again (49 times to be exact) a biased and prejudice Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has ignored the will of the people, ignored safety and health concerns, and granted NRC reactor licensees 20 year extensions to operate. Anything they find incovenient (such as radioactive waste) it is simply deemed to be out of scope, and when citizens such as myself have the balls to tell seemingly ignorant ass monkeys like Lawrence G. McDade the truth, that the boards are made up of Pro-Industry Pricks, he thumps his chest, and tosses out our contentions like some anal retentive chimp tripping on LSD. Seems in his w0rld, he believes he is worthy of some respect by virtue of his position, comes from the old school of thought that judges, elected officials and the president of the United States are ENTITLED to our respect by virtue of their office...as the old saying goes, FUCK THAT NOISE. Just for the record, I'd classify George Bush as a prick as well, and would not hesitate to state such to his face.

So, back to the question. 49 communities so far are being FORCED to play host to aging and dangerous reactors for at least 20 more years. The DOE, the NRC and our federal government have FAILED to deal with the waste streams from nuclear power, defacto turning every reactor site into high level radioactive waste storage facilities without adequate safeguards, such as those required if Yucca Mountain ever gets licensed and built. The NRC acts as if it is above the law, and licensees simply buy off whoever they need to in their attempts to keep their aging, leaking, cancer causing facilities up and churning out profit.

Which raises the question...should state governors take manners into their own hands, and use the National Guard to seize control of, and shut down these facilities. Here in New York, the DEC could simply refuse to grant a discharge permit, could demand that the Indian Point facility shut down until such time as it has installed a Closed Cooling system that was promised some 30 years ago. Further, the State Attorney General could state that future committments to come into compliance are inadequate, could state that New York is no longer willing to wait for the Siren Systems to be up and operating correctly. All this being so, and based on the very real reality that the NRC has NEVER TERMINATED a license against the reactor owners wishes, is it time to use our State National Guard to shut down Indian Point? What is George Bush going to do, call out the Army to go to war against us? DOUBTFUL.

The state could hire whatever former Entergy employees were needed to maintain safe shut down, and to decommission the reactors. Might seem harsh, but lets be real. Our community agreed to play host for 40 years, and only if the operator obeyed ALL LAWS and REGULATIONS as written. The NRC has granted Indian Point hundreds of exemptions to the rules, so they have broken their contract with our community. We would be fully within our rights as a state to use our military troops to shut down a dangerous facility that is endangering human health and the environment.

While we are doing some radical thinking, here is some more food for thought. The State of New York, and all counties being forced to pay for Emergency Planning and Security have the LEGAL RIGHT to simply STOP PAYING FOR THOSE COSTS, and the NRC has no choice but to force FEMA to step in and pay them...sure if FEMA were suddenly having to pick up the tab for ENTERGY, they might have a change of heart about the adequacy of Indian Points Emergency plan. By the way, EVERY REACTOR COMMUNITY IN AMERICA HAS THAT RIGHT.

Pilgrim waste needs critical look, AG says

The state has gone to court to force the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to look at the safety of waste storage at Pilgrim. (File/The Boston Globe)

EmailPrint Text size – + By Robert Knox

Globe Correspondent / December 13, 2007

The state attorney general's office has gone to federal court to argue that the storage of nuclear waste at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant should be studied by federal regulators as a possible danger to residents.

more stories like this

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Brock, in oral arguments in the US Court of Appeals in Boston last week, challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's refusal to hold a hearing on the safety of storing spent fuel at the Plymouth plant. Briefs in the case will be prepared over the next month and filed by the end of January.

Brock's office is arguing that the potential risk of fire in the spent-fuel storage pools - whether sparked by accident or terrorism - should be weighed by the NRC in its decision on whether to extend Pilgrim's license for another 20 years.

Last year, the five members of the NRC, appointed by the president, rejected that notion. Instead, they accepted their staff's conclusions that the consequences of a "spent-fuel pool accident" are unlikely to be serious.

The state appealed, leading to last week's hearing.

The possible danger of storing nuclear waste on site has become a rallying cry for critics of the NRC, which regulates the nuclear power industry.

Local advocates, including residents of Plymouth and Duxbury, signed a letter to Attorney General Martha Coakley this week backing her action in taking the spent-fuel issue to court. The letter states that Massachusetts's actions have set a precedent that other states such as New York are following.

The governor and attorney general of New York have gone to court to question the security of the Indian Point reactor.

New York officials contend that the attacks of Sept. 11 changed the nature of risk at nuclear plants, warranting a new and critical look at the safety of on-site spent fuel storage.

A New York Times editorial last week backed that state's actions and also questioned how other plants across the nation, such as Pilgrim, can be permitted to operate with on-site, above-ground nuclear waste storage systems.

While spent nuclear fuel rods are stored outside New York's Indian Point reactor facility, at Pilgrim they are stored in water inside the plant.

Critics of that method, including the National Academy of Sciences, have argued that Pilgrim's storage method renders the plant vulnerable to a spent fuel fire caused by an attack or by human or mechanical error.

Both NRC and Pilgrim officials have repeatedly defended the safety of the plant. The NRC has pointed to security upgrades it required plants to institute after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said his agency took the possibility of a terrorist attack into consideration in previous court challenges and concluded that even under the "most severe, plausible-threat scenarios" - ground assault and aircraft impact - radiation emissions would probably be too low to pose a problem for Pilgrim's neighbors.

Local critics of the NRC say the outcome of the state's appeal may have important consequences for Pilgrim's neighbors.

Without a victory on appeal, "highly toxic spent fuel assemblies will be stored on site for the indefinite future," said Mary Lampert of Pilgrim Watch, a regional advocacy group that also raised the spent fuel storage issue.

The NRC has ruled that both issues of stored nuclear waste and plant security - concerns frequently raised at public meetings held on relicensing in the Plymouth area over the last two years - are outside licensing proceedings and therefore off the table when the NRC decides whether to extend Pilgrim's operating license.

But those issues are considered in the ongoing regulation of the nation's nuclear facilities, the NRC states.

Having heard the oral arguments, the court asked the two parties whether they could agree on a date for holding a review of the state's appeal, Sheehan said.

Amie Breton, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, said the court is expecting written briefs by Jan. 31 if a date has not been set.

In addition to the current appeal, the state has also filed a so-called rule-making petition asking the agency to change its current licensing policy and consider spent fuel storage in relicensing reviews. The appeal was necessary, Lampert said, because relicensing could occur before the petition to change the rules is decided.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.

First in Series of Entergy Originals

In the first of a series of Entergy Originals, Sherwood Martinelli and Green Nuclear Butterfly are pleased to post today a reproduction of an original pencil sketch that we are looking into putting into Poster Production for distribution around the Indian Point and Vermont Yankee facilities. Please feel free to print up and distribute this powerful art image.

Jim Steet's Plays Duck and Run on WVOX Radio

Today at HIGH NOON Jim Steets appeared on WVOX. The first interesting event was the Pro-Entergy propaganda commercial that ran on WVOX before the show aired. Jim Steets commentary was fairly simple to follow, and went something like this, "Lie, lie, twisted fact, lie, I just don't know, lie." It was not until the very end of Mr. Steets time on the show that some fire works flew. It is no wonder he has been nominated for a BAA.

Enter our own Sherwood Martinelli, director of FUSE USA and his hard hitting questions that once again Jim Steets ducked before running out of the WVOX studio.

The questions...notes on Mr. Steets Duck and Run answers provided below them in red.

Entergy in their Environmental Report states twice that Indian Point is LEAK FREE. Yet we know there are numerous leaks. Most pointedly, earlier this fall a leak was discovered which you, Jim Steets stated the leak was a small hairline conduit leak. In fact, the leak based on a review of plant drawings is believed to be a leak in the fuel transfer canal. How do you reconcile the claim in your License Renewal Application that the plant is leak free with all the known leaks at the plant?

Mr Steets failed to address the basic question. How does Entergy reconcile their claim in the License Renewal Application that Indian Point is leak free with all the known and unknown leaks on the site? Furthermore, he quietly ALL BUT ADMITTED there is a leak in the Fuel Transfer Canal. Lastly, he trotted out the patented pin hole and hairline crack descriptors. The Spent Fuel Pool hairline crack (we have a photo) is over NINE FEET LONG.

Entergy in their application claims there are no refurbishment issue envisioned for the plant for the period of License Renewal, or in anticipation of license renewal. Yet, Entergy has new reactor vessel heads on order with scheduled installation for 2011 and 2012. Why has Entergy omitted this and other significant refurbishments from the Environmental Report?

He tried to duck this one, but again all but admitted there are plans afoot to replace the Reactor Vessel Heads at Indian Point...as Green Nuclear Butterfly and FUSE USA knew they would, Jim Steets tried to portray the Reactor Vessel Head replacements NOT AS REFURBISHMENT, but as a SIMPLE PART REPLACEMENT. Trust us folks, this is the largest REFURBISHMENT there is, and there is a reason they do not want it in the Environmental Report during License Renewal.

The NRC has admitted that in a fast breaking emergency or terrorist attack at Indian Point, the Emergency Plan will not work, and citizen would be ordered to shelter in place. Why has Jim Steets refused to answer the question, how long would it be before citizens started feeling the effects of Hypothermia if we were ordered Sheltered in Place during a winter snow storm.

Again, Jim Steets, after trying to paint the scenario as unrealistic refused to ANSWER THE QUESTION on the effects of Hypothermia. Worse, he tried to paint a picture that they want us SHELTERED IN PLACE in OUR NICE WARM HOMES. Look at the Emergency Plan folks! If ordered to Shelter in Place, we are told to TURN OFF OUR FURNACES, and TO SHUT ALL FLUES AND DAMPERS.

Lastly...why has Entergy refused to make publicly available their off site environmental monitoring test results.

Unfortunately, we got cut off before we could get this question asked, so Jim Steets got a pass on it.

Deadline For Filing Fast Approaching

Just in from FUSE USA...

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Deadline For Filing Contentions Fast Approaching

Contrary to the reports in the newspaper, citizens still have five days left to Intervene in the License Renewal process for Indian Point. It is promising to be quite the party, as the State Attorney General weighed in on Monday strongly supporting the closure of the plant. Most of the key players have weighed in, so it is doubtful that there will be any major surprises, as everyone knows PHASE (Susan Shapiro's new organization) will coming running into the fray at the very last minute, basically filing a rehash of everything that FUSE USA has already filed.

Meanwhile, we have Entergy and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board doing everything in their power to keep FUSE USA, and more specifically Sherwood Martinelli from having a seat at the table. The latest from their bag of tricks, is to threaten to toss both FUSE USA and Sherwood Martinelli out of the process because he had the audacity to call the board a bunch of Pro-Industry Pricks...forget the fact the charge as leveled is true. They feel such a statement is disrespectful to them as JUDGES...well EXCUSE ME. If FUSE USA has their contentions tossed, it might work out best...would give us an instant ACCESS into the courts for a review, and that in turn could mean the court gets to decide which of our contentions has merit, instead of the NRC making the decision.

The late breaking news today...Buchanan, home town of Entergy's Indian Point was denied status as an intervenor. Saw that one coming, as they did not make a claim that fell within Scope. The same decision should rightfully be handed down on both NY AREA, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Giving Credit To Standard Bearers in Indian Point Battle

This has been a very emotional week for Green Nuclear Butterfly, and our grassroots group, FUSE USA. Due to some horrific rookie mistakes on the part of Susan Shapiro in filing our many FUSE USA petitions with the NRC, every single one of our contentions were dismissed and set aside. I do not feel the NRC, and the Atomic Safety Board (a bias pro nuclear board if one ever existed) acted fairly in their unilateral decision, but I also cannot argue with their belief that a licensed attorney at law like Susan Shapiro should have known better, should have known the basic steps required to execute a Certificate of Service, and see that all parties were adequately served. Oh well, water over the bridge, and in the fight to close Indian Point, we here at GNB, and over at FUSE USA simply do not have time to cry over spilt milk.

Pulling a 48 hour stretch, FUSE USA revamped our contentions, and filed them with the NRC early this morning with a proper Certificate of Service to all parties. Further, hard copies of said filings are being mailed First Class delivery to all parties of record as of the time of the filing early this morning. We also made sure to include our Notice of Appearance, so it seems we have all our I's dotted, and T's crossed. If we missed one or two, one would hope that the NRC and the Atomic Safety Board would do what is in the best interest of Public Health and Safety, rather than kowtowing to NEI and the nuclear industry, and give us a chance to fix minor errors, rather than simply trying to deny us our rightful involvement in the process...however, we will not hold our breath waiting for said board to DO THE RIGHT THING.

That being said, lets go on the record here. FUSE USA, Green Nuclear Butterfly and Sherwood Martinelli want to let it be known, that the NRC's rules and regulations have been deliberately set up to see citizens fail. Neither NRC, nor the nuclear industry want us actively involved in the process, so they hold AVERAGE CITIZENS to the SAME STANDARDS that licensed attorneys are held to. That is WRONG. Further, by holding average citizens, and small unfunded or under funded grassroots organizations to the same standards as attorneys, raises a serious Environmental Justice issue. A community's right to redress and representation in the process should not be curtailed, even eliminated because of a lack of money. Complicated procedural rules in the Licensing Renewal Hearing process that can only be understood by high priced attorneys does exactly that...denies poor unfunded or under funded citizens and grassroots organizations our voice in the process. As a perfect example, FUSE USA is having to spend money we do not have refiling our petitions. We are talking thousands of pages of printing has to be paid for, several hundreds of dollars in postage has to be covered. Unlike Entergy, we do not have a multi-million dollar budget to work with, are facing a real hardship in having to resubmit our documents. The board should be ASHAMED of itself for caving into Entergy's back room demands, carefully presented publicly to avoid any appearance of wrongdoing in their Motion To Strike that was inconveniently filed on the Eve of Thanksgiving.

FUSE USA had our contentions tossed out, not because they did not have merit, not because they failed to raise serious health, safety and environmental issues that are or should be in scope, but on technicalities. Entergy, and other key players (such as NY AREA, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation) want us out of the game, want to sink our small row boat before we even get fully into the water. That is not the intent of the Intervention Process, but it sadly is the reality. Those with the most money, the shrewdest attorney almost always win. Contentions that should be heard and that are worthy of further review because they were not worded EXACTLY RIGHT. That is WRONG.

We all know this is an uphill fight, and we know that our side is outgunned. Entergy has a $40 million dollar war chest, and some of the finest demon spawn attorneys from hell that money can buy. Couple this with Entergy, and the nuclear industry's (NEI) multi-million dollar propaganda campaign, and it is obvious that our side has the deck STACKED AGAINST US. That's OK, we here at GNB and FUSE USA like being the dark horse, the long shot in a star filled field.

So, let's applaud some of the Standard Bearers in the fight to "Close Indian Point", acknowledge those that are marching us into the Valley of Death.

Today, Nancy Burton of Mothball Millstone weighed into the fight, and we could not ask for a more seasoned veteran. Millstone, much like Vermont Yankee and Entergy's decaying Indian Point represents one of the most despicable and unsafe facilities in the entire American Nuclear Fleet of decrepit reactors. Never giving up, fighting against overwhelming odds, Nancy Burton this week was able to argue her issues before Connecticut's Highest Court. She's a trooper, and glad to know she is going to be in this fight to the bitter end.

Flanking her in this David verse Goliath on steroids fight is Westchester County Commissioner Andy Spano...now, I have to admit to having some differences with Andy Spano (do not like his robo dialer). So, when we here at GNB state that he is a serious warrior that has his heart in the right place where Indian Point is concerned, we hope it carries a LOT OF WEIGHT. He understands what is involved for our community, understands that Indian Point MUST BE CLOSED. He has been in this fight for a long time, was been battling Indian Point in the courts long before Entergy filed their License Renewal Application. Unlike Hillary Clinton, Maurice Hinchey, Nita Lowey, and sadly, even John Hall, Andrew Spano is willing to take a stand, and is DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN to shut down an unsafe nuclear facility. For that, he has the respect of GNB, and FUSE USA.

The State Attorney Generals of numerous states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont deserve credit for their involvement in this and other fights to close down dangerous reactors. Groups like NIRS, WISE and Mothers For Peace all deserve a standing ovation. NEC up in Vermont is another dedicated group of warriors that are giving Entergy a serious battle, and as the old saying goes, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

There are other groups, well funded groups that should and must do more, have been far to silent so far in this battle. With Kennedy's recent endorsement of Hillary Clinton (who has taken BIG MONEY from Entergy and NEI donors), Riverkeeper needs to publicly DISTANCE THEMSELVES from Kennedy, as he is betraying the cause, is not being the stand up player that he should be in this fight. Further, we here at GNB hope that Riverkeeper and Clearwater when they file their contentions have not narrowed their fight to a very small group of contentions doomed to failure, not really aimed at closing down the aging, dangerous Indian Point facility. They get the LION's SHARE of the GREEN DONATIONS, and as organizations with the most, it is right to expect them to be doing the most. It is fundamentally wrong for Riverkeeper to be holding a Donor's breakfast at the home of the Rockefeller Fund, and DENYING other grassroots organizations a SEAT AT THE TABLE. God forbid that some of the smaller groups that are in this fight steal a crumb or two of support from one of their donors!

This more than any other License Renewal fight is a defining moment, will decide the path we as a community, and a nation will travel. So far, the NRC has wrongfully granted 48 reactor operators a License Renewal over community objections. However, with the gallant efforts of the folks up in Brattleboro, with Mothers For Peace stunning victory in the Ninth Circuit Court, the tide has begun to turn. Respected leaders are now speaking out AGAINST GNEP, and average citizens are beginning to realize that nuclear is not as safe and green as the industry tries to make us believe it is. If we stop the License Renewal of Indian Point, there is a good chance we stop the Nuclear Renaissance train from leaving the station, and that is a fight we need to all be involved in. For ourselves, and for our children, License Renewal for Indian Point must be stopped at all cost.

This is a "All Hands on Deck" movement, and we need every boat in the water if we are going to have a chance of killing the nuclear giant that is Entergy. So, to the real leaders in this movement, a heartfelt thank you as we all prepare to march into a battle that is going to get very ugly.

Refusing To Die When Everyone Wants You Dead

This afternoon I received notice that all of FUSE USA's contentions have been dismissed for an assortment of filing errors. The NRC does not give a rats ass about public health and safety, does not give a crap about the merits of the contentions, they only care about PROCESS, and may the best funded attorneys win. Further, they have their heads so FAR UP THEIR ASSES, that they never even READ FUSE USA's third filing, which was completely different...instead, they read Entergy's pleading, denied it to seem impartial, and then dismissed everything under the guise of keeping a TIDY DOCKET, thus giving ENTERGY EVERYTHING THEIR MOTION ASKED FOR. Yes, as I am sure any one reading this knows, I am now officially PISSED OFF, and getting me OFFICIALLY PISSED OFF means I am going to start being a world CLASS PRICK where both Entergy and the NRC are concerned...they can choke on their rules as far as I am concerned.

A part of me blames myself...I should have known better than to trust anyone but myself to do the filing. I was talked into believing that a former nuclear industry expert, and a licensed attorney knew better, allowed myself to be convinced that having FUSE USA documents filed by an attorney LOOKED BETTER, gave us more legitamacy as an organization. Maybe if your attorney had a FREAKING clue this all might be true, but enough of that, what is done is done. I should have stepped in when the first filing prepared and put together by Ulrich Witte and Susan Shapiro was found to have significant shortcomings in it. Instead, I continued to move forward on other contentions, continued to do research instead of stepping in and demanding to take over the process of fixing the problems.

I have no choice but to reshuffle the cards, pull up everything that has been filed, review it one page at a time, and rework, reprint and refile it all because Entergy and their FUCKING hot shot attorneys have no hearts or souls, but are only interested in doing what ever it takes to win License Renewal for Indian Point, public health, safety and the environment be damned, as that is what they are handsomely paid to do...FINE, this is WAR.

They won the first round, had all of FUSE USA's months of hard work dismissed on technicalities by the fucking Atomic Safety Board judges that suck the ass of the nuclear industry. NRC employees acting as judges...what a FARCE. If the board, and Entergy think they are keeping FUSE USA, and me out of this, they are SADLY mistaken. We will have contentions filed by the deadline. As for those in the Close Indian Point camp who don't like my tactics, who think I am a little rough around the edges...just do me a favor, and stay the hell out of my way.

Trust me, when the filings go in, the NRC will have their Certificate of Service, their notice of appearance, and everyone will get a copy of every GOD DAMN PAGE of EVERYTHING WE FILE. Further, there will not be someone acting as a buffer between Entergy and me as a stakeholder in the community. Entergy and their Park Avenue hot shots can deal with me, a dumb old farm boy, their INDUSTRY EXPERTS will answer my questions under cross examination. When the dust settles, Entergy may win their precious License Renewal, but not without the biggest fight that has ever taken place in a License Renewal Application.

I read the rules, and no where in them does it say STAKEHOLDERS have to be represented by an attorney at law...let the games begin.

Green Anti-Nuclear Environmental Congressman John Hall-NOT SO GREEN

Rah, Rah elect John Hall, if he can't close Indian Point, no one can. We all remember those heady days on the campaign trail last fall when our GREEN GUY, John Hall was going up against Sue Kelly. Setting aside the whole impeachment issue, lets focus in on his promise to Close Down Indian Point. He has not exactly been delivering on that promise, and that should be of some great concern to those who got him elected.

A couple weeks back, all hell broke loose when this blog DARED attack our GREEN HERO in Washington. Some quietly behind closed doors agreed with us, but said he was the best we had, and that maybe we needed to give him the BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. You know, the old "He's just a freshman, he means well, and maybe some of his mistakes are nothing more than that, growing pains as he FINDS HIMSELF. So, I decided to follow my own advice, and FOLLOW THE MONEY...the trail is very disturbing.

1. John Hall, under the guise of being PRO-LABOR has been taking quite a bit of money from the very unions that harrass the grassroots at NRC meetings, and are openly very pro-nuclear and very supportive of granting Entergy their requested license renewal. These include:

Operating Engineers Union Pro Nuclear, with direct ties to CASEnergy which is funed by none other than NEI has donated $10,500 to John Hall.

Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $9,000

Plumbers/Pipefitters Union $6,000

Carpenters & Joiners Union Who regularly FLOOD NRC meetings with their membership to intimadate those against License Renwal have donated $5,000

Now, it is obvious that some might say it is unfair to hold John Hall to these high standards, so I took the liberty of looking into some of his other donors, and many of them are NOT SO GREEN once you get past the pretty veneer. A couple of these include:

The Blackstone Group-one of their holdings is Allied Waste Industries. As the old saying goes, you are as green as where you invest your money. We can argue about how clean waste haulers are, so will let everyone do their own research of various and assorted violations.

Then we have the Renco Group, and rather than address this issue myself, shall share what is found on Wikipedia. This is not the kind of donor one would think Congressman John Hall would be courting.

Renco Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Renco Group is a holding company controlled by Ira Rennert. It owned AM General, maker of the Hummer SUV, until a recent deal handed control to Rennert's neighbor, Ronald Perelman. Another Renco subsidiary, U.S. Magnesium, is accused of polluting the Great Salt Lake, and other Renco companies are accused of pollution in Missouri. The Renco Group owns mills and mines around the United States and in South America. Pollution problems at the company's properties have sparked public outcries, environmental lawsuits, and hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental penalties and fines.

Not sure the Grassroots can afford Congressman John Hall's brand of environmental stewardship.

We Are Being Monitored By Entergy, But Not Allowed To See Data

In my usual fashion, I am up late, and cruising the Internet looking for dirt on Entergy, and to be specific, on Indian Point. With only 13 days left to file contentions, our time for raising concerns if fast slipping away, so time is of the essence. I saw an old article (not that old) in Nuclear News on Environmental Monitoring at Indian Point, and thought I would have a closer look at it.

The Environmental Monitoring is not at Indian Point, but rather in certain communities located close to the plant (as in PEEKSKILL). Think we all know, that a company is not going to invest hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars into Environmental Monitoring-which is a polite way of not saying HEALTH MONITORING without good reason. Such as they are worried about levels of RADIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS that are escaping from the plant. Even more disturbing, it looks at if the monitoring equipment is relative close to my home. Talk about slamming home the fact we all live in the PEAK FATALITY ZONE.

As you might imagine, this information had my full attention, so I began to give the article a much closer read. As I approached the end of the article, I found what I consider very disturbing, if not even ALARMING news. Entergy feels they have the right to monitor OUR EXPOSURES, but NOT RELEASE the information to us. The question and answer as it appeared in the article:

Does the public have any involvement in offsite radiation monitoring?

The answer is no, not currently. When considering public involvement, it’s important to think about how the information would be received by someone who has limited knowledge of what the information represents.

God Forbid us dumb old folks in Peekskill should see the results of Environmental Monitoring being done ON US...talk about being human guinea pig in a sick and twisted Entergy Experiment conducted on behalf of either themselves, the NRC or the NEI. LEt me guess, 50 years after we are all dead and gone, many of us dying needless painful deaths from man/nuclear caused cancers those reports will be released for public review and scrutiny? Story

Entergy To Add More Sirens to Failed System

Entergy has announced plans to add new sirens to their failed Emergency Notification Sirens in the hopes of getting FEMA to approve the system...this after their needless cutting down and trimming of trees FAILED TO DO THE TRICK. In a related news item, FUSE USA have been granted a hearing on ground contamination and siren issues that will be held via telephone on December 21st, beginning at 1 PM. If you are interested in listening into this hearing, or want to participate, please send and email to fuse_usa@yahoo.com

Owner of Indian Point nuclear plants to add sirens to new system

By JIM FITZGERALD Associated Press Writer

7:34 PM EST, November 15, 2007

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The owners of the Indian Point nuclear power plants will augment their new emergency siren system with about a dozen more sirens in an attempt to satisfy federal regulators that the system is loud enough, officials said Thursday.

The siren system is meant to alert residents within 10 miles when there is a major problem at either of the two reactors in Buchanan, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had declared in September that the new system, which was ordered by Congress, did not meet the loudness standards originally promised by Entergy Nuclear, the plants' owner: 60 decibels in low-population areas and 70 decibels in high-population areas. Full Story

BREAKING NEWS...Entergy's Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Funds Inadequate

Just in from the fine folks at the the Rutland Herald, Entergy's Decommissioning Fund for the Vermont Yankee plant is WOEFULLY inadequate...how inadequate you ask?

If Entergy's License Renewal Application is denied, it will take a minimum of FIFTEEN years, with the reactor in mothballs for the funds to become available to begin the Decommissioning Process.

More alarming, is that FUSE USA has raised Decommissioning Fund inadequacy as a very serious contention in their filings to stop the wrongful license renewal of the trouble plagued and failing Indian Point reactors in Buchanan New York.

What we are beginning to see here, is that Entergy's financial planning is fatally flawed, that the owner of over 10 percent of America's aging fleet of crumbling reactors does not have enough funds to decommission ANY OF THEM! This disturbing and troubling news takes on far more serious implications in light of Entergy's bid to spin their deregulated reactors off into a new company, thus creating yet another layer of protection between Entergy the parent company, and the various Limited Liability Dummy Corporations created to be responsible for the NRC licenses.

Article published Nov 15, 2007

Study: Yankee can't afford shutdown

VERNON — If Vermont Yankee nuclear plant shut down today, or even in 2012 when its federal license expires, there would not be enough money in its decommissioning fund to pay for it to be dismantled and disposed of safely. The plant would have to be essentially mothballed for 12 to 15 years for its stock market-invested trust fund to build so there was enough money to dismantle it, Entergy Nuclear engineer David McElwee told the Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel Tuesday evening.

Read Full Article

Entergy Propaganda-How Low Can They Go?

I was reading a letter put up on the IPSEC list by Marilyn Elie addressed to Mayor Bloomberg wherein she sings the GREEN PRAISES of the mayor, and then encourages him to speak up against the License Renewal of Entergy's failing Indian Point. So, I decided to so a GOOGLE search on Mr. Bloomberg's green record, and got waylayed along the way when I stumbled across a devious Propaganda Trick being played on the general public by Entergy on the radio station WVOX.

For those who fall into the camp of innocent and naive who are wanting to live a greener, friendlier life, who are searching for enlightenment, there are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing looking to prey upon their innocence, lead them astray into the dark abyss. It's called GREEN WASHING, and many companies including Entergy are stooping to ever lower lows in spreading their propaganda out to the masses under the guise of educating the public. One of these sinister Propaganda machines is a wonderfully innocent sounding show on WVOX called, "Green On Energy" hosted by a supposed wonderfully GREEN HOST in one Mr. Lawrence Gottlieb who is described as an energy industry expert. This show, it is stated will be hosted on Westchester radio station WVOX, 1460 A.M., at 12 noon the first Wednesday of every month you can also listen to it live on wvox.com at that time.

Trying to give this show the benefit of the doubt, I at first IGNORED the fact that it is funded by Entergy, owner of the failing Indian Point reactors which are leaking tritium and strontium 90 into the Hudson River, killing men, women and children with cancer causing radiological contaminants spewed into the environment.

Then, I began looking at the list of GUESTS on the show, and became very suspicious.

First up was Ashok Gupta the air and energy program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He is better known among many in the anti-nuclear movement as someone who has been sucking up to the nuclear industry. This is disturbing, and puts a damper on Marilyn Elie's hopes of Mayor Bloomberg speaking out against Indian Point, seeing as Mr. Gupta is on the Mayor's Energy Task Force.

Third Way, another quest is very PRO NUCLEAR as has been reported in a previous article on GNB.

Of course, also on the show was the man that we in the anti-nuclear camp love to hate, one Patrick Moore, who was also mentioned in Marilyn Elie's letter to the Mayor.

"Green On Energy" was suddenly having a very Pro Nuclear STENCH attached to it as I read on further, and found yet another super Pro Nuclear guest in one Paul Genoa, and the show touted him as, "Paul Genoa is director of policy development for the Nuclear Energy Institute. N.E.I. is a Washington-based think tank and central repository for the latest information and research on nuclear energy — which is a technology being hailed by countries like India and China as their answer to the challenge of generating a lot of electricity without a lot of pollution."

Let's be clear...NEI is the Satan of the Nuclear Industry, a monolithic lobbying group under the guise of a think tank.

Shocked and dismayed, realizing I'd stumbled upon yet another example of how Entergy misleads and fools the public, I decided to check up on the host of the show, our dear Mr. Lawrence Gottlieb! Better known in some circles as Larry Gottlieb, the same Larry Gottlieb who has a LONG TRACK RECORD as Entergy's Communications Director!

So, under the quise of a Green Energy show, Entergy has been trotting out our dear Mr. Larry Gottlieb to spew forth Entergy and the nuclear industry's pro nuclear message to the masses! Shame on WVOX for playing along with this tasteless sham.

FUSE USA Seeking Co-Signers For Petition

Friday, November 9, 2007

FUSE USA Seeking Petition Co-Signers

Hi All:

As some of you know, and some do not, I have been working very hard on the issue of Indian Point, trying to either A) stop it's relicensing for a period of 20 more years, or B) if said plant is relicensed, have some of the serious safety issues addressed before it is relicensed. (Examples would include for instance the strontium and tritium leaks on the Indian Point site that are finding their way into the ground water, and into the Hudson River, lack of any mention in the Environmental Report of Refurbishment-even though Entergy has two reactor vessel heads on order, as well as health concerns related to Entergy's continued operation.)

Right now, I am putting the final touches on a Petition to Intervene, and Formal Request for a hearing that will be sent off to the NRC. Said Petition raises 17 Contentions specifically related to Indian Point 3, and I and FUSE USA are looking for a few people concerned with our environment to co-sign this petition today. Do apologize for such short notice, but sometimes time is of the essence. If you would like to support this effort by co-signing, all you need to do is send your name and address for inclusion. Send it by the end of the day to roycepenstinger@aol.com Also, please feel free too forward this email to any and all of your friends that might be interested in supporting this important cause.

If you would like to read a copy of the Petition, please email me off list, and I'll be happy to send it off to you.

Respectfully,

Sherwood Martinelli
FUSE USA

Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA Files Formal Request for Extension of Time

Press Release

Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA has just filed a Formal Request for and Extension of Time to file Petitions to Intervene, and Requests for Hearing in Entergy's License Renewal Application Process. This is the second such request filed, with the first one successful in moving the deadline back until November 30th, 2007.

The Formal Request for and Extension became necessary when Sherwood Martinelli of FUSE USA ran into numerous difficulties in gaining access to necessary documents needed to review Entergy's License Renewal Application for Indian Point. Many of these difficulties are a result of the DOE and NRC review processes that greatly slows their ability to make documents public in a timely fashion.

For a copy of the Formal Filing please email fuse_usa@yahoo.com

Ownership Change At Indian Point During License Renewal Process!

First, we here at Green Nuclear Butterfly saw this one coming...Entergy is going to spin off five of its Non-Regulated reactors into a brand new venture.

Now, this brings up a whole lot of questions for us as relates to License Renewal, both here, and in Vermont...any attorney's out in the audience care to give us a read on this fast breaking news story? Does this significantly change Entergy's pending License Renewal Application. Would they have to start all over at square one, or does the fact they are going to maintain 50 percent ownership keep things kosher with the NRC...what am I asking here, the NRC could care less what effects this action will ultimately have, they only care about rubber stamping the process.

Entergy to spin off five nuclear plants

http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSN0564678520071106

By Lisa Lee and Matt Daily

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Entergy Corp (ETR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the second-largest U.S. nuclear power generator, said on Monday it would spin off five nuclear plants into a new company in a bid to capitalize on rising power prices for nuclear generation.

The new company, which will be spun off in a tax-free deal, would have nearly 5,000 megawatts of generating capacity, located largely in the U.S. Northeast, which has some of the highest power prices in the country.

Entergy also plans to form a 50-50 joint venture with the new company to run and operate the nuclear plants, whose prices are not regulated the way other utility plants' are.

After the spin-off of the nuclear plants, planned for the third quarter of 2008, Entergy would consist of five electric utility subsidiaries across four states and the stake in the new unit.

The U.S. nuclear industry foresees a resurgence driven largely by expectations that the federal government will create new rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions that are blamed for global warming. Nuclear generating plants do not emit the greenhouse gases that fossil-fuel plants do.

Chief Executive Wayne Leonard does not see the new stand-alone nuclear company building any new nuclear plants. "I can't imagine," he told Reuters at an industry conference on Monday in Orlando, Florida.

But the new company could be ripe to make purchases or be an acquisition target. If it were to pursue the acquisition path, Leonard could see the new company buying natural gas plants.

As for new nuclear building plans for the regulated Entergy, Leonard said the process has been "slow and frustrating," adding that "getting a firm price on what it will cost has been difficult."

Entergy had previously said it was considering a spin-off, joint venture or sale of the nuclear plants, and Leonard said he remained open to selling a stake in the new company.

"There is no shortage of interest," he said.

The new company spun off by Entergy would have debt totaling $4.5 billion, a director at Fitch Ratings said at the conference. That debt would be "not commensurate with investment grade," Fitch's Justin Bowersock said.

Leonard told Reuters he did not expect the new company to receive investment grade rating, adding that the nuclear company could have been configured to get one but that "it didn't make economic sense."

Entergy said the new company would target earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2 billion by 2012 based on an average power price of about $95 per megawatt hour. That would leave the business $500 million to $1 billion annually for acquisitions or share repurchases.

Leonard said he expected the new company to have double-digit growth, and sooner or later become a business with $20 billion in market capitalization.

"In the not too distant future," he said.

The plants included in the new company would be the Pilgrim station in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the Fitzpatrick and Indian Point plants in Oswego and Buchanan, New York; the Palisade plant in Covert, Michigan; and the Vermont Yankee plant in Vernon, Vermont.

The remaining Entergy company expects to announce a new share buyback plan "right out of the box" after the spin-off is completed, Leonard said.

Entergy said it expected 2008 earnings to be between $6.50 and $6.90 per share. Analysts' average forecast is for earnings of $6.87 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Third-quarter earnings rose 19 percent, helped by higher wholesale power prices and recent rate increases.

Net income was $461.2 million, or $2.30 per share, up from $388.9 million, or $1.83 per share, a year earlier.

The earnings-per-share gain of nearly 26 percent lagged the 27 percent the company forecast on October 17.

Entergy shares rose $5.46, or 4.6 percent, to close at $124.15 on the New York Stock Exchange, outpacing the 0.5 percent gain in the broader Standard & Poor's Utilities index.

FUSE USA Accepting Co-Signers On EIS Scoping Comments

FUSE USA (Friends United for Sustainable Energy) http://www.fuseusa.org will be putting their EIS Scoping Comments out for Co-Signers this upcoming weekend. If you, or your organization would like to be a co-signer on this important document, please send your information to uraniumhotspot@aol.com no later than Monday October 8th, 2007.

For those wanting to review the document, we hope to have it available for review on Sunday...it will only be sent out to those who have been previous vetted, as we do not want Entergy seeing the document until after it has been accepted by the NRC.

If A Radio Show Upsets Folks Over At The NEI Blog, We Need to Give our Readers A Chance to Listen To It!

I was over on the NEI Blog looking at the daily drivel, and it seems Eric has his panties all in a knot over a PBS radio show that aired out in Seattle...obviously, if the show upsets NEI, more of our readers are going to want to give it a listen.

KUOW Program Archive

The Conversation

10/3/2007

Nuclear power plant in Cattenom,
France.

Is Nuclear the New Green Power?

RealAudio

MP3: High Low

With virtually no greenhouse gas emissions (A major nuclear industry lie), nuclear reactors are touted by some as part of the solution to global warming. (Let's see some studies on Nuclear Energies Thermal Discharge contributions to Global Warming.) Over the next 15 months, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects a tidal wave of permit applications for up to 28 new reactors. Some leading environmentalists, including James Lovelock, the founder of the Gaia idea, support the idea of nuclear energy as a solution to global warming. (Curious, does James also support child murder? How many birth defects have been caused by the effluents from nuclear reactors?) Is nuclear energy really clean energy? Does the threat of global warming overshadow the threat of nuclear waste? The nuclear industry gets about $9 billion a year in federal subsidies (Best up that figure significantly), trailing only oil and coal in federal energy aid. How are new nukes different from old nukes? (The public in host communities have far fewer protections due to greatly reduced Safety Margins.) Do you think public money should go into building them?

Also, astronomers are trying to measure light pollution by asking you to look at the constellations. We'll find out how that works.

Guests:
Thomas Cochran is senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
John Holdren is Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at Harvard University.
Dennis Ward is an astronomer with University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.

Related Links:

'Nuclear Plant Surge Coming,' Christian Science Monitor

'Nuclear Falling Out,' Grist

'Our Nuclear Lifeline,' Reader's Digest (PDF)