Everyone Have a Great Memorial Day Weekend

Just a quick note to wish all of our readers a Great Memorial Day weekend, and to remind you to honor our troops in harms way.

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.

Paul Newman Needs To Watch Martin Sheen's Greenpeace Video

This video was found over on You Tube, and sure any semblance to Indian Point's degrated and failing nuclear reactors was/is completely deliberate. Paul Newman needs to endorsement of the plant, and show it where the sun does not shine. Since he seems to LOVE Indian Point so very much, feels it so abundantly safe, how about he move himself and his family in a bit closer to the plant, place himself in a position of having to rely upon a non working evacuation plan, or worse, sheltering in place.

Committee To Bridge The Gap

Paul, We Hardly Knew You!

That must make it OK then... I feel all better now! This from a man who would never endorse alternative fuels in racing for fear of losing his oil company sponsors... This from a man who endorsed John Anderson, forsaking Barry Commoner, to give us Ronald Reagan... This from a man who allowed his lawyer Leo Nevas to built a three story monstrosity on the once charming little island in the middle of the river in downtown Westport, CT... where it should have been a park! This against ALL the town's people opposition... This from a man who ran much beloved local Deli owner Julius Gold out of town, Julius who did all the heavy lifting on his salad dressing!His daughter Nell is Newman's only saving grace... If it wasn't for her, there would be no "organic" division at Newman's Own... Newman is "not" the man you see in his films! Boycott Newman's Own? Yes! Boycott ALL his non-organic products!!! Send Paul Newman a clear message. Rock The Reactors is today considering a picket sign vigil in front of his restaurant in Westport... Anyone interested in joining me, just say the word, let's set a date and time!

"Paul Newman has long been a nuclear industry supporter—he even has an NEI sticker on his race car. A few years ago, he tried (fortunately unsuccessfully) to convince Environmental Defense head Fred Krupp to support Yucca Mountain by inviting Krupp to his apartment to meet with NEI… In other words, this is nothing new.I’ve been boycotting Newman’s Own for years."
~ Michael Mariotte NIRS

So, The Parade of Has Been Stars Embracing Indian Point Begins

Once famous, and even respectable Paul Newman of salad dressing and movie fame has sold out to Entergy, and it would be interesting to know how much money was tossed where for his endorsement of Indian Point as the parade of wealthy, elite outside the circle of death, once big movie stars trot in for a short visit at the plant, and to give news hounds their five minutes with a washed up former somebody. In short, it's time for our community to boycott Newman's Own.

USA Today article

Do Groups Seeking To Close Indian Point Need A New Coalition?

Everyone knows the three main organizations *supposedly* involved in the Indian Point fight, the players that get all the money (in donations) to fight the good fight of pushing for closure of Entergy's Indian Point plant. IPSEC is the key group when you want to talk about a coalition of groups working towards a common goal, with Clearwater and Riverkeeper the big 501 3C's that hold the fund raisers, put up a good front, and ask you for a donation, encourage you to take out a yearly membership to support the cause...question is, are any of these groups doing anything of much good, are they really fighting to close down Indian Point, or just giving the public and press lip service? What have they really done to MOBILIZE THE MASSES for this fight?

Lisa Rainwater seems to be the go to woman when the press wants a quote from the anti Indian Point forces, and from what GNB can tell, she wants Indian Point closed, is sincere in her personal beliefs. However, is Riverkeeper anti-nuclear, do they, and will they openly call for the closure of all 104 aging, degradated nuclear reactors now operating in America? With Indian Point slated to submit their application for license renewal this year (which they did on April 30th) why wasn't Indian Point the number one item on Riverkeeper's 2007 agenda of important tasks for the year? Are they anti-nuclear, or just a NIMBY organization? In fact, Indian Point was not even on the list of the six most important items on Riverkeeper's to do list this year.

If Riverkeeper is to be a leader in our community's fight to close down Indian Point, if they are going to be seen as a protector of our Hudson River, of the nation's rivers, they need to do two things publicly. First, much like the Sierra Club has done, as an organization they must take an anti-nuclear stand, and secondly, they as an organization must publicly state their only goal as relates to Entergy, is closure of Indian Point. Riding the fence, playing both sides to the middle in the name of keeping the donations pouring in by hammering only on safety issues related to the Hudson River is inadequate.

Clearwater ranks right up there with Riverkeeper. Can someone explain to the GNB why Indian Point was kept off the agenda at last months meeting with unions on what to do about Global Warming? Can someone verify the rumor that Manna Jo removed Indian Point from the agenda because Eliot Spitzer wanted it that way, because he needed Indian Point out of the news? If Clearwater wants to shut down Indian Point, what is their battle strategy other than praying for Congressman John Hall's doomed to failure legislation seeking an ISA? Will Clearwater's new leader (soon to be voted in) be luke warm when it comes to the fight to close down Indian Point...it is GNB's understanding, that only one of the three people being considered is strongly anti Indian Point, willing to do anything it takes to stop relicensing.

Why did the board of Clearwater deny the citizens a chance to sign a Citizen Petition For Rulemaking at this past weekend's festival, and will history repeat itself at their BIG Clearwater Festival next month? Has the current board of Clearwater made the organization obsolete, nothing more than a group capable of holding social events, and bake sales? Are they so worried about GETTING ALONG with everyone, including the enemy, that they are no longer effective as and activist organization in protecting the environment and its citizens here in the Hudson Valley? The public in and around Indian Point should demand three things from Clearwater before they continue supporting them. First, a public proclamation from their board that Clearwater the organization is anti nuclear as an organization. Secondly, a proclamation calling for full and complete closure and Decommissioning of Indian Point reactors 1,2 and 3. Lastly, a detailed strategy plan to fight Entergy's License Renewal Application. These items should be out to the public before we support the rumored fund raising concert planned with Jackson Browne.

Then we have IPSEC. The problem as Green Nuclear Butterfly sees it with IPSEC is very simple. It is impossible to accomplish much of anything when your bylaws require consensus among ALL MEMBERS of the coalition before you can move forward with any action, sign onto any petition as a group. Even more discouraging, how many times is the dissenting voice in IPSEC Clearwater and/or Riverkeeper? The battle has been joined, the NRC's time clock for relicensing started on April 30th, and we need a coalition that can be decisive and move fast. Building consensus is not something that happens quickly, if at all. Foot soldiers in the fight to close down Indian Point cannot be deployed quickly if everyone is quibbling over small details and singular words, trying to find 100 percent consensus on each and every issue and petition.

No one is saying these groups in their time have not served their purpose...the question is, are any of them capable of doing the job now at hand? Can we rely on a Model T to halt relicensing, or do we need a new, sleek, streamlined coalition that can attack fast and often to slow down the Entergy relicensing juggernaut. Can an organization effectively fight the relicensing of Indian Point if they as an organization are not willing to publicly go on the record as being anti-nuclear, and fully in support of closure and decommissioning of the Indian Point facility and its three reactors? Green Nuclear Butterfly believes it is time for change, time for a new coalition if we are to stop Indian Point's attempt to win a 20 year license renewal. Calling for and ISA is a dead strategy, we need to move on to something else that just might work, and IPSEC, Riverkeeper and Clearwater all seem unwilling or unable to abandon that losing strategy.

We have 22-30 months from April 30th to stop Indian Points License Renewal Application. We are already behind in the fight, do not have our boats in the proverbial water and up to cruising speed. For this reason, Green Nuclear Butterfly believes all the various assorted groups in this fight need a new coalition, one with clear leadership that has the ability to make quick decisions in a timely manner, rather than having to wait for consensus among all members. If you and/or your group agree with this, if you think the time has come for a new modernized coalition, please email roycepenstinger@aol.com expressing your interest. If there is enough interest, and organizational meeting will be held in early June.

If We Do Not Learn From History, We Are Doomed To Repeat It.

The question then is this...can we afford to repeat Chernobyl on and even grander scale with Indian Point?

The Ugly Historical Truth of A Fast Moving Radiological Event

Many of us live in the ten mile circle of death around Indian Point. Millions more live in the 50 mile circle of effect...after Chernobyl, and to this day, there is a 50 mile exclusion zone around the reactor site where no human lives. The NRC would have us believe we are safe sheltered in our homes, even if a nuclear accident hits the facility...do you believe them? Are we as a community willing to take that risk? The aftermath and ongoing effects from Chernobyl should see us state a resounding no, should see us in mass rising to demand the closure of Indian Point.

If a Terrorist Attack Or Significant Nuclear Accident Occurs At Indian Point, Will You Be The Slave Labor Forced To Remediate The Accident?

Because of its far reaching and troublesome content, the You Tube video featured in this post could have been titled, "The Scariest Video Ever Made", but I am dealing with what it could mean for the five counties surrounding Indian Point, and what we as citizens could be forced to do. Watch the video, imagine a serious nuclear accident at Indian Point, then ask yourselves, "Would the government, our president, force those sheltered in the contaminated area to clean it up?" We all know the answer, which is why Indian Point must go.

Click here to watch video.

Preparing For A Nuclear Incident or Terrorist Attack on Indian Point-Our Right To Bear Arms

Looking,somewhat tongue and cheek,at our right to bear arms. How many of you are aware of the fact that in the case of a nuclear incident or terrorist attack, the first thing to be suspended will be the rule of law?

Leave no doubt, when a significant nuclear incident or terrorist attack strikes Entergy's Indian Point reactors, or one of the other nuclear reactors here in America the rule of law will cease to exist. Chaos will rule supreme, and it will be every man,woman and child for themselves as people try merely to survive...in short we will be a part of pure Anarchy, many first responders, members of law enforcement, the blue canaries will be dead and gone. Our own government is spending billions of dollars telling us to be ready, be prepared. Part of being prepared in a worst case scenario is SELF DEFENSE, and that means high fired weapons ready at hand.

Which is what NRC, DHS and all levels of government fail to tell you about, do not even want to discuss. They do not want us being ready to defend what is ours with heavy fire power if the need arises, and in the wake of a significant nuclear event, or terrorist attack that need will arise, and your family's ability to survive if ordered sheltered in place (which you will be) may very well depend on the fire power and ammunition you have readily at hand. If someone(s) desperate for food and/or shelter tries to break in, tries to take what is yours, do you really think trying to dial 911 is going to get you any help in the midst of a nuclear disaster?

Weapons and Ammunition sales should be the fastest growth industry there is around nuclear power plants and related facilities. A private dwelling and its citizens should not have just one weapon, they need several, at least one if not more for every member of the family, and lots of ammo. Don't think boxes here, think cases or pallet loads of ammo...after all, if it becomes every neighborhood for itself, you may have to arm your neighbors as well. Start thinking neighborhood watch on steroids.

A semi automatic 12 gauge, or a 22 pistol is not going to be adequate, you need heavier equipment for this job, and it's highly suggested you attend the next major gun show that comes to town...sure, folks like Mayor Bloomberg would prefer a public without ability of self defense, but then, he has his own personal security detail, all of them adequately armed and dangerous.

Start off with say a 9mm Glock, as it is a gun with a serious bite to it, and with ease you can tuck one into a shoulder holster with little trouble...you have to think Rambo here, be prepared with more than one gun at any given time, as you never know who will be busting down your door in a nuclear incident, and trust me, the odds are they will be armed, and more than willing too use deadly force to take what is yours. A 9mm Glock can be found online, most suppliers ready too UPS it right to your front door.

For distance shooting with accuracy, you might want to seriously consider a high grade Sniper Rifle with scope. When accuracy counts, you need to be prepared. If someone is taking pot shots at you in times of civil unrest, you have to have the right tools for the job of protecting you, your family, and your property...after all, what if someone is trying to steal the vehicle you have at the ready for a last ditch effort at evacuation? Are you willing to let your family perish because someone bigger and stronger than you decides they want to make off with the family hummer?

This article is to some degree tongue and cheek, but there is a certain sad truth in its presentation. Is this what we want in Westchester County? Is allowing Indian Point to remain open worth walking down this path painted before you? Just how prepared are you for the aftermath of a nuclear incident. Perhaps more importantly, how prepared do you want to have to be? With Indian Point up and running, we are a target, and if we are a target, we have to be prepared for the worst as we all have learned from 911.

Your Life Depends On Seeing Beyond NRC Lies...Tell Entergy To Leave Our Community While You Still Can

Another video Entergy, NRC and our Federal Government don't want you too see, as it shows the truth of what a nuclear incident means....76 communities GONE in and around Chernobyl, so starting ticking off our own starting with Buchanan. Peekskill, Ossining, Briarcliff, Pleasantville, and the list would go on and on...WAKE UP PEOPLE, or some of you will die from the continued operation of Indian Point.

First Responders-Are You Ready To DIE For Entergy's Profits at Indian Point?

First responders...are you willing to DIE for Entergy's bottom line profits by keeping Indian Point running for 20 more years? How many of you know, that first responders to a nuclear incident at referred to as Blue Canary's?

The Reality of Nuclear Incident At Indian Point-Visit to Chernobyl 2006

Nuclear Energy, Vital, Safe and Secure? Indian Point is leaking tritium and strontium 90 into the ground water, contaminating the Hudson River, killing fish. Cancer rates are up, and our children are being born with birth defects. Meanwhile, our community sits idly by waiting for others to do the work needed to deny Entergy's Indian Point reactors a license renewal for 20 more years. At what cost your apathy?

Perhaps watching this video will wake up the activist in all of you. The children at the very end of this video could be your children, your grandchildren, all because you refused to take a stand.

Tritium Leaks At Ten Reactors...NRC Trying To Ignore Issue In Name of Relicensing

As I wade through Entergy's bogus Application for License Renewal, it is apparent the document is deliberately vague and ambiguous. More troublesome, the document is dishonest and more than a bit evasive as Entergy tries to stack the deck in favor of winning another 20 years of operation at the aging, trouble plagued reactors. As one example, in the EIS they claim no ill environmental effects from plant refurbishments, as none are planned. Websters defines refurbish as to brighten up, renovate. Renovate is defined as fixing up, making new, restoring to a earlier higher quality state. How can Entergy have an adequate management and control system (as is required to get license renewal) without any envisioned plans for refurbishment of aging sections/parts of the plant? How can they fix leaks without REFURBISHMENT? Someone is lying to us, or the NRC is getting ready to sweep all tritium and strontium 90 leaks at reactor facilities under the carpet, and not require that the leaks be located/found and repaired. Sadly we all know the writing on the wall...another general finding that EXCUSES the licensee from the rules.

Tritium leaks are just the latest perfect example that reactors are aging, starting to crumble and suffer the long term effects of being over worked...these man made machines were designed for a productive life of 40 years, but in the name of a Nuclear Renaissance, the industry and our government are trying to squeeze more life out of them, as a renaissance of the nuclear industry requires them to maintain market share here in America during the transition to new AP1000 reactors, which have little chance of being up on the grid in a major capacity before 2030. The problem is, tritium leaks are spreading, with ten percent of our nation's reactors now experiencing this problem.

So far, the NRC's mechanism to deal with the problem was too form a committee/task force which put out a report stating A) that reactors are experiencing inadvertent leaks of tritium (and strontium 90), but B) said leaks do not pose any IMMEDIATE HEALTH RISKS to members of the public. That catch phrase, no immediate danger, has been the mantra of the nuclear industry from almost day one, but is a fake assurance, the proverbial red herring meant to appease stakeholder communities, provide them with a false sense of security. If you are about to get hit by a train, that is and Immediate Risk, but if cancer causing tritium has entered your body, and the cancer will take ten years to appear, you are in NO IMMEDIATE DANGER, which is why the nuclear industry and the NRC trot out that same old beaten down and worn out mantra of theirs, and surprisingly, the public buys into it.

These leaks do not get better without a refurbishment plant that includes a detailed plan to locate, identify and repair the leaks...according to Indian Points License Renewal Application, there will be no ill effects to the off site environment from refurbishment, as they PLAN NONE. This can only mean one of two things. First, the company is lying to us, hiding their refurbishment plans until after they have won relicensing of the reactors, as many other facilities have done...IE, at a Duke facility, they conveniently did not notice cracks in the fuel nozzles until one month after being granted a 20 year license renewal. The other reality...Entergy and the NRC are prepared to let licensees all over America leak tritium into our local water supplies and sewers for another 20 years, with no requirement that said leaks be located, identified and repaired/fixed. Either reality is unacceptable.

Some articles/links to tritium leak issues:

BRACEVILLE, Illinois — After higher than normal tritium levels were found in groundwater near the Braidwood nuclear reactor, 60 miles southwest of Chicago, Exelon Corporation,owner of the reactors, have bought out one property owner and is presently negotiating financial settlements with 14 other neighbors. The high levels of radiation are due in part to a valve break that occurred in 1998 when three million gallons of tritium-contaminated water leaked beneath the reactor. Four leaks have occurred at Braidwood between 1996 and 2003.

A tritium leak that began in Dec. 2004 at Dresden, east of Morris, Ill., may still be on-going. Levels of tritium 25 times the allowable drinking water limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were found in a test well near the center of Dresden property, where up to 650,000 gallons of contaminated water leaked from underground pipes. Records show 500,000 picocuries per liter. The EPA allows 20,000 picocuries of tritium per liter. The full extent of the ground water contamination is unknown.

Inside concrete vaults set into the ground where several valves are located, employees at Byron found standing water with tritium levels four times above the EPA limit. Workers are taking environmental samples and engineers are working to determine if tritium has leaked outside the vaults. NRC-approved amounts of tritium-tainted water are normally allowed to drain into the Rock River. — WBBM News Radio,Chicago; & (Chicago) Herald News, Feb. 16, 2005

Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), owner of Palo Verde’s three reactors, notified the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality March 4, that a tritium leak may impact the groundwater. A hole 13-feet deep was dug near reactor Unit 3 to obtain samples of water in a pipe vault. The vault pipe comes from a network of underground pipes beneath the reactor — from whence the leak originates. APS assures the public there is no groundwater contamination although levels in samples are more than three times the NRC-approved limit. Information is unavailable about the extent of area contamination.

HADDAM, Conn. — The NRC learned in October 2005 that the “decommissioned” Connecticut Yankee nuclear site was leaking radioactive water from its waste fuel cooling pool that had contained as many as 1,000 fuel rods. The fuel has since been moved to on-site dry cask storage. NRC inspectors took samples of the cooling water and concrete to determine the extent of the leak. No one knows when the leak began but a few gallons of contaminated water per day breached a 6-foot-thick concrete wall. The water contains cesium, cobalt, strontium and tritium. An NRC spokeswoman repeated the industry’s mantra, “No danger to the public,”when talking about the contamination.
— Hartford Courant, Nov. 4 & 8, 2005

BUCHANAN, New York — The NRC announced that a leak at Indian Point Unit 2 stopped more than four months after it was first discovered on August 22. Local officials were not notified for three weeks. The leak sprang from the 400,000-gallon waste fuel cooling pool. At worst, the leak amounted to two liters per day. Entergy Nuclear Northeast drilled wells to determine the extent of the contamination. Six on-site wells contained contaminated water, with one registering seven times the EPA’s approved threshold for drinking water. Radioactive water is known to have moved into a storm sewer and from there into the Hudson River. The source of the leak is still unidentified — Journal News, January 7, 2006; Times Herald-Record, December 21, 2005.

Groundwater Contamination (Tritium) at Nuclear Plants
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/grndwtr-contam-tritium.html
Tritium is a mildly radioactive type of hydrogen that occurs both naturally and during the operation of nuclear power plants. Water containing tritium and other radioactive substances is normally released from nuclear plants under controlled, monitored conditions the NRC mandates to protect public health and safety. The NRC recently identified several instances of unintended tritium releases, and all available information shows no threat to the public. Nonetheless, the NRC is reviewing these incidents to ensure nuclear plant operators have taken appropriate action and to determine what, if any, changes are needed to the agency's rules and regulations. The following information provides further basic information on tritium and other isotopes released from nuclear power plants, outlines the status of the unintended tritium leaks and the NRC's actions. Unintended...what a nice way of putting it. No threat to public...tritium is known to cause both cancer, and birth defects.

Plant Sites with Groundwater Contamination

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/tritium/sites-grndwtr-contam.html

Recent events at several nuclear power plants have highlighted a concern with tritium contamination of groundwater, as a result of unplanned releases, such as those due to equipment degradation. For example, at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, unintended releases of tritium through a crack in the spent fuel pool concrete support wall may have been the cause of the elevated levels of tritium in groundwater in the area immediately surrounding the plant's spent fuel pool. In another instance, at the Braidwood nuclear power plant, unintended releases of tritium from a number of vacuum breaker valves at the plant caused elevated levels of tritium in groundwater in unrestricted, public areas.

http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/idmws/doccontent.dll?library=PU_ADAMS^PBNTAD01&ID=061370067

During the latter part of 2005(Sept-Dec 2005), IPEC identified an onsite Tritium ground water contamination issue in the Unit 2 transformer yard. The exact source is currently unknown and under investigation but may be associated with a small hairline crack discovered on the Unit 2 spent fuel pool shield wall (southern pool wall). As such IPEC has implemented an aggressive onsite and offsite ground water monitoring program to fully characterized the onsite contamination, to quantify and determine its onsite and offsite radiological impact to the workers, public and surrounding environment, and to aid in identification and ultimate repair of any leaking systems, structures or components affected. So, if they are planning the ULTIMATE REPAIR of the leaks, how can they claim no refurbishments are planned for Indian Point during the 20 year relicense period?

Nuke leaks taint Hudson
By ABBY LUBY
The Record Review
March 17, 2006

http://www.committeetobridgethegap.org/stories/nuketaint.html

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission suspects that an uncontrolled release of tritium is going into the Hudson River. The leak was found near the discharge canal at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, situated on the east bank of the river. Also last week, a monitoring well was leaking small amounts of strontium 90, considered a more dangerous radioactive isotope, but the amount leaked was not enough to pose a threat to public health, said officials.

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said that the tritium leak indicates a migration under the discharge canal and into the river. "The conjecture is that it’s possible it [tritium] would be flowing to the river, and regardless of the amount involved, it’s considered an uncontrolled release." If it is an UNCONTROLLED RELEASE...one of many, where are the FiNES?

According to an NRC report, water was sampled in mid-February from the same well that had the highest concentration of tritium levels at 600,000 picocuries per liter of water, 30 times the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water limit of 20,000 picocuries per liter. That sample also showed a small amount of strontium 90, measured to be about 3 picocuries per liter. The EPA drinking water limit for strontium 90 is 8 picocuries per liter. At high levels, strontium 90 and tritium are cancer-causing agents.

Indian Point's Future-Cast Your Vote

Last I looked, America still claims to be a democracy, and those who actually vote tend to carry the most sway. With that thought in mind, decided to post a poll for the next week here on our blog to see who is paying attention, who is letting their voice be heard the loudest. The poll gives six scenarios for Indian Points future, and if you do not see your choice listed it, write it in by leaving a comment on this post. The results will be posted in a future article...so, make your own choice, and send your friends here to vote. Green Nuclear Butterfly wants to get a real handle on where stakeholders in our community are at when it comes to the relicensing of Indian Point, and being a betting man here, would guess Indian Point will flood the voting if they start seeing a lot of votes for categories they do not want to win.

Save The Cheerleader, Save The World

Last October, a new catch phrase was born... for those of you familiar with Rock The Reactors, it really strikes a responsive chord.

In episode 5 of 'Heroes", Hiro teleports himself from the future to the current New York city, to relay the message "Save The Cheerleader, Save The World" to another Hero, who has the ability to mimic all other Heroes.

The season finale of Heroes airs tomorrow night, Monday night. Many of us who have watched this show, relish it, because of moments like these...

Memorable quotes for"Heroes"
Parasite (2007)

Linderman: You see, I think there comes a time when a man has to ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning.

Nathan Petrelli: I'd like to think I have both.

Linderman: Can't be done. The two have very different paths. You see, to be truly happy, a man must live absolutely in the present. No thoughts of what's gone before, and no thought of
what's ahead. But, a life of meaning... A man is condemned to wallow in the past and obsess about the future.

Shutting down Indian Point is a lot more than just about facts and figures. It's about emotions, it's about right and wrong... it's about the Powers That Be threatening an entire valley, the entire population of New York city, with the possibility of another disaster... for a few electrons more.

Indian Point Leaks Too Small For Harm...So, A Gun Is Just A Hunk of Metal Till You Pull Trigger.

In a news article, we are being told/chastised by Indian Point and their parents, Entergy and the NRC that the tritium leaks at the plant are too small to cause harm. Small leaks have this habit of becoming LARGE LEAKS, especially when the neanderthals from Entergy are incapable and/or unwilling to FIND AND REPAIR them. Their assurances ring false, and the analogy in the title of this article rings true...Why not get Steets too point a gun at your face, and state, "don't worry, it's just a hunk of metal unless I pull the trigger."

If, as Entergy, NRC and the NEI would have us believe, nuclear reactors are ever so safe, then why is every other agency of our Federal Government spending billions of dollars preparing for the aftermath of a significant nuclear incident, and/or a terrorist attack on a nuclear reactor site. The two realities do not mesh, and we are being lied to...you can decide which version of the truth is real.

Indian Point report: Radioactive leaks too small for harm

By BRUCE GOLDING
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: May 19, 2007)
BUCHANAN - Radioactive contamination leaking from the Indian Point nuclear power plants into the Hudson River has not significantly increased radiation exposure to the public, according to a new report from the plants' owner.

The federally mandated annual report found small amounts of dangerous radioactive materials in the groundwater path leading to the river.

Radioactive contamination was discovered leaking underground from Indian Point in 2005 and last month was found in the plants' sewage. Federal officials have said the leaks were being addressed and posed no threat to the public.

The April 25 report from Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the company that owns and operates the plants, estimates that the maximum potential radiation dose from the leaks is a tiny fraction of the federal 3-millirem limit for annual total-body exposure to an adult through liquids.

Federal authorities estimate that a typical American is exposed to 360 millirem of radiation yearly.

Read rest of article here.

Entergy's Unmitigated Gall! They Claim Partial Credit in GEIS For Indian Point License Renewal For Saving America Bald Eagle

Can see the headline in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal now. Entergy and the nuclear industry have saved the American Bald Eagle from extinction. I spent yesterday going through the laborious task of reading the Indian Point Environmental Study attached to their Application for License Renewal. It was/is no surprise they claim no significant impacts would occur as a result of relicensing. Easy to do when you don't have to address leaks, spent fuel, a terrorist attack, or a non working Evacuation Plan.

However, even I was surprised at the unmitigated GALL of Entergy when I came across a passage in their report on endangered species. They posture for the readers, that one possible reason for the Bald Eagles come back, is the OPEN SPACE provide in this area because of Indian Points nuclear reactors. If we did not know it before, it is official now...Entergy has no shame.

Meanwhile, some of us need to file formal complaints with certain agencies regarding Indian Points killing of Short Sturgeons that are brutally sucked into the killing machines that are their water intake system. While we are at it, it is pointed out that Entergy claims not to have seen any other endangered species on their land, but nor do they admit to ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR THEM.

A**Holes Penn & Teller Even Bigger A**Holes Than Previously Thought!

PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!: NUKES, HYBRIDS & LESBIANS

Season 5, Episode 9: Nukes, Hybrids and Lesbians
http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/episodes.do

Penn and Teller take on nuclear power, hybrid cars, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and lesbians on a blind date, all within the same episode. We discover the bullshit behind keeping nuclear power down, the waste left behind by hybrid cars and the garbage clouding decisions to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Plus, two lesbians on a blind date road trip put their newfound relationship and a hybrid car to the test.

Watch preview trailer:
http://www.sho.com/site/video/player.do?video=/134/2007/134_s5_nukes2&seriesid=134

SCHEDULE: Click on the "remind me" link below if you would like an email reminder to watch. All times ET/PT.

Nukes, Hybrids and Lesbians 05/18/07 10:30 PM Showtime
Nukes, Hybrids and Lesbians 05/19/07 12:35 AM Showtime
Nukes, Hybrids and Lesbians 05/21/07 12:00 AM Showtime

Clips from show... see how Penn & Teller use two lesbians to dump on the Prius and hype nukes!

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=maulrat1967
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aHfVlA-ySuI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3p7ZGcrFrq0

Let Penn & Teller know what you think!
pressrequests@pennandteller.com

Read More about Penn and Teller's ridiculous reporting!
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/09/09/24222.php

After watching this show, every lesbian in America is going to want to own their own Prius... I suspect Penn & Teller did this to bring attention to the issues, make tongues wag... they'll come out in a few days and say: "Got you, fooled you good!" And if they don't? Same result... They're so over the top with it... it's giving sane opposition to the relicensing of old decrepit nuclear power plants a shot in the arm.

On YouTube someone calling themselves Fluos wrote: "By early 2002, 7 billion US dollars had been spent on the project which has made Yucca Mountain the most studied piece of geology in the world. Total cost is expected to be between 50 and 100 billion dollars. The cost to continue storing nuclear waste at their respective plants though is significantly greater, estimated to be 200 to 400 billion dollars."

What a waste of billions... and think of all the wind "turbines" we could have erected for that kind of cash...

Nuclear Attack Chaos-This Article Needs Printed in New York Times

I've recieved some rude and threatening emails since starting GNB, most of them following my articles about what a significant nuclear event or terrorist attack at Indian Point would be like in the aftermath. The central theme of those attacks centered around the allegation that I was fear mongering...well, perhaps you should read this very frightening article from the San Francisco Chronicle...anyone living within 50 miles of Indian Points antiquated reactors should make this a must read article.

Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack
Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city
James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, May 11, 2007

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/11/MNG2OPP22R1.DTL

As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension of some civil liberties.

Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order.

The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors in Washington for a day-long workshop.

The session, called "The Day After," was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program.

One of the participants, retired Vice Adm. Roger Rufe, is a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security who is currently designing the government's nuclear attack response plan.

The organizers of the nonpartisan project, Stanford's William Perry, a secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, and Harvard's Ashton Carter, a senior Defense Department official during the Clinton years, assumed the detonation of a bomb similar in size to the weapon that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II.

Such a weapon, with a force of around 10 to 15 kilotons, is small compared with most Cold War-era warheads, but is roughly the yield of a relatively simple bomb. That would be considerably more powerful and lethal than a so-called dirty bomb, which is a conventional explosive packed with some dangerous radioactive material that would be dispersed by the explosion.

The 41 participants -- including the directors of the country's two nuclear weapons laboratories, Homeland Security officials, a number of top military commanders and former government officials -- discussed how all levels of government ought to respond to protect the country from a second nuclear attack, to limit health problems from the radioactive fallout and to restore civil order. Comments inside the session were confidential, but a number of the participants described their views and the ideas exchanged.

A paper the organizers are writing, summarizing their recommendations, urges local governments and individuals to build underground bomb shelters, much as people did in the early days of the Cold War; encourages authorities who survive to prevent evacuation of at least some of the areas attacked for three days to avoid roadway paralysis and damage from exposure to radioactive fallout; and proposes suspending regulations on radiation exposure so that first responders would be able to act, even if that caused higher cancer rates.

"The public at large will expect that their government had thought through this possibility and to have planned for it," Carter said in an interview. "This kind of an event would be unprecedented. We have had glimpses of something like this with Hiroshima, and glimpses with 9/11 and with Katrina. But those are only glimpses."

Perhaps the most sobering issue discussed was the possibility of a chaotic, long-term crisis triggered by fears that the attackers might have more bombs. Such uncertainty could sow panic nationwide.

"If one bomb goes off, there are likely to be more to follow," Carter said. "This fact, that nuclear terrorism will appear as a syndrome rather than a single episode, has major consequences." It would, he added, require powerful government intervention to force people to do something many may resist -- staying put.

Fred Ikle, a former Defense Department official in the Reagan administration who authored a book last year urging attack preparation, "Annihilation from Within," said that the government should plan how it could restrict civil liberties and enforce a sort of martial law in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, but also have guidelines for how those liberties could be restored later.

That prospect underscored a central divide among participants at the recent meeting, several said.

Some participants argued that the federal government needs to educate first responders and other officials as quickly as possible on how to act even if transportation and communication systems break down, as seems likely, and if the government is unable to issue orders.

"There was a clear consensus that a nuclear bomb detonated in the United States or a friendly country would be an earth-shaking event, and we need to know how we will respond beforehand," said Ikle. "I wish we had started earlier, because this kind of planning can make an important difference."

But others said the meeting made it clear that the results of any attack would be so devastating and the turmoil so difficult to control, if not impossible, that the lesson should have been that the U.S. government needs to place a far greater emphasis on prevention.

"Your cities would empty and people would completely lose confidence in the ability of the government to protect them," said Steve Fetter, dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. "You'd have nothing that resembles our current social order. I'm not sure any preparation can be sufficient to deal with that."

Fetter added, "We have to hold current policymakers more responsible" for taking all out measures to prevent a nuclear attack.

Raymond Jeanloz, a nuclear weapons expert at UC Berkeley and a government adviser on nuclear issues, said that California might be better prepared than most states because of long-standing plans for dealing with earthquakes and other natural disasters. Those plans, he said, could be a useful model for first responders.

He added, as others did, that the dislocation and panic caused by a nuclear strike could make any responses unpredictable.

"The most difficult thing is the fear that this kind of planning, even talking about it, can cause," Jeanloz said.

Michael May, a former director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, defended the survival planning, saying that people should get used to the idea that such a crisis, while dire, could be managed -- a key step in restoring calm.

"You have to demystify the nuclear issue," said May, who now teaches at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation. "By talking about this, you take away the feeling of helplessness."

E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com

The Project's Co-Directors are former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy Ashton B. Carter. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John M. Shalikashvili and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall serve as Senior Advisors. Additional contributors to the Project include member of President Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board Robert J. Hermann and former Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White. Active on the Project’s track-two initiative with China are Dr. Michael H. Armacost, former Undersecretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to Japan and to the Philippines and Admiral Joseph W. Prueher, former Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Command. The Project is pleased that the following experts have agreed to lend their expertise to our North Korea initiative: General John H. Tilelli, Jr., former Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea/United States Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea; Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea; and Dr. Kurt Campbell, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

The Preventive Defense Project is a multi-year effort supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Herbert S. Winokur, Jr. Public Policy Fund, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and private sources. The Preventive Defense Project would also like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the Packard Foundation, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Compton Foundation, Inc.

Recycling Nuclear Waste Too Dangerous

INSIGHTS: Recycling Nuclear Waste Too Dangerous
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2007/2007-05-16-insalv.asp

(Thanks to Celeste M Johnson for head's up)

By Robert Alvarez

WASHINGTON, DC, May 16, 2007 (ENS) - As a senior energy adviser in the Clinton administration, I recall attending a briefing by the National Academy of Sciences in 1996 on the feasibility of recycling nuclear fuel. I'd been intrigued by the idea because of its promise to reduce the amount of waste that had to be buried, where it could conceivably seep into drinking water at some point in its multimillion-year-long half-lives.

But then came the Academy's unequivocal conclusion - the idea was supremely impractical. It would cost up to $500 billion in 1996 dollars and take 150 years to accomplish the transmutation of dangerous long-lived radioactive toxins.

President George W. Bush and his energy secretary, Samuel Bodman, have recently intensified their lobbying to revive nuclear recycling through a program they call the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, GNEP.

As I listened to Bodman describe GNEP as a sweeping panacea ­ to supply virtually limitless energy to emerging economies, to "reduce the number of required ... waste depositories to one for the remainder of this century" and to "enhance energy security, while promoting non-proliferation" ­ I kept waiting, as I did just over a decade ago, for the caveats. But they never came, even though the idea remains as costly and technologically unfeasible as it was in the 1990s.

Between 1993 and 1999, Robert Alvarez served in the Department of Energy as a senior policy advisor to the secretary of energy and deputy assistant secretary for national security and the environment. (Photo courtesy Robert Alvarez)Members of Congress, who will soon vote on the President's request for $405 million for GNEP in fiscal year 2008, should recognize that GNEP has no chance in our lifetimes of brightening the prospects of finding safe ways of nuclear fuel disposal.

In 1982, Congress enacted legislation requiring that nuclear power spent fuel be disposed of in ways that shield humans for at least hundreds of millennia.

But today, a quarter-century later, prospects for long-term disposal are dimmer than ever. The government's nuclear waste disposal program is plagued by scandal, legal setbacks and congressional funding cuts. As a result, the schedule for the proposed Yucca Mountain disposal site in Nevada has slipped by two decades.

Under the President's plan, the United States and its nuclear partners would sell power reactors to developing nations who agree not to pursue technologies that would aid nuclear weapons production, notably reprocessing and uranium enrichment. To sweeten the deal, the United States would take highly radioactive spent fuel rods to a recycling center in this country.

The foreign reactor wastes, along with spent fuel from the U.S. reactor fleet, would be reprocessed to reduce the amount that would go deep underground. Nuclear explosive materials, such as plutonium, would also be separated and converted to less troublesome isotopes in a new generation of reactors.

In short, using the Bush administration's fuzzy nuclear math, more would become less.In fact, however, to reduce the amount of radioactive wastes slated for a deep geological repository, the majority of radioactive byproducts are planned to be stored in shallow burial. The site selected for the GNEP recycling center is likely to become a dump for the largest, lethal source of high-heat radioactivity in the United States and possibly the world.

If placed in a crowded area, a few grams of these wastes would deliver lethal doses in a matter of seconds. Concentrations could be so large that if they were disposed of under current standards in shallow land burial as low-level wastes, shortly after separation they would have to be diluted to a volume as large as 500 million cubic meters, enough to fill 500 Empire State Buildings.

The plan would also threaten water supplies. For instance, it could result in levels of radioactive disposal thousands of times greater than now allowed at DOE's Savannah River site in South Carolina.

The Bush administration lacks (or at least, has yet to disclose) credible plans for addressing any of the unprecedented health, safety and financial risks that GNEP would create. Unless the administration can furnish these details, the public should urge their legislators to zero out GNEP's budget.

We are better off by investing in renewable energy and conservation, rather than pouring billions of dollars into the same old limitless energy schemes of our nuclear laboratories.

{Robert Alvarez is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. Between 1993 and 1999, he served as a senior policy advisor to the secretary of energy and deputy assistant secretary for national security and the environment.}

Bumper Sticker Idea For Entergy-The Wheels Protest

Anyone know someone willing to print us up some Bumper Stickers? If you are an anti nuclear printer, and would like to contribute some Bumper Stickers, please contact our publisher at roycepenstinger@aol.com

Ossining Chamber of Commerce Siding With Entergy and Their Tritium Leaking Indian Point Reactors?

This just in from a little bird....

Seems that the Ossining Chamber of Commerce is having a one sided presentation on "Where Electricity Comes From" with the primary guest speaker Entergy's own societal misfit, Jim Steets (new nick name is poop drinker). For those not familair with this Indian Point mouth piece and his work, when the news about tritium leaking into Buchanans sewer system went public, he quipped to a reporter, well, if it were not for the other stuff in the sewage, its clean enough to drink. What a guy.

We need some of the folks from our side of the equation to show up at this meeting to present the other side, "Where Energy SHOULD NOT COME FROM", which is failing antiquated reactors that are leaking strontium 90 and tritium into the Hudson River on a daily basis.

Here Are The Meeting Details:

The Ossining Chamber of Commerce is having STEETS at their meeting on Monday. (GNB thinks it would be nice if some of us showed up to PRESENT THE TRUTH.)

It would be good to get some of our folks there.

DETAILS:
from http://www.ossiningchamber.org/default.aspx#calendar

Chamber Meetings
THE TRUTH ABOUT ELECTRIC POWER AND THE FAILING iNDIAN POINT REACTORS OWNED BY ENTERGY
Who Generates it, who transmits it, who gets paid for it.
Monday, May 21st
Speakers:
representatives from:
Con Edison
Entergy Nuclear
NY Power Authority

-----------------------------------------------

All meetings start at 7 p.m. for a 1/2 hour of networking, with the program beginning at 7:30. Meetings are held at the Ossining Community Center at 95 Broadway.

Don DeBar
RG Agency
PO Box 431
1000 N Division St.
Peekskill, NY 10566
tel (914) 739-2700
fax (914) 739-2808
RGDon@bestweb.net
http://www.rgtitleagency.com

Yet Another Indian Point Alarm FAILURE

As we all know, yesterday saw a typical May thunderstorm whisk through the area with high gusting winds, and sheets of rain. Like the spring rains, another typical Entergy event unfolded yesterday as well. In their usual inept fashion, 26 of the 156 sirens FAILED to go off, requiring Indian Point to notify the NRC...think about it folks, if this had been a real emergency, 1 in 6 of us would not have heard these non-working failed sirens. In a fast moving event at the failing Indian Point Nuclear Reactors, time is everything, and every second, every non working siren is LIFE LOST...it could be yours, or it could be your child, but someone will die. We need to pull the plug on Indian Point.

LOSS OF 26 EMERGENCY SIRENS DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER

"Due to severe weather storms in the area surrounding Indian Point Energy Center, 26 of the 156 emergency sirens have been out of service as of 1655 hours on 5/16/07 due to either loss of local AC power (24 sirens) or communications problem (2 sirens). 15 of the 26 sirens are in Rockland County; the remaining 11 sirens are in Westchester County. Sirens in Orange and Putnam counties were unaffected. Rockland and Westchester Counties have been notified and route alerting is available as an alternate means of public notification. Additionally, a high speed telephone notification system is available for public notification by the counties. Contact of the local utilities has been initiated to request power restoration to the areas associated with the 24 effected sirens; the communication problems with the remaining 2 sirens are under investigation."

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector, New York State Public Service Commission, and Rockland, Westchester, Putnam and Orange counties.

Congressman Hall's strange bed fellow

Now, why is our fiercely anti-nuclear leader, Congressman Jon Hall, on the stage at NoNukes in 1980... on the campaign trail with Bonnie Raitt, a founder of Musicians United for Safe Energy, tirelessly working to shut down Indian Point, suddenly on the fence and in league with Congressman Chris Shays over the reasons for an Independent Safety Assessment, when Congressman Shays is openly pro-nuclear? Isn't that letting the fox in the hen house?



From:
Congressman Christopher Shays

Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007

Subject:
Congressman Christopher Shays
May 11, 2007

Thank you for contacting me expressing support for closing the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in Buchanan, New York. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views with me, as well as your patience in awaiting my reply.

Although I do not support closing Indian Point, I believe it is imperative we make security for the plant as safe and comprehensive as possible. For this reason, I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 994, which would require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to conduct an Independent Safety Assessment of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.

You may be interested to know, in the 108th Congress, I joined members of the New York congressional delegation calling on the NRC to temporarily suspend Indian Point operations pending an independent review of the New York and Indian Point emergency preparedness plans.

Although Indian Point operations were not temporarily suspended, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and NRC approved the emergency preparedness plans, I determined a congressional review of nuclear power plant facility security was still needed.

As Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, National Security Subcommittee, I have held several hearings to measure the scope and pace of post-9/11 safeguard improvements in and around reactor sites such as Indian Point.

I held an oversight hearing on April 4, 2006, entitled "Nuclear Security: Has the NRC Strengthened Facility Standards Since 9/11?" in which we asked specifically how the NRC and the nuclear power industry are maintaining readiness against a changing threat.Public safety, public health and the protection of critical infrastructure are all factors that need to be part of the discussion.

At the request of the committee the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an in-depth examination of the process used by the NRC to update the Design Basus Threat (DBT) standard, the industry response to new security mandates and the rigor of inspections and drills used to test security force readiness.The GAO findings painted a decidedly mixed picture of nuclear power security.

Substantial improvements have been made since September 11, 2001, and since adoption of the new DBT in 2003. Buffer zones have been augmented where possible, barriers have been thickened, detection equipment installed or upgraded. Protective forces have been enlarged and armed with new weapons and smarter strategies.

But, according to the GAO, it may be too early to claim success since fewer than half the 65 NRC-regulated sites have been tested against a live adversary in what are called force-on-force exercises. And those tested did not always perform as well as expected, even in necessarily artificial, fully noticed drills conducted in broad daylight. GAO also found that stronger security standards did not necessarily mean the NRC had sufficiently fortified itself against the dangers of an overly cozy relationship with the industry.

While still drafting the new Design Basis Threat, the Commission solicited outside comments, creating the appearance industry was influencing the threat assessment process with extraneous cost concerns. the regulated should never even appear to be able to dictate security standards to the regulator. But this is more than a question of appearance. Only the rigor and independence of the NRC process guarantee the integrity of the product.

Nevertheless, the Commission continues to resist the GAO recommendation to develop explicit criteria for decisions altering DBT standards.I believe the NRC can do more to prevent potential terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants and will continue to actively monitor them to ensure they do not lower their threat standards. Please do not hesitate to contact my office again. Because mail is delayed by Anthrax screening, e-mails, phone calls, faxes, and in-person visits are the most effective ways to communicate with my office.

I also have a periodic e-newsletter and would be happy to send it to you. To request this e-newsletter, and for other information, please visit my website at www.house.gov/shays.

Sincerely,
Christopher Shays
Member of Congress
rep.shays@mail.house.gov
202/225-5541