| Welcome to Dr. Bill's Information Page. As of January 30, 2001, Con Edison's Indian Point 2 is back at full power. The period of time from February 15, 2000 until January 30, 2001 many facts have surfaced. The primary one is that one of the four aging steam generators spilled nearly 20,000 gallons of radioactive water in the plant and releasing a small amount of radioactive steam. As pointed out several times the type of radioactivity released has never been published. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted the criticism and has stepped up its oversight of plant operations. The report of 14 NRC specialists, conducting a month long investigation will be released to the public sometime in March 2001. While significant progress is being made in determining not only safety and oversight, the key point that needs more discussion and input is the evacuation protocol in case of a major emergency. Simply stating that all residents have received information booklets and should know what to do in a major emergency is not sufficient. The people involved in the evacuation must be clearly identified and they must be aware of the dangers they face in the event that a major evacuation is required. Police, fire personnel, bus drivers, the general public must receive a simple communication informing ALL about where people will be transported; how an orderly evacuation should occur; etc. INFORMATION not shared and accepted is not INFORMATION. Nearly two years after the release from Indian Point Two, the NRC released information on May 10, 2002 that hundreds of gallons of radioactive water leaked into the Hudson River. Entergy Spokesman Jim Steets said "Steam generator tube failure that resulted...became corroded." The Entergy Company which now owns and operates Indian Point Two, replaced the corroded steam generators. |
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