By Dan Wiessner
ALBANY, N.Y., March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have promised to make the Indian Point nuclear power plant north of New York City their top priority in a review of seismic risk at U.S. nuclear plants, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.
The plant about 25 miles (40 km) of New York City, already a source of safety concern among state officials, has faced renewed scrutiny since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.
Cuomo, a Democrat who has worked to prevent the federal relicensing of the Indian Point facility, said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pledged to make the plant its 'top priority' as it reviews earthquake risk at 27 nuclear facilities throughout the country.
'It is essential that the NRC move quickly to answer the significant and long-standing safety questions surrounding Indian Point,' Cuomo told reporters after officials from his administration met with NRC officials at the agency's Maryland headquarters.
An NRC report last September found Indian Point was at the greatest risk from seismic activity among the 27 nuclear plants under review. The Indian Point plant is situated near two geological fault lines. The plant provides up to 30 percent of New York City's power.
Indian Point owner Entergy Corp purchased a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on Tuesday touting comments by U.S. Energy Secretary Steve Chu saying that the reactor is safe and an NRC report saying all U.S. nuclear plants remain safe.
It was built to withstand an earthquake 100 times the magnitude of any quake measured in the area, Entergy said in the advertisement. The company has pledged to conduct its own review of seismic risk and safety procedures.
Entergy also said it is considering a plan to store mobile emergency generators off-site that could be relocated to Indian Point after any emergency. Reactors at the crippled Japanese plant overheated when the tsunami knocked out backup generators to power the cooling system. The quake had cut off main power.
The NRC has agreed to share data related to seismic risk with the state and will include the governor's staff in on-site reviews of the plant, said Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, who attended the meeting with NRC officials.
'The point of the meeting was to gather the facts. This is an emotional topic, and we want to make sure we have all the facts before we make a decision,' said Cuomo, who added that he does not know when the review would take place but that it would be 'expeditious.'
((For a story on the U.N. atomic watchdog warning about the safety of some older U.S. nuclear plants, click on ))
(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Will Dunham) Keywords: NUCLEAR USA/NEWYORK (daniel.trotta@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6143) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
ALBANY, N.Y., March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have promised to make the Indian Point nuclear power plant north of New York City their top priority in a review of seismic risk at U.S. nuclear plants, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.
The plant about 25 miles (40 km) of New York City, already a source of safety concern among state officials, has faced renewed scrutiny since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.
Cuomo, a Democrat who has worked to prevent the federal relicensing of the Indian Point facility, said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pledged to make the plant its 'top priority' as it reviews earthquake risk at 27 nuclear facilities throughout the country.
'It is essential that the NRC move quickly to answer the significant and long-standing safety questions surrounding Indian Point,' Cuomo told reporters after officials from his administration met with NRC officials at the agency's Maryland headquarters.
An NRC report last September found Indian Point was at the greatest risk from seismic activity among the 27 nuclear plants under review. The Indian Point plant is situated near two geological fault lines. The plant provides up to 30 percent of New York City's power.
Indian Point owner Entergy Corp purchased a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on Tuesday touting comments by U.S. Energy Secretary Steve Chu saying that the reactor is safe and an NRC report saying all U.S. nuclear plants remain safe.
It was built to withstand an earthquake 100 times the magnitude of any quake measured in the area, Entergy said in the advertisement. The company has pledged to conduct its own review of seismic risk and safety procedures.
Entergy also said it is considering a plan to store mobile emergency generators off-site that could be relocated to Indian Point after any emergency. Reactors at the crippled Japanese plant overheated when the tsunami knocked out backup generators to power the cooling system. The quake had cut off main power.
The NRC has agreed to share data related to seismic risk with the state and will include the governor's staff in on-site reviews of the plant, said Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy, who attended the meeting with NRC officials.
'The point of the meeting was to gather the facts. This is an emotional topic, and we want to make sure we have all the facts before we make a decision,' said Cuomo, who added that he does not know when the review would take place but that it would be 'expeditious.'
((For a story on the U.N. atomic watchdog warning about the safety of some older U.S. nuclear plants, click on ))
(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Will Dunham) Keywords: NUCLEAR USA/NEWYORK (daniel.trotta@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6143) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.