Should Indian Point Nuclear Plant in New York State Be Shut Down Due to Earthquake Risk?

Opinions are very heated on the topic of nuclear energy. The Indian Point nuclear plant near Manhattan has long been contested. It was built in 1962. This nuclear plant supplies some of the electricity used in Westchester County, NY and New York City. Is it still a safe plant or does its age place it at higher risk for a nuclear disaster during normal operation or due to an earthquake?

Some people want all nuclear plants shut down. Others think nuclear power is a safe way to generate electricity. After the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant problems in Japan, there are many questions about if it is safe to have a nuclear plant in any earthquake prone area of the United States. Are the emergency safety plans strong enough to ensure safety after an earthquake near Indian Point?

17 Million Residents within 50 Miles of Indian Point

The two nuclear reactors at the Indian Point plant are located in Buchanan, New York on the Hudson River. About 17 million people live in a 50-mile radius near this nuclear plant. If a crisis occurred at Indian Point, would evacuation routes become impassable due to over crowding or road damage from the earthquake?

If a nuclear meltdown occurred at Indian Point, thousands of people who live close to the nuclear plant could die quickly after acute radiation sickness. Later, as years and decades passed, hundreds of thousands of people would be at higher risk of cancer due to radiation exposure. Is it worth the risk of loss of life to keep Indian Point open?

Earthquake Risk

Governor Cuomo of New York State has stated that the Indian Point nuclear plant is a "Catastrophe waiting to happen, " notes the Christian Science Monitor. The plant is near the Ramapo Fault line in the earth. Thus the area has a higher than average risk for an earthquake. The fault line had not yet been identified at the time the Indian Point nuclear plant was built. The ability of scientists to identify potential earthquake zones has advanced rapidly since the 1962 when Indian Point was built.

The environmental organization named Riverkeeper has alerted nuclear regulators with the government that the geographical area near the Indian Point plant experienced earthquakes of about a 5.2 magnitude in 1737 and 1884. The company that owns the plant has announced it was built to be able to handle a 6.0 earthquake. However, earthquakes may have varying magnitudes in a certain region and a future earthquake near Indian Point could have a magnitude above 6.0.

Violation of Clean Water Act

The Indian Point nuclear plant is about 35 miles away from Manhattan. It uses water from the Hudson River to keep the nuclear reactors cool. In 2010, the state of New York declared that the outdated technology used to keep the nuclear reactors cool is in violation of the Clean Water Act, notes the New York Times.

New York State declared that the Indian Point Plant damages the environment by contaminating the water of the Hudson River, killing fish and using excessive amounts of river water. Thus Entergy Corporation, which owns the Indian River plant, will have to build cooling towers that could cost over a billion dollars or shut down Indian Point. To renew the license for the nuclear plant, the Entergy Corporation would have to fix existing problems with the cooling systems.

The state of New York also announced that the Hudson River has been polluted with radioactive waste from the Indian Point plant. The two remaining nuclear reactors at Indian Point, numbers 2 and 3, use a total of 2.5 billion gallons of water a day from the Hudson River. When all that water is returned to the Hudson it is overheated and thus impacts the ecological system of the river.

Could a Radiation Leak at Indian Point Impact New York City?

Is New York City prepared to handle a nuclear disaster that would have radiation floating over the city? Manhattan certainly was not well equipped to handle the attacks on 9/11. There was a failure in the official communication system for emergency workers.

A nuclear meltdown at Indian Point could contaminate Manhattan, including permanent evacuation of the Wall Street area, notes Newsweek. There would be an enormous financial loss if the stock market shut down due to a nuclear emergency. If the buildings in the Wall Street area were no longer habitable and the stock market had to be relocated, that would cause a lot of chaos in the market. Market chaos is never good for America's financial stability. A nuclear meltdown that impacted the financial sector location in Manhattan could trigger a financial meltdown too.

Will Nuclear Power Continue or Change Ahead?

Electricity is crucial to our society. We use it constantly. It is hard to imagine life without electricity. Our society also wastes a lot of electricity. Do we really need huge neon lights on company buildings that often stay on around the clock?

The need for energy is expected to keep increasing in the United States. Will nuclear plants continue to supply electricity or will methods like solar power and wind power start to become more mainstream energy sources? As time passes and the Japan nuclear problems are analyzed, the information learned will help the world determine if it is safe to have nuclear plants in an earthquake zone.