FAA puts planes too close to Indian Point

FAA puts planes too close to Indian Point
Rockland County, 300 daily planes, and Indian Point is a bad mix for us, a wonderful mix for terrorists! I am a nurse. I have worked in Rockland schools. Our schools must keep a supply of potassium iodide pills on standby, to be given to our children, in the event of a nuclear catastrophe from the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan. I live within the 10-mile radius of the plant and many of our schools also are located within this radius.
In the age we live in, of terrorism on high alert, after 9/11, it is unforgivable that the FAA, a government agency, a government that is supposed to protect us, to even consider adding 300 planes a day to fly over Rockland County. This number increases the likelihood of terrorist access to one of those planes and easily diverting it a short distance into Indian Point. This would be catastrophic for Rockland, Newark, New York City and the whole tri-state area. The areas in which the FAA is trying to help would have a nuclear disaster on their hands.
Rockland is within the 10-mile radius of Indian Point. This reason overrides all other considerations.
We demand accountability for those in the FAA who supposedly investigated Homeland Security issues. Something is very wrong and dangerous here.
Suzan Cohen
New Hempstead

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agreed on what you are saying, nuke, i just don't see the point of it. who is to say that a plane with a willing psycho at the controls couldn't just ignore the "no fly" space and crash into the plant before jets could even get colse to scrambling?
Posted by: willoughby on Thu Aug 02, 2007 3:59 pm

I have to respond to Suzan Cohen's fear mongering about Indian Point and airplanes. Aircraft impact issues were addressed in the licensing process for all 103 U.S. nuclear power reactors; however the evaluations were based on the premise that such a crash would be accidental. Following 911, the nuclear industry performed further studies and analysis of the risk of terrrost attack against a nuclear facility involving intentional crashing of a commercial jetliner into the facility. Computer analyses of models representative of all U.S. nuclear power plant containment types have been completed. The wing span of the Boeing 767-400 (170 feet)—the aircraft used in the analyses—is slightly longer than the diameter of a typical containment building (140 feet). The aircraft engines are physically separated by approximately 50 feet. This makes it impossible for both an engine and the fuselage to strike the centerline of the containment building. As a result, two analyses were performed. One analysis evaluated the “local” impact of an engine on the structure. The second analysis evaluated the “global” impact from the entire mass of the aircraft on the structure. In both cases, the analysis conservatively assumed that the engine and the fuselage strike perpendicular to the centerline of the structure. This results in the maximum force upon impact to the structure for each case. The analyses indicated that no parts of the engine, the fuselage or the wings—nor the jet fuel—entered the containment buildings. The robust containment structure was not breached, although there was some crushing and spalling (chipping of material at the impact point) of the concrete. The wing span of the Boeing 767-400 (170 feet) is substantially greater than the longest dimension of a typical used fuel pool wall (60 feet). The aircraft engines are physically separated by approximately 50 feet. This makes it impossible for both an engine and the fuselage to strike the mid-point of the pools. As a result, two analyses were performed for both a pressurized water reactor pool and a boiling water reactor pool. One analysis evaluated the “local” impact of an engine on the mid-point of the pool wall. The second analysis evaluated the “global” impact of the fuselage and the portion of the wings that could realistically hit the mid-point of the representative fuel pool wall. In both cases, the analysis conservatively assumed that the engine and the fuselage strike perpendicular to the mid-point of the pool wall. This results in the maximum impact force being applied directly to the structure for each case. The wall’s mid-point would deflect (bend inward) more from this force than for an impact closer to the end of the wall. The stainless steel pool liner ensures that, although the evaluations of the representative used fuel pools determined that there was localized crushing and cracking of the concrete wall, there was no loss of pool cooling water. Because the used fuel pools were not breached, the used fuel is protected and there would be no release of radionuclides to the environment. To summarize, Ms. Cohen's fear of Indian Point is misguided. Osama bin Laden chose the Pentagon, the White House and the Twin Towers as his targets on 911 because they are much easier targets than a solid concrete nuclear containment building. The fact that Indian Point was not chosen shows that the terrorists are more realistic than the anit-nuclear zealots who would succumb to the terrorists threats and close our region's safest, cleanest source of non-polluting electric power.
Posted by: nuclear environmentalist on Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:54 am