Review not enough to ensure safety

(Original publication: June 29, 2007) letters to the editors- journal news
Review not enough to ensure safety
No matter where one stands on the issue of Indian Point, it is well past time for The Journal News to stop characterizing the relicensing process as "an in-depth review of whether the plant can operate for an additional 20 years." The facts state otherwise.
What "in-depth review" does not take into account the population density surrounding the plant? Or terrorism factors in a post-911 world? Or spent fuel rod storage issues, ongoing leaks and the massive fish kills from super-heated water to name just a few. More importantly, what in-depth review is possible without an independent safety assessment?
Reasonable people on both sides of the issue are asking these questions. In the interim, The Journal News does us all a disservice by employing such phrases that, in the end, represent a fundamental change in the viewing of reality.
Maria Cudequest
Croton-on-HudsonCan't afford to close Indian Point
In a Monday letter, "Stop wasting money on more studies," Laurent Lawrence of New Rochelle urged a stop to spending money on "studying" Indian Point. I agree, for different reasons.
Nuclear power can be a safe energy source. With few, but widely known, exceptions, it has long provided safe relatively inexpensive energy worldwide. Obviously, there are dangers. If you live in the area of a nuclear plant, you can either accept the risk or move to somewhere with different risks - maybe hurricanes, earthquakes or war. Even if the plant were decommissioned tomorrow, my understanding is that risks still remain.
If there is a major disaster at Indian Point, many could die, as occurs in any kind of disaster. So far, although people in this area die from a variety of causes every day, none has been because of Indian Point.
The official pretense that a warning system and evacuation plan are useful, much less necessary, insults our intelligence. No one pays attention to those sirens; gridlock would keep us here anyway.
Instead of more studies or fake evacuation plans, use available money to keep Indian Point as safe as possible With all due respect to Rep. John Hall, whom I admire greatly and usually agree with, and the others, until we find another economical, non-polluting energy source, we cannot afford to close Indian Point. Stop studying, worrying and whining, and start maintaining.
Diane Selker
Peekskill