Spano Blasts NRC and Studies Legal Action to Close Indian Point 2

WHITE PLAINS-Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano held an emergency press conference yesterday at the Westchester County office building to blast the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the inadequacies of its past inspections of the Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant. Although the county government offices were closed in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Spano said, “We felt this was too serious a matter for us to postpone commenting on until regular office hours.”

He said that the county wants an independent monitor to be appointed to ensure the safety of the Buchanan-based facility. In addition, the county is considering legal action to close the plant until it is deemed safe, Spano added.

“We thought the NRC was providing oversight to make sure if this plant were allowed to restart it would be safe,” Spano charged. “After all, it is the NRC that gave Indian Point 2 a ‘red’ designation, which we thought meant it would be monitored more closely than any other nuclear plant in the country. Now we find out that the NRC didn’t provide oversight, but relied on what it was told by Con Edison, and that Con Ed itself was in a rush to start and so violated industry standards and its own procedures.”