Entergy Downplays Leak at Indian Pt. as Cuomo Initiates Probe
The owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant downplayed radioactive-water that recently leaked into the groundwater at the Buchanan facility.
In a statement issued Saturday, Entergy maintained elevated levels of tritium in three monitoring wells at Indian Point likely reached the ground during recent work activities onsite “did not affect any source or drinking water onsite or offsite.”
“While elevated tritium in the ground onsite is not in accordance with our standards, there is no health or safety consequence to the public, and releases are more than a thousand times below federal permissible limits,” stated Entergy officials, who noted they voluntarily notified the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), state agencies and key stakeholders about the elevated level of tritium, which was described as “a radioactively weak isotope of hydrogen.”
Entergy also stated tritium in the ground was “a well-studied issue by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which previously concluded historic leaks of tritium to the ground at Indian Point had no effect on public health or safety.
However, Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has opposed the pending 20-year license renewal of Indian Point that the NRC has been mulling, called the levels of radioactivity at three wells “alarming” and directed DEC Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos and Health Department Commissioner Howard Zucker to fully investigate the incident and determine the extent of the release.
“Our first concern is for the health and safety of the residents close to the facility and ensuring the groundwater leak does not pose a threat,” Cuomo stated. “This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable. We need to identify whether this incident could have been avoided by exercising reasonable care. We also need to know how a recurrence of this episode can be avoided by specific steps that Entergy should be taking.”
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D) also called on the NRC to investigate the leak.
Indian Point generates approximately 25 percent of power used annually by homes, businesses and public facilities in Westchester and New York City.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/