Posted on 02/13/2003 6:41:47 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406
No. I-03-005 February 12, 2003 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
NOTE TO EDITORS:
Given the high interest in the Emergency Preparedness situation at the Indian Point and Millstone nuclear power plants, the attached letter on the subject, from Chairman Richard A. Meserve of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Sen. Hillary R. Clinton, is being provided.
February 12, 2003
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Clinton:
I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letter of January 22, 2003, in which you requested that the NRC review the recent draft report prepared by James Lee Witt Associates, LLC, for the Governor of the State of New York, regarding emergency preparedness at the Indian Point and Millstone facilities. You also requested that the NRC begin making changes to Federal regulations, as recommended in the draft report, and to make you aware of any additional statutory authority the NRC would require to make such changes.
The NRC has received a copy of the draft Witt report. The matters addressed in the draft report in large measure relate to offsite planning and preparedness, which, at least in the first instance, are matters within the purview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While any judgment as to the overall state of emergency planning and preparedness is for the NRC to reach, in keeping with the longstanding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between FEMA and the NRC, we look initially to FEMA for its views on the draft report relating to offsite preparedness. One important issue which falls under our purview relates to plant security and the effect of potential terrorism. We consider it appropriate to comment on this issue as it figures prominently in the conclusions of the draft Witt report.
While we appreciate and recognize the effort that went into the draft report we believe the draft report appears to give undue weight to the impact of potential acts of terrorism on emergency planning and preparedness. Emergency preparedness programs are designed to cope with a spectrum of accidents, including those involving rapid, large releases of radioactivity. Emergency preparedness exercises have invariably included large releases of radioactivity that occur shortly after the initiation of events. Necessary protective actions and offsite response are not predicated on the cause of events. Whether releases from the plant occur as a result of terrorist acts or equipment malfunctions, emergency plans guide decision makers and responders in the same way. Preliminary results from our vulnerability studies do not indicate an increased source term or quicker release from terrorist-initiated events than is already addressed by the emergency planning basis required by NRC regulations and in place at Indian Point.
As FEMA assesses the implications of the draft Witt report and other relevant information on the state of emergency planning and preparedness, it is important to consider that significant steps have been taken to strengthen security of Indian Point and other nuclear plants since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. While all nuclear power plants have been required for many years to have security programs to defend against violent assaults by well-armed attackers, numerous additional steps have been taken since September 2001 to thwart terrorist acts. The NRC issued orders in February 2002 to all operating nuclear power plant licensees to implement compensatory security measures for the current threat environment and also required licensees to take actions deemed appropriate to ensure continued improvements to existing emergency response plans. We have been working closely with numerous federal agencies (including FEMA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration), as well as with State governments, to enhance the security of nuclear facilities and activities.
The NRC will work with FEMA and other Federal agencies, as well as Entergy, New York State and county officials, in continuing efforts to ensure adequate emergency planning and preparedness. We understand from our discussions with FEMA that its assessment of the most recent offsite emergency planning exercise, which will give due consideration to input from the Governor, will be issued in the next several weeks. The NRC, in turn, will promptly respond to matters warranting action. With regard to your particular interest in the need for additional regulatory authority to implement changes, at this time in the review and evaluation of the Witt report, we are unaware of any statutory changes that may be required to protect public health and safety.
Please feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Meserve
Why is this name familiar? Does he have connections to the Clintoons?
If implemented, most of the ordinance would end up killing our people!
Rodham is the mistress of mis-information.
James Witt is a Clinton lackey going all the way back to Arkansas. He was at FEMA during the Clinton years.
If Clinton asked Witt what time it was, Witt's reply would be "...and what time would you like it to be ?"
Call for emergency plan for residents near Indian Point
(New Canaan-WTNH, Feb. 12, 2003 6:00 PM) _ Concerns continue to be raised over the lack of an emergency plan for people who live near New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant.
Several cities and towns in western and southwestern Connecticut are well within the 50-mile radius of danger should there be an accident or an attack at the plant.
The fears are fueled by the fact that 8 percent of the United States population lives within 50 miles of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in Westchester County and many of those people live in Connecticut. Fears of terrorist attacks have them concerned about evacuation plans.
With its winding roads and seemingly remote location so close to New York City, for years Fairfield County has been the "great escape" in Connecticut. However, this week with the nations heightened terrorist alert, the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant has become quite a concern.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal believes escaping from the "great escape" can be next to impossible and he has been waging a war against New York and federal officials for emergency preparedness because of his concern for thousands of Connecticut residents who live within a 50 mile radius of the Power Plant.
New Canaan First Selectman Dick Bond agrees with Blumenthal, hoping Indian Point will be shut down.
"You cannot evacuate the people. The state has no evacuation plan, no town has an evacuation plan that makes sense. If this affects this town, I guess we will do the best we can," says Bond.
I bet this pissed her off...
SR
We have a good "high-tech" life here in the Hudson Valley, and electric power makes it possible. But, the danger equasion changed on 9/11/2001.
We stocked up on KI,and have decided to take the children north or west, depending on the winds. And, do everything in our power to help our fellow citizens.
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