Some strange connections between Indian Point, NY and Fukushima Daiichi, Japan

A delegation of four Japanese women farmers and anti-nuclear activists from Fukushima, Hokkaido, and Kyodo traveled to Indian Point nuclear power plant (visible in the background on the Hudson River) to show solidarity with the anti-nuclear movement there, Sept. 2011.In August 2010, Green Action Japan invited Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps on a nationwide speaking tour of Japan to describe the risks of storing irradiated nuclear fuel in pools, with radioactivity leaks from Indian Point's storage pools near New York City at the top of the list. Kevin's first stop was Fukushima Daiichi, located in an area of high population density, not far from Tokyo.

Entergy Nuclear has bragged that Indian Point can withstand an earthquake of magnitude 6.1. But Columbia University has warned that a 7.0 earthquake is possible. After the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe began on March 11, 2011, NRC re-evaluated seismic risks in the U.S. It determined that Indian Point Units 2 & 3 are the most earthquake-vulnerable atomic reactors in the U.S.

Similarly, the Japanese federal government's point man on Fukushima Daiichi, Hosono, assured reporters that Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4's high-level radioactive waste storage pool could withstand a 6.0 earthquake. But voices, such as Japanese diplomat Akio Matsumura, have warned that a 7.0 quake is very likely to occur there in the next few years.

In Sept., 2011, a delegation of Japanese farmers and anti-nuclear activists from Fukushima and Hokkaido, led by Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action Japan, traveled to the U.S. Beyond Nuclear hosted them in Washington, D.C. and New York City, including a trip to Indian Point (see photo, above left).

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 had only recently been granted a license extension when it melted down, perhaps within an hour of the 9.0 earthquake striking on March 11, 2011. If it had not been granted extended operations, its reactor core would have been de-fueled and would not have melted down.

Indian Point Units 2 & 3 have applied for 20 year license extensions. The State of New York, Riverkeeper, and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater have gotten ten contentions opposed to the license extensions accepted by an NRC licensing board for hearings on the merits. The oral arguments have just begun.