Residents Angry After Nuke Release

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Wednesday February 16 5:28 PM ET 

Residents Angry After Nuke Release  

BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP) - A generator leak at a Hudson River nuclear 
power plant resulted in a brief release of radioactive steam, and 
some people living in the plant's shadow said Wednesday that they 
should have been alerted to the accident.  

``Where were the sirens?'' asked David Coviello, 55, who lives two 
doors from the plant gate. ``I have a 7-year-old son, an 18-year-old 
daughter.''  

Officials said the steam was barely radioactive, and its escape 
Tuesday night from the Indian Point 2 nuclear reactor was ``momentary 
and minuscule,'' so there was no health danger and no need to warn 
nearby residents.  

Still, resident Salvatore Simone said officials should notify people 
of any accident, regardless of its seriousness.  

``I should decide for myself,'' he said. ``I might have gotten into 
the car with my family and gotten away.''  

The sirens were kept silent because officials in four counties agreed 
that there was no reason to set them off, said deputy county 
executive, Jay Hashmall.  

Guidelines from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ``call for the 
sounding of sirens only when some protective action is needed,'' such 
as evacuations or stay-inside orders, Hashmall said.  

Consolidated Edison Co., which owns and operates the plant, declared 
an alert, a first for the plant, which is on the Hudson River about 
35 miles north of New York City. About 15.5 million people live 
within a 50-mile radius. An alert is one of four categories of 
nuclear events identified by the NRC. In order from least serious to 
most serious they are: unusual event, alert, site area emergency and 
general emergency.  

The only general emergency at a U.S. nuclear plant was the March 1979 
accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.  

Mindy Landau of the NRC said there are an average of three or four 
alerts a year among the nation's 103 operating reactors.  

Con Ed Vice President Steve Quinn said the accident - the most 
serious in the 26-year history of the plant - was caused by a leak in 
a tube carrying hot, slightly radioactive water through a pool of 
cooler water, which is thereby turned into steam. The steam is used 
to turn a turbine, which generates electricity. The plant produces 
about a seventh of the power Con Ed supplies to its 3 million 
customers.  

Because the hot water was under high pressure, it turned into steam 
as it escaped from the tube. It was vented through the building's 
roof, but a radiation detector in the vent sounded an alarm and 
automatically closed the vent, so the slightly radioactive steam 
escaped into the air for only a few seconds, Quinn said.  

Radiation measurements taken around the plant found nothing above 
normal background radiation, Quinn said, adding: ``There is no danger 
to the health and welfare of the general public.''  

Some villagers in Buchanan took that with a grain of salt.  

``I'm definitely afraid,'' said Regina Ervin, just four doors from 
the plant entrance. ``I'm afraid to brush my teeth. I'm afraid to 
make the coffee.''  

Others, however, said they have learned to live with the plant.  

``I guess I trust that they'll tell us if there's a problem,'' said 
David Allen, a magazine writer.  

Said George Kiljarian, a retired attorney: ``I'm a fatalist. I made 
it through World War II. ... If  they've never had a problem in 26 
years I guess that's all right.'' 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
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