Re: NCI and Hudson Riverkeepers Request Emergency Shutdown of IP 2/3

["Michael Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>]

Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 07:15:33 -0800 (PST)

From: Tim <tstead@ntirs.org>

Subject: Re: NCI and Hudson Riverkeepers Request Emergency Shutdown of IP

2/3



Norm, these comments are not directed to you but are

just thoughts of mine.



I did read about half of this petition and had to stop

because I got fed up.  One sentence struck me as odd:

"Security of spent fuel has never been demonstrated at

Indian Point."  Has any spent fuel ever been stolen?

No?  Isn't that kind of demonstrating security of

spent fuel?



In any event, I understand the reasoning behind this

sort of petition: people are scared that nuclear

plants are not 100% safe against any and all

perceived, imagined, or possible terrorist threats.

You know what?  Nothing in the world is - not even

NORAD.



Norm, I have an honest question for you.  Will you or

have you altered your life in any way since Sept. 11

to make you any less vulnerable to terrorist attacks?

Do you still leave your house and go to malls?  Do you

still go to sporting events?  Do you still drive over

bridges or in tunnels?  If you never did any of these

things, will you make a concious effort not to do them

in the future?



I challenge ANYBODY who feels that nuclear plants

should be shut down simply because they are not 100%

terrorist-proof to justify why we should not use that

same reason...no....excuse to abolish everything in

our society that is not also 100% terrorist-proof.  If

anti-nukers are really concerned about the safety of

the public then why are no environmental groups

calling for the immediate emergency closure of all

sports stadiums and complexes because they too are not

100% terrorist-proof?



If we were to curtail everthing in our lives that are

not perfectly 100% safe then we would not be able to

live on this planet.  Nuclear plants are not perfect

but I am here to tell you that they are more secure

and less vulnerable to terrorist attack than many,

many other things in our lives that anti-nukers find

no fault with.  That is a major vertigo of priorities.



As far as the fish, I didn't get that far but I would

imagine that the same concerns voiced in the petition

were already discussed and addressed years ago when

the plant was being built.



Don't get me wrong, security at nuclear plants is a

big issue and if there are gates being left open or

security guards letting unbadged people in the plant

then that needs to be dealt with harshly.  However, if

we are not prepared to turn the roofs of shopping

malls and chemical plants into SAM sites, then why the

emergent petition about Indian Point?  Could it be

that this petition is just another excuse to shut down

a nuclear plant and not a real and honest concern?



As I write this email, I am listening to radio reports

of a plane crashing in Queens, NY.  I wonder if it was

a terrorist attack or not - terrorists have used

planes for decades.  Why are some people ready to shut

down 20% of this nation's electrical generating

capacity because of perceived threats to facilities

that have never before suffered such an attack but we

cheer and encourage people to fly on airplanes that

have been instruments of terror for decades?



I tried to keep a civil, nonconfrontational tone

through this message.  If I failed in any way, please

accept my apologies, Norm.



Regards,

Timothy C. Steadham, P.E.



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