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New York Advocates Rally Against Dumping of Radioactive Waste in Hudson River
"We have spent decades cleaning up the Hudson, and now the river is, once again, a major economic driver for the region and the state as a whole," said one state lawmaker. "Let's keep protecting the Hudson!"
Aug 15, 2023
State and local lawmakers rallied with public health advocates in White Plains, New York on Tuesday to demand that Gov. Kathy Hochul end her silence on legislation that was passed in June to prohibit the dumping of radioactive waste into the Hudson River.
The rally was held ahead of a "listening tour" the Democratic governor is beginning regarding environmental legislation, and weeks before energy technology firm Holtec International is scheduled to begin discharging 45,000 gallons of wastewater from pools that were used to cool spent nuclear reactor fuel at the former Indian Point nuclear power plant.
The company ultimately plans to dump one million gallons of the wastewater into the Hudson, which at least 100,000 people rely on for their drinking water.
The New York Legislature passed a bill (A.7208/S.6893) in June to prohibit such discharges, but Hochul has yet to sign it.
"Gov. Hochul is running out of time to save the Hudson," said Emily Skydel, Hudson Valley organizer for Food & Water Watch. "With less than a month until Holtec's planned toxic dump, Gov. Hochul must waste no more time protecting our river. Gov. Hochul must sign the 'Save the Hudson' bill now—before it's too late."
The discharge was originally slated to begin in May, but Holtec paused the plan after outcry from U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) as well as state Sen. Pete Harckham (D-40) and state Assemblymember Dana Levenberg (D-95).
The lawmakers spoke out as groups including Riverkeeper and Physicians for Social Responsibility warned that the wastewater could be contaminated with the isotope tritium, which is linked to cancer, miscarriages, and genetic defects.
"We have spent decades cleaning up the Hudson, and now the river is, once again, a major economic driver for the region and the state as a whole," said Harckham on Tuesday. "Let's keep protecting the Hudson! I urge Gov. Hochul to sign our 'Save the Hudson' legislation, and truly thank all of the environmental advocates and supporters who are helping to stop radioactive wastewater from being dumped into this magnificent river, one of our country's natural treasures."
Assemblymembers representing Westchester County wrote to Hochul last week, urging her to sign the bill. More than 400,000 people, 35 localities, and 138 civil society groups have also called on her to take action to stop the discharge.
"Residents and advocates here have spoken loudly and we have a responsibility to listen to their concerns," said Erika Pierce, a Westchester County legislator. "The radioactive wastewater needs to be tested thoroughly before it is released into the Hudson River, and we need those results back so that they can be evaluated before this process can move forward. We don't get a redo on this."
Assemblymember Chris Burdick (D-93) called Holtec's plan "unconscionable."
"Such an action would be detrimental to our health, our water quality, and our environment," he said. "We simply cannot allow this dangerous dumping to occur."
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Groups Warn Biden Ukraine War Shows Attacks on Nuclear Plants 'Could Happen Here'
"The recent catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the crash of two Boeing 737 Max jets demonstrate the real-world consequences of inadequate or capriciously enforced safety regulation and oversight. We can't add radiological releases from U.S. nuclear plants to this list."
May 25, 2023
In the wake of another nerve-wracking outage at a Russian-held Ukrainian nuclear energy facility this week, 90 groups and dozens of individuals wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden expressing "grave concerns regarding security at U.S. nuclear power plants."
"We commend and wholeheartedly support your administration's much-needed efforts to make nuclear plants in the Ukraine war zone more secure in the face of daunting political and military challenges," states the letter, spearheaded by Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) and sent to the White House Wednesday. "This work protects not only Ukraine but the entire planet."
"Our concern is that the security of U.S. nuclear power plants does not seem to be receiving a commensurate amount of attention, neither from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), nor the administration," the coalition explained. "Worse, your administration is also seeking to expand the nuclear industry in dangerous ways that compound nuclear plant security threats."
"Attacks on nuclear facilities and other external dangers they face are credible threats and could happen here."
While the letter argues that given the associated security threats, "federal funding should prioritize scaling up renewables, storage, efficiency, and transmission upgrades, so as to phase out nuclear power as quickly as possible," it also calls for immediate action.
"Nuclear plant security MUST begin at home," the groups declared, urging the U.S. government to "learn the lesson" from Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) since Russian forces invaded Ukraine early last year—that "attacks on nuclear facilities and other external dangers they face are credible threats and could happen here."
"The recent catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the crash of two Boeing 737 Max jets demonstrate the real-world consequences of inadequate or capriciously enforced safety regulation and oversight," the organizations asserted. "We can't add radiological releases from U.S. nuclear plants to this list."
The coalition also sent the president a separate document detailing security concerns and recommendations for U.S. facilities, but the letter highlights the top takeaways:
- The 92 operating reactors and 19 reactors in various stages of decommissioning in the U.S. are vulnerable to sabotage, terrorism, cyberattack, dam breaches, and other threats of a deliberate nature.
- Shipments of spent nuclear fuel to consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs) are similarly vulnerable.
- NRC nuclear plant security policy is reactive rather than proactive, leaving it up to licensees. The NRC also takes a "hands-off" approach to securing spent nuclear fuel.
- Independent analysis shows this approach has failed, and that as a result, U.S. nuclear plants are not secure.
The coalition is calling on the Biden administration to enforce "enhanced, mandatory security measures for existing nuclear facilities and spent nuclear fuel to make them less vulnerable to attack," at the cost of licensees, not U.S. taxpayers.
The groups' recommendations include changes to storage policies. The letter says that "instead of transporting it to proposed CISFs, most spent nuclear fuel should be stored at reactor sites using hardened onsite storage (HOSS)."
\u201cHoltec International, a private company that builds casks to store nuclear waste, was given a license to store the nation's entire high-level nuclear waste in NM. We spoke with Director of the Rio Grande Chapter of Sierra Club, Camilla Feibelman about it.\nhttps://t.co/vB4TEm4tAe\u201d— KRWG Public Media (@KRWG Public Media) 1684767759
In a statement, Kevin Kamps—a radioactive waste specialist with Beyond Nuclear, which signed the letter to Biden—took aim at Holtec International, a U.S.-based company that owns a proposed New Mexico CISF, has handled spent fuel in Ukraine, and recently signed a contract to deploy small modular nuclear reactors in the war-torn country.
"Holtec's performance in handling spent fuel has been abysmal in Ukraine and similarly abysmal in the United States," said Kamps. "That's one illustration among others that the problem is not limited to Ukraine, and that U.S. nuclear plants are subject to security threats we need to start addressing."
NEIS director Dave Kraft asked, "What sense does it make to send tens of millions of dollars to Ukraine to enhance security and safety, when our own 92 operating reactors and 90,000 tons of high-level radioactive wastes are not secure?"
"What sense does it make to sprinkle the next-generation micro- and mini-nuke reactors around the nation and the world, boasting they can be mobile on flatbed trucks or housed in factories or Walmarts, when it is daily demonstrated that silent drones are capable of turning heavily armored tanks and military vehicles into shredded heaps of burning metal?" he added. "This is the real world nuclear power now exists in, and this administration is not prepared to provide the safety and security necessary for it to survive."
\u201cThe United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog is pushing for a last-minute agreement to secure Ukraine\u2019s huge atomic power plant in Zaporizhzhia ahead of a counteroffensive that could see\u00a0Kyiv\u2019s forces drive directly through the potentially hazardous facility.\nhttps://t.co/hcErCVkWZ8\u201d— Nukes of Hazard (@Nukes of Hazard) 1684872110
On Monday, for the seventh time since the Russians took control of ZNPP last year, Europe's largest nuclear facility was fully disconnected from Ukraine's electricity grid and had to rely on backup diesel generators. The outage lasted over five hours.
Reutersreported that a "Russia-installed local official said Ukraine had disconnected a power line and Ukrainian state nuclear energy company Energoatom said the problem was caused by Russian shelling."
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday's incident "demonstrates the highly vulnerable nuclear safety and security situation" at the facility and reiterated that "this simply can't go on."
"We're playing with fire. We must act now to avoid the very real danger of a nuclear accident in Europe, with its associated consequences for the public and the environment," he added. "I'm continuing to engage in intense negotiations with all the involved parties to secure the protection of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. I will not stop until this has been achieved."
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Plan to Dump Wastewater From Indian Point Into Hudson River Paused After Local Outcry
"My constituents are already overburdened with the negative environmental externalities left behind by industrial infrastructure, and we should not be treated like pawns in this process," said one local lawmaker about Holtec International's now-paused plan.
Apr 14, 2023
Clean water and public health advocates in New York's Hudson Valley applauded Thursday as the energy technology company Holtec International announced it will not move ahead with plans to dump wastewater next month from the former Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, following intense pressure from local communities and state lawmakers.
The company had initially planned to complete its first discharge of wastewater from pools that were used to cool spent nuclear reactor fuel rods late this summer, but recently announced that in May it would discharge 45,000 gallons of the water into the Hudson River, which at least 100,000 people rely on for their drinking water.
The company ultimately plans to release one million gallons of wastewater into the river.
Holtec International said it was taking a "voluntary pause" in the plan to better explain the process of decommissioning the plant, which was shut down in 2021, to the local community and elected officials.
Local clean water group Riverkeeper expressed appreciation that Holtec "heard the concerns of public" and said advocates will continue pushing for an alternative to releasing the wastewater into the Hudson.
\u201c@Riverkeeper appreciates that Holtec heard the concerns of public. We are hopeful that state, federal & local partners can find a workable solution for the spent pool wastewater that avoids discharges to the Hudson. TY @SenSchumer @SenGillibrand @SenatorHarckham @AMDanaLevenberg\u201d— Tracy M Brown (@Tracy M Brown) 1681428598
Riverkeeper and Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) are among the groups that have raised concerns about the presence in the wastewater of the isotope tritium, which can be carcinogenic and is harmful to pregnant women and developing fetuses. Advocates have called on Holtec to store the water in tanks on the Indian Point site until a safe alternative disposal method can be found.
"There has been no prior disclosure of what pollutants or radioactive contaminants are in the wastewater or any public education on the environmental safety and public health risks associated with any potential discharges from the site," said local public health experts in a statement in January as PSR held the first of several public forums about the risks associated with Holtec's discharge plan.
The proposal has sparked outcry from local, state, and federal officials in New York in recent weeks. In March, state Sen. Pete Harckham (D-40) proposed legislation to ban any release of radioactive waste into the Hudson.
"I welcome Holtec postponing the planned release of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River," said Harckham on Thursday.
\u201cI welcome Holtec postponing the planned release of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. This was the right decision to make: all the stakeholders deserve an opportunity to continue our dialogue with the company as it seeks a solution to stored waste at @Indian_Point.\u201d— Senator Pete Harckham (@Senator Pete Harckham) 1681423582
State Assemblymember Dana Levenberg (D-95) expressed relief that Holtec's plan has been postponed for the time being and said she is as "committed as ever to ensuring that the needs of my constituents are respected throughout this process."
"My constituents are already overburdened with the negative environmental externalities left behind by industrial infrastructure, and we should not be treated like pawns in this process," said Levenberg earlier this month. "What we need is a partner who will work with us to facilitate a safe and just decommissioning of this plant, in a way that respects the surrounding communities. The people of my district have made it clear that this conversation should not be one-sided; Holtec should not be the only participant driving the schedule. What is efficient for Holtec may not be what is in the best interest of our communities and our natural resources."
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in writing to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about Holtec's plan on April 6, said he was "relieved that Holtec has heeded our call and will put a stop to its hastily hatched plan to dump radioactive wastewater into the Hudson."
The state's Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board is scheduled to hold an online meeting regarding the wastewater on April 25, where community members and officials will be able to comment on the issue.
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