SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Oil Sheen Visible on Hudson River After Fire at NY Nuclear Plant
Latest accident is evidence that "it's time to close Indian Point and move on," says watchdog group
May 11, 2015
A gigantic oil sheen has been spotted in New York's Hudson River, following an explosion, fire, and oil leak that occurred Saturday at the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, just south of Peekskill.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, oil made its way into the facility's discharge drains during the fire. "Several thousand gallons may have overflowed the transformer moat," said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.
The fire didn't cause the release of any radiation and didn't pose a threat to workers or the public, according to a statement by Entergy Corp, the owner of the nuclear power plant. The transformers are used to step up power produced by the plant before it is transmitted to the grid.
However, "there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly said at Indian Point on Sunday. "We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river."
The Journal News cites a state official as saying the oil leak "left a sheen of 75-by-100 feet just south of the two reactors, and is likely expanding."
A boat crew for the watchdog group Riverkeeper--which patrolled the Hudson off Indian Point after Saturday's transformer fire, looking for possible discharges of transformer oil and firefighting foam into the river--found areas of sheen in many locations, and a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant.
Riverkeeper also noticed that a containment boom at the power plant, designed to hold back the oil leak, itself had a gap in it and notified the state Department of Environmental Conservation, resulting in the deployment of a second boom.
The accident and subsequent contamination are further evidence that the plant should be closed, the group said, noting that "fire safety at Indian Point has been an ongoing concern" and that the weekend's incident comes only days after an unplanned shutdown at the plant due to a steam leak.
"The history of fire safety at Indian Point is one of mistakes, illegality, and failure by both Entergy and the NRC," said Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay. "The plant should not be operated under its current fire safety regime. The plant is not cheaper, it's not safe, and it's not necessary. It's time to close Indian Point and move on."
According to the Journal News, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), said Sunday the NRC should not renew Indian Point's license for their reactors, a matter the body is currently considering.
"This latest episode proves that Indian Point remains a serious threat to public health and safety," Lowey said in a statement. "We are extremely fortunate that a catastrophic scenario did not unfold, and I urge officials to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."
The oil sheen is clearly visible in this Riverkeeper video:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
A gigantic oil sheen has been spotted in New York's Hudson River, following an explosion, fire, and oil leak that occurred Saturday at the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, just south of Peekskill.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, oil made its way into the facility's discharge drains during the fire. "Several thousand gallons may have overflowed the transformer moat," said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.
The fire didn't cause the release of any radiation and didn't pose a threat to workers or the public, according to a statement by Entergy Corp, the owner of the nuclear power plant. The transformers are used to step up power produced by the plant before it is transmitted to the grid.
However, "there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly said at Indian Point on Sunday. "We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river."
The Journal News cites a state official as saying the oil leak "left a sheen of 75-by-100 feet just south of the two reactors, and is likely expanding."
A boat crew for the watchdog group Riverkeeper--which patrolled the Hudson off Indian Point after Saturday's transformer fire, looking for possible discharges of transformer oil and firefighting foam into the river--found areas of sheen in many locations, and a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant.
Riverkeeper also noticed that a containment boom at the power plant, designed to hold back the oil leak, itself had a gap in it and notified the state Department of Environmental Conservation, resulting in the deployment of a second boom.
The accident and subsequent contamination are further evidence that the plant should be closed, the group said, noting that "fire safety at Indian Point has been an ongoing concern" and that the weekend's incident comes only days after an unplanned shutdown at the plant due to a steam leak.
"The history of fire safety at Indian Point is one of mistakes, illegality, and failure by both Entergy and the NRC," said Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay. "The plant should not be operated under its current fire safety regime. The plant is not cheaper, it's not safe, and it's not necessary. It's time to close Indian Point and move on."
According to the Journal News, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), said Sunday the NRC should not renew Indian Point's license for their reactors, a matter the body is currently considering.
"This latest episode proves that Indian Point remains a serious threat to public health and safety," Lowey said in a statement. "We are extremely fortunate that a catastrophic scenario did not unfold, and I urge officials to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."
The oil sheen is clearly visible in this Riverkeeper video:
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
A gigantic oil sheen has been spotted in New York's Hudson River, following an explosion, fire, and oil leak that occurred Saturday at the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, just south of Peekskill.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, oil made its way into the facility's discharge drains during the fire. "Several thousand gallons may have overflowed the transformer moat," said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC.
The fire didn't cause the release of any radiation and didn't pose a threat to workers or the public, according to a statement by Entergy Corp, the owner of the nuclear power plant. The transformers are used to step up power produced by the plant before it is transmitted to the grid.
However, "there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly said at Indian Point on Sunday. "We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river."
The Journal News cites a state official as saying the oil leak "left a sheen of 75-by-100 feet just south of the two reactors, and is likely expanding."
A boat crew for the watchdog group Riverkeeper--which patrolled the Hudson off Indian Point after Saturday's transformer fire, looking for possible discharges of transformer oil and firefighting foam into the river--found areas of sheen in many locations, and a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant.
Riverkeeper also noticed that a containment boom at the power plant, designed to hold back the oil leak, itself had a gap in it and notified the state Department of Environmental Conservation, resulting in the deployment of a second boom.
The accident and subsequent contamination are further evidence that the plant should be closed, the group said, noting that "fire safety at Indian Point has been an ongoing concern" and that the weekend's incident comes only days after an unplanned shutdown at the plant due to a steam leak.
"The history of fire safety at Indian Point is one of mistakes, illegality, and failure by both Entergy and the NRC," said Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay. "The plant should not be operated under its current fire safety regime. The plant is not cheaper, it's not safe, and it's not necessary. It's time to close Indian Point and move on."
According to the Journal News, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), said Sunday the NRC should not renew Indian Point's license for their reactors, a matter the body is currently considering.
"This latest episode proves that Indian Point remains a serious threat to public health and safety," Lowey said in a statement. "We are extremely fortunate that a catastrophic scenario did not unfold, and I urge officials to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."
The oil sheen is clearly visible in this Riverkeeper video:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy