- WHITE PLAINS, NY (Reuters)
- Amid fears nuclear power plants could be the target of terror attacks,
officials plan to provide residents near the Indian Point installation,
just north of New York, with potassium iodide pills to protect against
any release of radioactive gases.
-
- West Chester County officials said that beginning on
Saturday the pills will be distributed on the first three Saturdays in
June at three local schools.
-
- The distribution of the pills, which were provided by
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and are known as KI, comes after federal
warnings that nuclear power plants could be the targets of future attacks.
-
- KI helps to prevent thyroid cancer in the event of a
radiological emergency, officials said, by blocking the absorption of radioactive
iodide, one of the gases that can be released in a nuclear accident.
-
- The county has also stockpiled the KI pills and will
distribute them to local schools on request. Forty-six pharmacies in the
county have agreed to stock the pills, the Westchester County Health Department
said.
-
- http://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com/aolns_display.adp?key=20020604203100023
- 8111_aolns.src
-
- Another version of the story:
-
- Radiation Pills To Be Handed Out Near N.Y. Nuclear Plant
-
- Health Highlights 6-1-2
-
- Concerns ranging from a possible terrorism attack to
a nuclear accident are prompting officials at the Indian Point nuclear
power plant in New York state to give away radiation pills to protect nearby
residents from possible radiation exposure, according to The New York Times.
-
- The plant, located about 40 miles north of midtown Manhattan,
has had several safety lapses and small radioactive leaks in recent years.
One of the plant's two reactors was shut down for a year after a leak occurred
in February 2000.
-
- The 340,000 potassium iodide tablets were provided to
Westchester County officials by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and
ONE PILL per person will be handed out for free in June, along with a fact
sheet.
-
- In addition, the radiation pills will be available to
students at schools within 10 miles of the plant, and municipal and emergency
workers will have stockpiles as well.
-
- http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/hsn/20020602/hl_hsn/health_highli
- ghts__june_nbsp_1__nbsp_2002
-
- ====================
-
- Is it terrorists they are worried about or.... ???
-
- Remember this:
-
- New York Nuclear Power Plant Is Leaking Small Amount
Of Radioactive Coolant
-
- By Jim Fitzgerald Associated Press 2-15-2
-
- WHITE PLAINS, New York - Radioactive coolant is leaking
from a steam generator of the Indian Point nuclear plant, but it's not
enough to endanger anyone or slow down the plant, officials said.
-
- Plant owner Entergy Corp. reported that sensors detected
radioactivity " about one-tenth of an ounce (2.8 grams) a day "
in what is supposed to be the clean water that is converted to steam.
-
- [comment: Are these writers using the same ad agency
as put "low fat" on milk based on percent of fat by weight rather
than calories??? Since when has radioactivity been measured in OUNCES and
GRAMS? What you need to know is the amount of radioactivity in those grams..
something they are deliberately NOT telling in this article.]
-
- "It's very small. It's being monitored. There's
no danger," Entergy spokesman Larry Gottlieb said Thursday.
-
- Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, estimated the leak at 0.04 gallons (0.152 liters) a day, while
federal guidelines permit 432 gallons (1,640 liters) a day.
-
- [again.. they are telling you liters and gallons... what
is the RADIOACTIVITY and what is the SOURCE of the radioactivity in those
liters and gallons? What isotopes? Strontium-90???]
-
- But activists who have been campaigning to close the
plant said the leak is the latest proof of the danger of nuclear reactors
in such a densely populated area as the New York suburbs. The plant is
35 miles (55 kilometers) north of New York City.
-
- "It just reinforces that this plant is vulnerable
to structural problems, to accidents, and potentially to a terrorist attack,"
said Alex Matthiessen, who leads the environmental organization Riverkeeper.
-
- Entergy spokesman Jim Steets and Sheehan said the leak
probably dates from late 2000, when then-owner Consolidated Edison installed
new steam generators, bowing to public pressure after the worst accident
in the plant's history. On Feb. 15, 2000, [interesting timing of this article...
on the anniversary] a tube in the steam generator burst, spilling radioactive
coolant and sending a tiny amount of radioactive steam into the atmosphere.
-
- Amid fears of a terrorist attack, critics have increased
pressure to shut down the plant . On Thursday, Westchester County Executive
Andrew Spano announced a draft plan to distribute potassium iodide pills
that help fight radiation sickness to schools and other institutions. http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/02/02152002/ap_46420.asp
-
- See further: http://everest.hunter.cuny.edu/~ashoup/Indianpoint/strontium.html
http://everest.hunter.cuny.edu/~ashoup/Indianpoint/abstract.html
-
- http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/nuclear_power_plants/reactor_
- safety/articles.cfm?ID=4444
-
- http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=%22potassium+iodide%22
-
- Linda wrote:
-
- New York nuclear power plant is leaking small amount
of radioactive coolant Entergy spokesman Jim Steets and Sheehan said the
leak probably dates from late 2000, when then-owner Consolidated Edison
installed new steam generators, bowing to public pressure after the worst
accident in the plant's history. On Feb. 15, 2000, [interesting timing
of this article... on the anniversary] a tube in the steam generator burst,
spilling radioactive coolant and sending a tiny amount of radioactive steam
into the atmosphere.
-
- So... it has been leaking an unknown amount and type
of radiation for probably TWO YEARS.
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