While we all have concerns about nuclear safety, I would like to know how Sen. Clinton proposes to get 20 million people away from a danger zone and where they would be housed. It can take 24 to 48 hours to evacuate coastal areas with only a tiny fraction of the 20m population in advance of hurricanes.

Sen. Clinton: Include NYC in evacuation plans

By JIM FITZGERALD Associated Press Writer

November 20, 2001, 5:43 AM EST

BUCHANAN, N.Y. -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that New York City should be included in a new evacuation plan that would be implemented if there were a serious release of radiation from the Indian Point nuclear power plants.

"I favor a 50-mile evacuation plan," the senator said after a tour of the plants in Buchanan, 35 miles up the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan.

Current evacuation plans include only a 10-mile evacuation area.

Clinton also said the federal government should keep stockpiles of potassium iodide, which fights illnesses caused by radiation, for residents near nuclear plants.

The leveling of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 raised fears that terrorists could produce a nuclear nightmare in metropolitan New York by targeting the two Indian Point plants.

Experts say the concrete dome of the plants' containment buildings might not withstand the impact of a jetliner, which could expose the area to lethal radiation. The spent fuel stored at the site could also give off radiation and is even less protected, activists say.

Clinton did not go into detail about how and when the city might be evacuated, saying, "The direction and force of the wind would be the major determinant."

But in an interview after her news conference, she said including New York City in the plan "would be a way of using some of New York City's experience. ... They have the best emergency response team and plan in the country as we've seen since Sept. 11. So we need to consult with them."

"It's all a work in progress," she said.

The existing evacuation plan has been criticized for limiting the area to a 10-mile radius and for several assumptions, including that bus drivers would agree to enter the danger zone to take out schoolchildren, that parents would allow others to look after their children and that area roads could handle the traffic.

Frank McCarton, a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Corp., the owner of the plants, said, "Before Sept. 11, we might have resisted a plan like this, but now you have to consider everything. We have good information about worst-case scenarios that gives us confidence that the current evacuation plan is appropriate. But I can't say we wouldn't consider the senator's idea."

Clinton's proposal came as she provided some details of a bill she plans to introduce next month to improve security at the nation's nuclear reactors.

The bill would:

_Establish stockpiles of potassium iodide for residents near nuclear plants. If taken shortly after exposure to radiation, potassium iodide blocks the thyroid gland's intake of radioactive iodine, providing some protection against thyroid cancer and certain other diseases.

_Make security at nuclear power plants a federal responsibility rather than the responsibility of the reactors' owners. "We need to be absolutely certain that we have the highest level of security in place," Clinton said.

_Impose a requirement of "force-on-force" training to prepare for terrorist attacks on nuclear sites. Tests--such as a mock attack on a plant--would be conducted by the federal government and "would give us a real thorough test of how we would respond to any attack by air, sea or land," Clinton said.

Several members of Congress, other local leaders and the environmental group Riverkeeper have petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to close Indian Point pending that security review.

The petition says an attack on the nuclear plants could have "a catastrophic effect on the region's human population, environment and economy." It asks that the plants' operating licenses be suspended until owner Entergy Corp. "can demonstrate that the facility is protected against plausible attack scenarios."

The Independent Power Producers of New York, a trade group, said Tuesday it would formally oppose the petition if the NRC decides to hear it.

"Calling for plants to shut down is the sort of knee-jerk reaction that won't help security and will certainly have a negative impact on electricity markets and the economy," said IPP Executive Director Gavin Donohue.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001