ML20058D682
| ML20058D682 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  |
| Issue date: | 07/23/1982 |
| From: | Steingut R NEW YORK, NY |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20058D615 | List: |
| References | |
| ISSUANCES-SP, NUDOCS 8207270282 | |
| Download: ML20058D682 (5) | |
Text
.(
v UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION t
ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Before Administrative Judges Louis J.
Carter, Chair Frederick J.
Shon Dr. Oscar R.. Paris
______________________________________________x In the Matter of:
Docket Nos.
CONSOLIDATED EDISON COMPANY OF NEW YORK 50-247 SP Inc.
(Indian Point, Unit No. 2),
50-286 SP POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK July 23, 1982 (Indian Point, Unit No. 3)
______________________________________________x Testimony Submitted on Behalf of "New York City Council" Intervenors By NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER j
ROBERT STEINGUT 1
This Document Has Been Filed By:
NATIONAL EMERGENCY CIVIL LIBERTIES COMMITTEE 175 Fifth Avenue Suite 712 New York, New York 10010 (212) 673-2040 CRAIG KAPLAN, SPECIAL COUNSEL gg O
T
O O
STATEMENT OF BROOKLYN COUNCIL MEMBER-AT-LARGE ROBERT STEINGUT TO BE FILED WITH THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ON THE INDIAN POINT NUCLEAR REACTOR, JULY 23, 1982 l
l e
,,n,-
r O
O As Council Member-At-Large for Brooklyn my constituency is as diverse as the City itself. Brooklyn is our most populous borough with many different neighborhoods and a myriad of people.
In the event of an emergency associated with Indian Point, it would be virtually impossible to evacuate Brooklyn's residents. The sheer number of people would result in chaos. Brooklyn's major roads are choaked with traffic on normal working days. The addition of the extra vehicles needed to evacuate would comple.tely bottleneck these roads, causing them to become " parking lots" with no movement of traffic. The mass transit system in Brooklyn is such that many areas in the southern and eastern are practically inaccessible. The res-idents of these areas rely on private buses or must take city buses to the subway. It is also important to note that some of Brooklyn's subways run on elevated tracks and are thus vulnerable to increased exposure in the case of nuclear fallout.
1 With a high percentage of the city's elderly residents living in Brooklyn these transportation problems are more acute. Senior citizens and handicapped people in all of New York City would be among the hardest to evacuate. Brooklyn has also experienced an increase in non-English-speaking residents. The population of our City has the right to know of any crises associated with Indian Point, and (page 1 of 3)
the necessity of providing information in a multitude of languages poses grave problems.
It is bnportant to be aware that emergency situations often bring out the worst in people. Although there is no way to gauge how people would react to an emergency associated with Indian Point, if the blackout of 1977 is any indication, then Brooklyn is totally unprepared. A few of Brooklyn's neighborhoods were devastated by looting and arson during the blackout. They are currently on the road to recoverh, but we can only guess at what effects other civil emergencies might have on these areas. Many of Brooklyn's small homeowners and storeewners might be un<willing to leave for fear of damage being visited on their property.
We must be realistic about the impossibility of evacuating a city as large as New York. Where would the over seven million r6sidents go? The City, simply put, is not adequately prepared to handle an emergency of this magnitude. Any accident at Indian Point would have a major effect on all New Yorkers. Our uppermost concern must be the safety of our citizens, a concern which is threatened by the proximity of the Indian Point NLelcir Reactor to New York Oity.
It appears evident that even if our City had adet.uate means to (page 2 of 3)
O O
l safely evacuate and relocate all of its people, the mere prox-imity of Indian Point to New York City poses too serious a threat to allow its continued operation. As Council Member-At-Large for Brooklyn I am compelled to voice my concern over the Indian Point Nuclear Reactor and to reccommend that its operation be halted.
i
)
i (page 3 of 3)
-