Bringing facts to area residents about the health and safety implications of decommissioning the Indian Point nuclear power plant is the goal of several local environmental organizations who have scheduled  a speaker series that begins on January 26th on a 4 p.m. Zoom webinar.  

 The ‘Public Health & Safety Impacts of Decommissioning Indian Point’ series is co-sponsored by Grassroots Environmental Education, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater,  Physicians for Social Responsibility-NY, Safe Energy Rights Group, Sierra Club Atlantic  Chapter, Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group, United for Clean Energy, Upper Nyack Green  Committee, WESPAC.

The sessions are set for Thursday, January 26, and Thursday, February 16, 2023 on Zoom. This series presents experts in their respective fields addressing important aspects of public health and safety that should be considered in decommissioning a nuclear power plant, and the handling of nuclear waste. 

Speakers for the first session at 4 p.m. on January 26 include an introduction by New York State Senator Peter Harckham, chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. The panel will be moderated by Alfred Meyer, of Physicians for Social Responsibility – NY, Dr.Helen Caldicott, an acclaimed author, Nobel laureate and co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility will discuss nuclear facilities’ impacts on human health. Other panelists include Eric Epstein of Three Mile Island Alert, Inc. who will discuss independent, state-of-the art, radiation air monitoring around nuclear facilities and Diane Turco, Director of Cape Downwinders, Cape Cod, MA, discussing the release of radioactive wastewater and impacts on her community.

To register for the free sessions, go here.

Holtec International – the Florida-based company charged with decommissioning the former Indian Point Energy Center – is proposing to release one million gallons of wastewater into the Hudson River, where seven Hudson Valley municipalities source their drinking water and others rely on as a backup source.  

 The public safety forum on Thursday, February 16th will include presentations by the experts Michel Lee on site contamination, Paul Blanch on “hot particles” aka Discreet Radioactive Particles (DRP), and Donna Gilmore on nuclear rod casks, cannisters, and storage issues.  For more information, Ellen Weininger, Grassroots Environmental Education (914) 422-3141 (O) or (646) 210-0200  or Judy Allen, United for Clean Energy  845-528-6643 (H), 914 382-1193 (C)