COMMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
MEMBERS PRESENT: B. Ryan (Chair), M. Kaplowitz, L. Mosiello, S. Swanson, R. Wishnie
LEGISLATORS: V. Pinto
BOARD STAFF: S. Vanderberg, Secretary
OTHERS: B. Randolph, CE’s office;
J. Steets, M. Slobodien, D. Fay,
Entergy Nuclear Northeast;
H. Specter, RBR Consultants;
Chief A. Mignone, Purchase FD; Commissioner B. Broderick,
Hartsdale FD;
F. Andrews, RSI Inc;
H. Corbin
The meeting was called to order at 2:16 p.m.
Officials from Entergy Nuclear Northeast were present to continue last week’s discussion on security and public protection issues involving the nuclear power station at Indian Point.
Fly-over by small airplane
Mr. Slobodien said Entergy does keep records of fly-overs. The information is classified and is made available to the NRC. When Entergy Security sights fly-over aircraft, they notify the FAA and provide (if possible) the aircraft’s tail numbers. The FAA makes a judgment as to the level of threat. There are no anti-aircraft weapons in or around Indian Point. Interdiction would be by the U.S.
military only. Mr. Slobodien provided the members with a copy of a
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letter concerning the April 22, 2002 fly-over.
Jim Steets said the FAA had advance knowledge of the fly-over. He said that reporter Douglas Kennedy staged the event with Fox News. Kennedy and passengers misrepresented the purpose of the flight to the pilot. After two fly-overs, the pilot refused to make a third. Entergy reports three fly-overs since February 2002.
Mr. Herschel Specter, the consultant hired by Entergy, voiced his concern with the taped record of the meeting. He said a public record of his remarks on the high level of security at Indian Point and the difficulty of penetrating the plant and damaging area such as the spent fuel pool might cause terrorists to turn their attention to less protected targets. Members felt the meeting should remain open and that a taped record was appropriate.
Spent fuel pool
According to Mr. Specter, it is virtually impossible for a terrorist to pilot a large airplane into the spent fuel pool. An airliner, such as those used in the attack on the World Trade Center, is big and travels at high speed. An attempt to hit the relatively small 25’ x 40’ fuel pool would more likely result in overshooting the target. Any variance from course - forward, back, left, right - would result in the pool being missed entirely; maintaining the 40 degree angle of decent needed to hit the target would cause the complete loss of control of the plane; as the plane travels at very high speed, the rate must be maintained or in only a fraction of a second the airliner passes well beyond the target.
Mr. Specter said airliner engine’s steel turbine blade hub had the greatest missile potential of all parts of the plane. In his opinion, if it
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struck the pool it would cause minimal damage to it and have little or no affect on the spent fuel.
Mr. Specter described the spent fuel pool as 25’ x 40’ x 40’ deep with a 6 ¼ inch thick steel reinforced concrete liner. The steel roof over the pool is not factored in as it has no safety value. Covering the spent fuel is 23’ to 27’ of water.
Overall, Mr. Specter said that although it is possible to hit the fuel pool, it is highly improbably.
Mr. Kaplowitz expressed a high degree of skepticism with Mr. Specter’s presentation.
Mr. Ryan asked about a fuel pool “worst case” – it suffers a direct hit by a hijacked airliner. Mr. Slobodien said, based on tests conducted by Entergy, a direct hit would cause very little harm to anyone as close as the Indian Point perimeter fence.
Mr. Kaplowitz asked why Entergy is bothering to move any spent fuel off the site. Mr. Steets said Entergy was removing fuel from the spent pool due to lack of space and the public is asking for its removal.
The Plume
Mr. Kaplowitz submitted information revealing that plumes do in fact, travel in more than just one direction. Mr. Specter said that wind currents determine the direction of the plume. The plume will meander. The danger of the plume is determined by the amount of radioactive material discharged; health risks lessen with dissipation of the initial concentrations.
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The tour by legislators of the Indian Point nuclear power station, on Friday, May 3, has been postponed. A new date will be arranged with Entergy.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 3:14 p.m.