Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
New York's Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Generating Controversy
Aired May 01, 2002 - 10:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: For more than a quarter-century, New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant has generated nearly as much controversy as electricity. Since September 11th, the controversy has grown to a fever pitch, fueled by fear that a terrorist strike on the plant could threaten the millions of people who live within 50 miles.
CNN's Michael Okwu explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hearing in New York's Westchester County: more than 200 participants walk out in disgust. Passions run high because the stakes are. At issue: the Indian Point nuclear power plant. To supporters, it provides up to 1/3 of the area's electricity. To critics, it is a disaster waiting to happen, just an hour's drive from New York City and within 50 miles of 20 million people.
New Yorkers have been arguing about Indian Point since it opened in 1974, but never has it compelled so many ordinary family men and women to become battle-ready activists.
NANCY SYROP, INDIAN POINT OPPONENT: Since September 11th, it's a new world. We keep getting reminders in the newspapers, and on TV that the terrorists are still in this country.
OKWU: Nancy Syrop, wife and self-described soccer mom of three.
SYROP: The containment domes cannot withstand an airliner the size that went into the World Trade Center. It could withstand a small aircraft, but they don't test to the point of failure, so how do they really know what could happen?
OKWU: Syrop says that after 9/11, she packed survival bags for her family,
SYROP: After packing these bags, I realized I need to make a change with the plant.
OKWU: She's been trying to shut it down ever since.
SYROP: I needed officer Winsky (ph) to call me back.
OKWU: Organizing rallies, attending neighborhood meetings, protesting front and center.
SYROP: Close it down!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it open!
OKWU: Which is why Rich Jones is fighting her every step of the way.
RICH JONES: They put 100 people on the street; we put 800 on the street.
OKWU: Jones is also a new activist, a husband, father of two, and operator at Indian Point.
(on camera): What do you say to those people who argue this is not safe from a terrorist attack?
JONES: We've had people testify at public meetings where they would have to fly slow and low, and it wouldn't be sufficient amount of force to penetrate the building.
OKWU: The domes, he says, are made of 3 1/2 feet of steel- reinforced concrete. Any land-based attack would have to pass heavy security and a battery of checkpoints.
JONES: The anti-nuclear protesters are using the tragedy of 9/11 to promote their own agenda. I do embrace their healthy skepticism, and I actually encourage them to challenge us responsibly with facts, and not with fear.
OKWU: But protesters say they are also worried about what they call an inadequate evacuation plan for the county and the presence of more than 1,300 tons of radioactive waste.
JONES: We just would not allow our family to live near the facility if we thought it was unsafe.
SYROP: I can't give up on the future of my children. I can't give up on that.
OKWU: One day, it may be the children who will have to resolve this issue.
Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
