Indian Point 2
The Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station situated on the east bank of the Hudson River near Buchanan, New York. The first reactor on the site came online in September 1962 and was shut down twelve years later due to the obsolescence of its emergency core cooling system. it was replaced with a new unit that same year; the third unit came online in 1976.
The current owner of the plant, Entergy, has submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating permits for the two units for an additional twenty years; this application is still pending.
Because of its proximity to New York City, the Indian Point Energy Center is under increased security by the federal government. Meanwhile, Entergy has incurred nearly $800,000 in fines from the NRC for failure of its emergency warning systems; although these have been operable, they have not met new standards. There have also been concerns on the part of local residents and environmentalists because of incidents in which material has leaked from the facility, although Entergy claims that the amounts of radiation release was not enough to cause a public health danger.
On the other hand, some environmentalists acknowledge that the benefits of nuclear energy in that it largely non-polluting outweighs the risks associated with radiation and possible terrorist action.
In any event, Indian Point supplies 30% of the region's electrical energy; closing the plant down would cause severe shortages and economic hardship.
One hazard common to all power plants is asbestos.
While radiation is used in the treatment of cancer, it is also known to cause cellular mutations leading to cancer as well. It is not known if asbestos and radiation work together in order to increase the chances of a person's developing cancer (as is the case for tobacco use); however, virtually all power generation facilities were full of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs).
Asbestos offers excellent resistance to both heat and electrical current. Asbestos insulation was used in fire doors, around conduits and inside the machinery itself. While the asbestos-containing materials used in the construction and machinery of power plants were unlikely to pose a major health hazard to the general public, they have been proven to be a serious health risk to power plant maintenance workers and engineers.
A Puerto Rican study published in 2007 signs of asbestos disease in over 130 out of 1100 chest x-rays that had been taken of power plant workers in that country. The findings were further validated by the removal of factors such as tobacco from the data.
Although harmless in its solid state, asbestos materials become brittle with age and begin to crumble into dust. In this condition, it is called friable; asbestos dust is released into the environment. It can be inhaled by workers and often settles in the hair and on the clothing. Family members then receive secondary exposure when such asbestos materials are carried into the home.
Those who were employed at Indian Point as well as their family members should tell their primary care physicians of any history of asbestos exposure. Not everyone who us exposed to asbestos will develop cancer; however, early and frequent monitoring will increase the chance that if cancer does develop, it can be caught in its early stages and successfully treated.
This installation was one of thousands of factories, mills, power plants and worksites that, throughout the first seven decades of the 1900s, utilized the mineral asbestos because of its ability to resist flame. Even though asbestos' abilities as an insulator undoubtedly saved lives, the eventual consequences of its use were devastating, as untold numbers of workers developed serious illness and even died from exposure to asbestos. The reason large numbers of employees have suffered from diseases including asbestosis and cancer is that when humans inhale asbestos strands, the mineral infiltrates internal organs; once there, the sharp, microscopic spikes damage cells. In addition, pleural mesothelioma, a fast-growing and mostly untreatable cancer affecting the lining surrounding the lungs, is associated with even low levels of asbestos exposure.
People whose jobs put them in contact with asbestos now are generally protected from contact due to the many guidelines controlling its utilization, inclusion in products and scrapping. Those who worked around job sites containing asbestos before such laws were passed, however, usually spent their days in spaces where asbestos microfibers were prevalent, and they typically received very little training regarding how to minimize risks when dealing with the mineral. In addition, employees brought asbestos strands home on their work clothes when decontamination procedures weren't offered at the workplace; the consequence of this was that the potentially deadly mineral also put at risk children of those who worked near asbestos.
Asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma frequently take decades to appear, and the signs of these illnesses can be difficult to distinguish from those of other conditions, so men and women who worked at these installations during their careers, as well as family members of such workers, are encouraged to chat with their medical care providers about their history of asbestos exposure. Individuals are encouraged to speak with a mesothelioma attorney if they believe they could have been negligently exposed to asbestos.
Sources
Bowker, Michael. Fatal Deception: The Terrifying True Story of How Asbestos is Killing America. New York: Touchstone, 2003.
Cabrera-Santiago, Manuel et al. "Prevalence of Asbestos-Related Disease Among Electrical Power Generation Workers in Puerto Rico." Presentation at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, 2007.
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Indian Point Unit 2.”
http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/ip2.html
