Public opinion shock waves from the nuclear crisis in Japan were felt in New York State yesterday where Governor Andrew  Cuomo said the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County was a “disaster waiting to happen” as he called for the facility’s closing. 

Plant owner, Entergy, released this statement regarding the plant’s ability to withstand  earthquakes.

Here’s the governor on FOX News:

In neighboring New Jersey, the Star-Ledger reported on Tuesday that the Oyster Creek nuclear reactor in Ocean County, the oldest operating nuclear plant in the country, is a “virtually identical General Electric reactor, sharing its design features — and, some fear, its weaknesses.”

But the plant’s operator, Exelon, and state officials responsible for overseeing nuclear safety say “New Jersey’s nuclear facilities are far less likely to be shaken by a severe earthquake, and the lessons learned in Japan can be applied here.”

NJN News’ environmental reporter Ed Rodgers on Wednesday filed a video report on the safety of nuclear plants in the Garden State–especially at the multi-reactor Salem Nuclear Power facility in Lower Alloways Township where owner PSEG has been exploring the possibility of adding an additional unit.

President Obama ordered a safety review of all U.S. nuclear plants on Thursday but also said that nuclear would be part of the nation’s energy future

How do you think the Japanese crisis will affect nuclear regulation/development in the United States? Will we ever see another new nuclear plant built in the northeast? Is this good or bad?  Share your thoughts in the comment box below. Don’t see one? Click on the tiny ‘comment’ line.


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