Gregory Jaczko: Shut Indian Point down By Roger Witherspoon The former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said yesterday that emergency plans for a catastrophic event at the Indian Point nuclear power plant are not designed to ensure that residents will escape unhealthy doses of radiation and it would be best if the plant closes down. Gregory Jaczko, who led the five-member Commission during the triple meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima  Daiichi  nuclear station and resigne

By Roger Witherspoon Download and/or Print Article In an unprecedented move, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has bowed to a court order  and imposed a temporary halt in relicensing nuclear power plants until it thoroughly examines the impact of runaway meltdowns at the plants’ spent fuel pools. That action affects the relicensing evaluations of some 33 facilities at 19 sites, including Indian Point 2 and 3 on the Hudson River opposite Bear Mountain.  And it leaves in limbo

By Roger Witherspoon Download and/or Print Article Entergy Corporation’s low key announcement might well have been posted on Craig’s List: For Sale: Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. Used, unpredictable radioactive leaks, occasional fires, poorly run, financially indebted, locally unpopular, politically shunned and currently not working. $180 Million – Or Best Offer. “Selling an old nuclear plant is like trying to build a new one,” said economist Mark Cooper of the Universi

By Roger Witherspoon Download and/or Print Article Congress and the Obama Administration are on a course to provide the nation’s nuclear industry an unprecedented financial package which could dwarf the combined expenditures of the bailout programs enacted during the past year. The legislative package is accompanied by restrictions – billed as efforts to streamline bureaucracy – which would block the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from completely examining the major components