Cuomo: Indian Point "A Matter of Concern"

By Karen DeWitt

Albany, New York –
Governor Andrew Cuomo says he's concerned over a report that one of the nuclear reactors at the Indian Point power plant along the Hudson River is on an earthquake fault line, and is looking into the matter.

Cuomo says it was a "surprise" to him that a study, first reported on MSNBC, finds Indian Point may be the nuclear plant most susceptible to possible damage from a massive earthquake in the nation. One of the reactors is built very near an earthquake fault line.

"One normally doesn't think of earthquakes and New York in the same breath," said Cuomo. "So that is a matter of concern".

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week listed Indian Point as one of several nuclear plants in the US that may need to upgrade safeguards against seismic events, after the massive earthquake in Japan and extensive damage to nuclear plants there.

Cuomo, when he was Attorney General, argued against issuing a new 20-year license for Indian Point, citing threats of earthquake damage as one of a number of reasons. The Governor says his staff is "checking into" the new information, but he says the plant, built so close to New York City was "never a good risk".