WASHINGTON, DC – Despite the obvious need for back-up power systems for the sirens, Entergy, the company that owns and operates Indian Point, has been reluctant to devise such a system.  Its lack of action was on display overnight when heavy storms in the area caused the emergency siren system to down for almost six hours.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), a vocal advocate for improved security measures at and around Indian Point, issued the following statement:

“This morning we got a taste of the dangerous security lapses at Indian Point.  If something had happened while the system was without power, our communities would have been left in the dark with no warning and no chance of effective evacuations.  I’m also distressed that Indian Point officials were asleep at the switch and were unaware of a power failure for five hours.  Entergy must create a back-up system so we are not in this position again.

“Sadly, this is also an example of the many problems with the continued operation of Indian Point.  These plants have no place in a highly populated area – especially if their safety and security systems are so vulnerable.  I have said for more than three years that these plants should be closed and what happened this morning reaffirms my belief.”

Lowey is the author of the Nuclear Power Licensing Reform Act of 2005, which would ensure that older power plants applying for license renewals, such as Indian Point, must meet the same stringent standards as new plants applying for the first time.  Earlier this year, she also joined Representatives Sue Kelley (R-NY) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) in writing to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the NRC’s inadequate policy on acceptable failure rates of emergency sirens.