Near New York City, a nuclear power plant was closed: they feared accidents and terrorist attacks

Nuclear power plant Indian Point (Indian Point), located near New York, closed forever - April 30 was the last day of her work. However, it was a key source of electricity in the suburbs of New York, and opponents of the idea of ​​closing it say that this poses a threat to millions of people living in a densely populated region. Details told the publication ABC7NY.

The decommissioning of the Indian Point Energy Center on the Hudson River could increase New York City's reliance on natural gas-fired power plants despite the state's goal of reducing carbon emissions. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other activists who have fought to shut down the power plant say any benefit from its operation is overshadowed by the nightmarish prospect of a major nuclear accident or terrorist attack on the facility, located just 25 miles (40 km) from the city.

“There are 50 million people living within a 20 mile radius of Indian Point, and there is no way to evacuate them in the event of a radiological release. And its risk is very real,” said Paul Gallai, president of environmental group Riverkeeper.

The actual shutdown will be simple: the control room operator at Unit 3 at Indian Point will press the red button to shut down the reactor on the evening of April 30th. This will complete the closure of the station's two reactors, which has dragged on for years.

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The Unit 2 reactor was shut down exactly one year ago under a 2017 agreement between the Cuomo administration, Riverkeeper, and plant operator Entergy Corp.

The shutdown of Unit 3 opens the way to decommissioning the plant. According to forecasts, it will last at least 12 years and cost $2,3 billion. The high domes of the reactors will eventually be demolished.

The two reactors, which came on stream two years apart in the mid-1970s, generated about a quarter of the electricity used by New York City and the people of the Hudson River Valley.

But from the very beginning of its opening, the power plant caused controversy.

Ecologists accused her of killing fish, because huge amounts of river water were required to cool the reactors.

Critics also claimed the plant was outdated, highlighting a history of breakdowns that included faulty reactor bolts and radioactive tritium found in the station's groundwater.

Fears that Indian Point could be targeted by terrorists intensified after one of the planes hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks overshot the station on its way to the World Trade Center.

“Theoretically, the center was built to withstand a plane crash, but that was in the 1970s,” Cuomo said recently. “Who knows what will happen to Indian Point now.”

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Entergy Corp spokesman Jerry Nappi said Indian Point has been operating reliably and safely with little to no interruption since 1962, when the first, long-decommissioned reactor was put into operation on the site of an old amusement park.

In recent years, nuclear plants have been shut down amid low natural gas prices, slow growth in demand for electricity, and competition from renewables.

The closure of Indian Point is not expected to cause problems with the reliability of the New York power grid. The Cuomo administration is working to increase the proportion of electricity generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The state aims to get 2030% of its electricity from renewable sources by 70.

At the same time, many fear that the closure of the station will lead to an increase in the use of natural gas or to a shortage of electricity in the city.