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NY Governor Probes Nuclear Plant 'Incident' As Oil Spills Into Hudson River
Having explained to the general public that there was nothing to be concerned about, when an exploding transformer shut down at least one unit of the Indian River nuclear power plant, noting "no danger to public safety," it appears the situation is not as 'contained' as officials hoped. As Sputnik News reports, thousands of gallons of oil that leaked into the Hudson River after the explosion has formed a gigantic oil sheen on the waterway. NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has demanded a probe into the incident, adding that Entergy and contractors will clean up the spill.
- *CUOMO: PROBE ON WEEKEND INCIDENT AT INDIAN POINT PLANT ONGOING
- *CUOMO SAYS OIL DISCHARGE RESULT OF FIRE IN A TRANSFORMER
- *CUOMO: N.Y. WORKING WITH U.S. COAST GUARD TO MONITOR SITUATION
- *CUOMO: NY, U.S. EVALUATING ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE TO HUDSON RIVER
The oil made its way into the river following an explosion, fire, and leak that occurred Saturday at the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, about 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.
According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), oil leaked into the facility's discharge drains during the fire, then into the river.
However, "there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at Indian Point on Sunday. "We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river."
The fire did not cause the release of any radiation and did not pose a threat to workers or the public, according to a statement by Entergy Corp, the owner of the nuclear power plant.
The Journal News cited a state official as saying the oil leak "left a sheen of 75-by-100 feet just south of the two reactors, and is likely expanding."
There is also a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant, according to a boat crew for the watchdog group Riverkeeper, which patrolled the Hudson off Indian Point after the transformer fire.
* * *
According to the Journal News, US Rep. Nita Lowey of New York said the NRC should not renew Indian Point's license for their reactors, a matter the federal body is currently considering.
"This latest episode proves that Indian Point remains a serious threat to public health and safety," Lowey said in a statement. "We are extremely fortunate that a catastrophic scenario did not unfold, and I urge officials to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."
Photo shows oil sheen on Hudson River after Indian Point Nuclear plant fire, but Entergy says no harm to area via … pic.twitter.com/DVzTF8V4eJ
— News Mayotte (@NewsMayotte) May 11, 2015
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Ain't it amazing how when Big Shit Happens, the Big Shit's take matters into their own hands?
Or am I reading too much into the statement?
BTW, courtesy of Wikipedia: Indian Point 1, built by Consolidated Edison, was the first of three reactors at this location. It was a 275-megawatt pressurized water reactor which was issued an operating license on March 26, 1962 and began operations on September 16, 1962.[7] The first core at the Indian Point power station used a thorium-based fuel, but did not live up to expectations.[8] The plant was operated with uranium oxide fuel for the remainder of its life.
Everything is Under Control.
three cheers for aging nuclear plants
All three of my hands are clapping for government approved production of nukular weapon and fluoride production facilities
contractors will clean up the spill.
BP has a wonderful track record with this kind of mess.
I hope that was fuel oil or lubricant oil of some kind.
Because transformer coolant oil is really quite toxic.
It probably depends on exactly what brand of transformer oil was used at this facility. Based on the first MSDS I checked (below) Cuomo's panties are in a bunch because there is shit leaking from a nukular plant, not because the shit leaking from the nukular plant actually stinks, although with this specific product- it would stink anyway as the odor/flavor is characterized as an effervescent "mild petroleum" odor, which wonderfully complements any dish made with BP's Corexit® flavored shimp.
-- ---
1. PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Product Name: 76 Transformer Oil
Intended Use: Insulating Oil
Synonyms: Conoco Transformer Oil, Phillips Transformer Oil
Chemical Family: Petroleum Hydrocarbon
Responsible Party: Conoco Lubricants, A Division of ConocoPhillips, 600 N. Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas
6. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES
This material may burn, but will not ignite readily. Keep all sources of ignition away from spill/release.Stay upwind and away from spill/release. Notify persons down wind of the spill/release, isolate immediate hazard area and keep unauthorized personnel out. Stop spill/release if it can be done with minimal risk. Wear appropriate protective equipment including respiratory protection as conditions warrant (see Section 8).
Prevent spilled material from entering sewers, storm drains, other unauthorized drainage systems, and natural waterways. Dike far ahead of spill for later recovery or disposal. Spilled material may be absorbed into an appropriate absorbent material.
Notify fire authorities and appropriate federal, state, and local agencies. Immediate cleanup of any spill is recommended. If spill of any amount is made into or upon navigable waters, the contiguous zone, or adjoining shorelines, notify the National Response Center (phone number 800-424-8802).
11. TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Hydrotreated Distillate, Light Naphthenic ..C15-30 - 64742-53-6
Target Organs: Administration of certain mineral hydrocarbon white oils in the diet to Fischer rats at 1500 mg/kg/day for 90 days resulted in the formation of microgranulomas in the liver. However, this response was not observed in studies conducted with other rat strains or dogs. Microgranulomas like those observed in the Fischer 344 rat studies have not been observed in humans.
Acute Data:
Hydrotreated Distillate, Light Naphthenic ..C15-30 - 64742-53-6
Dermal LD50 = No information available
LC50 = No information available
Oral LD50 = No information available
Additives - PROPRIETARY
Dermal LD50 = No information available
LC50 = No information available
Oral LD50 = No information available
Nowhere does it say 'Do not drink' So how bad can it really be........?
Perhaps Patrick Moore knows?
Good research by Redneck, Henry not so much... The NFPA rating for transformer oil is 0-1-0. Unless it has PCBs, it's not toxic at all. If you've ever been around an overheated transformer of any size, you'd know that it has a distinct and overwhelming odor (as noted in the article). What does radiation smell like? What does a plume of leaking radiated fluid look like? Cause that's an oil sheen... I'll need a nuclear expert to weigh in, but does oil come in contact with radiation in a nuclear facility? A leaking/overheated transformer happens in every service territory of every utility (both private and public and serviced by every power generating technolgy) every single day. The fact that it hit water, just means that their NPDES system isn't working very well; they'll draft a letter, and be investigated by the EPA or state evironmental agency or it was a result of an over zealous fire department. Someone commented about their containment not being adequate, which would've been a requirement under SPCC regulations, so I'm guessing it was a firefighter who overwhelmed the containment.
This is a non-story. Simple fearmongering becasue ZH likes to provide updates on Fukishima (which is a real story and a real issue) and, to get reads, made sure to highlight that it happened at a nuclear (dun dun dun!) facility right here in the good ole US of A.
I know i'm late to the comment section as this posted last night, but come on guys, use your brains and quit stirring the pot about bullshit radiation leaks.
Well, they HAD to report someting since There is also a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant.
As we say in Sacramento, "He who Smelt it, Delta it.
Maybe that Kennedy kid with the speech impediment was right!
The Hudson looks pretty with the rainbow colors.
Hopefully it didn't kill the last fish in the Hudson.
Radication makes ya strounger!!
This is disparaging to native Americans. Change the name.
Obama Point.
Can you say "CorExit"?
GrExit, Corexit. Pretty soon you're talking about other peeplezes moneyz
Cuomo should be forced to clean that oil slicked river with a fucking straw and prove to cocksucker in chief that he is a serious climate claimer.
The nuke operator stated that the fire supression used a form of envionmentally safe mixture of oil and proteins. The oil sheen is not necessarily a result of the oily transformer fluid getting into the river. Those were supposed to be contained by a catch pit. If the foamed supression oil overflowed the pit, no problem.
Cuomo does not anything about the situation. Shooting off the mouth in ignorance is his specialty.
Yeah, plenty of PCBs already in the Hudson. The question is whether the oil sheen glows at night.
That poor river is screwed from the headwaters to the sweetwaters.
Pity, it is such a beautiful river.
My goal is to swim in the Hudson daily to achieve super powers.
...or get Lip Fungus they ain't identified yet, while trying.
Move along folks, nothing to see here.
If this was your local mechanic or junkyard spilling a few gallons of oil, they'd be nailed to the cross.
The slick doesn't look that big, maybe a fraction of the oil got into the river.
My question is why wasn't the containment bund for the transformer big enough to hold the oil and any fire fighting foam.
And why was the transformer let to run to failure?
Nothing good has ever come from this governor and I hope he goes the way of Christie where some scandal sinks his Presidential ambitions.
clean energy lolz
Just a matter of time, if we don't shut these aging nuke plants, especially the ones along fault lines, it's over. Screw the oil spill worry about radiation.
Don't worry folks if its really a radiation leak the government will let us know in time so that we can evacuate in an orderely manner. After all the government always tell the truth don't it?