New York's governor just slammed the state of a nuclear power plant 40 miles from Manhattan
The plant poses no immediate danger to public health and safety, but the bolts are the latest incident in a series that "raise deep concerns" about the plant's operations and further the state's argument that the plant should not be re-licensed, Cuomo said.
The plant is located in Buchanan, New York, approximately 40 miles from New York City.
The two working reactors at the plant opened in the 1970s, and have worried many of the 2,100 residents who live around the facility for years. The licenses for both reactors have expired, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that the amount of complaints lodged against the plant warrant its continuing operations until all the grievances are addressed, according to the Guardian.
The Indian Point facility has a long history of issues. Just a few:
- In February, radiation levels at three of the plant's monitoring wells spiked by up to 65,000 percent after radioactive water contaminated with tritium leaked into the groundwater.
- Last May, 3,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Hudson River after an electrical transformer in one of the reactors exploded and caused a room containing electrical distribution panels to flood.
- In 2009, 100,000 gallons of contaminated water entered the ground water supply.
The state in continuing its investigation into the plant's operations, and will ensure all critical defects are addressed immediately, Cuomo said.