NRC chair pledges greater oversight of Indian Point

WASHINGTON - The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pledged to boost oversight of the Indian Point nuclear plants after the apparent leak of a radioactive isotope, aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said this week. Clinton met with NRC chairman Nils Diaz, who told her he would announce in coming days “enhanced oversight ... with respect to both the leaks and the emergency notification system,” said the senator’s spokesman, Philippe Reines. Diaz didn’t spell out exactly what the enhancements would be, but they could include additional reporting requirements and closer monitoring of the site. “They already have sent additional inspectors to Indian Point to check our work,” said Jim Steets, a spokesman for Indian Point’s owner Entergy Nuclear Northeast. “They’re more than welcome to send more people, we’re all on the same side of this issue,” he said. Entergy and the NRC said last week that low levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope, have been found in water at the bottom of six sampling wells on the Indian Point property in Buchanan. Last week, a majority of the 16 sirens in Orange County did not work during a test, and a similar test last month in Rockland County also failed. This story was reported by the Associated Press.