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Paul Newman and Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant

One of my colleagues at NEI just handed me the following statement from actor Paul Newman. Newman toured Entergy's Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant earlier this week, and after the completion of the tour, he issued the following statement which has also been distributed by Entergy and NEI:
Statement of Paul Newman

Indian Point tour of May 21, 2007

I recently toured the Indian Point nuclear plant and I expected to be shown safety and security at the plant. But what I saw exceeded my expectations. No Army or Navy base I’ve ever visited has been more armored and I couldn’t walk 30 feet inside the plant without swiping my key card to go through another security check point.

There was security at every turn, and the commitment to safety is clear. One worker told me his family lives very close to the plant, downwind even, and he is very comfortable because of the plant's commitment to safety.

During my tour of the plant, I was amazed that a generator that is the size of two or three rooms of my home can provide electricity for 1 million people without producing any greenhouse gas emissions.

I know a lot of people are concerned about nuclear waste. All of the spent fuel rods at Indian Point from more than 30 years of generating electricity are stored in a pool that, in my younger days, I could jump across.

Indian Point is an important source of electricity for millions of New Yorkers today. Because it doesn't produce any emissions that cause global warming, Indian Point will be even more important in the future.
Wow. More in a bit as I get details.

UPDATE: Coverage from Mid Hudson News. And please vote for this story over at Technorati at their WTF feature.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Paul Newman has been one of the few in Hollywood who has been consistent in his support of nuclear energy. He supports nuclear because he believes it is helpful in preserving a clean environment, and he is correct. He has toured the Yucca Mountain site and has been supportive of the efforts there. Paul Newman is a thoughtful environmentalist and humanitarian who walks his talk.
Anonymous said…
I'm so delighted to hear this! This is truly exceptional for Hollywood.

Now, I don't feel any guilt in splurging on some Newman's Own spaghetti sauce!
Anonymous said…
Good news:

This story has appeared overnight at MSNBC and in the International Herald Tribune, Forbes, and The Columbian (Washington State) , and a couple of other papers, via the AP!
Anonymous said…
I purchase those Newman's Own products myself. I like the quality and the fact that Paul Newman donates all of his share of the profits and royalties to charitable causes. The Hole-In-The-Wall camps is a particular favorite. A pro-nuclear humanitarian who puts his beliefs into action for beneficent causes is a pretty good combination.
Anonymous said…
Newman has been promoting nuclear energy through his auto racing efforts for a long time. See an article and news about his Go Nuclear! race car at http://www.eaglealliance.org/NEWSLETTER.htm
Anonymous said…
If Newman thinks nuclear power is secure in the post 9/11 world obviously, he has not seen the Argonne National Labs aircraft hazards analysis for nuclear power plants. Indian Point was never design, constructed or evaluated for the same malicious attack that occurred just 30 miles from the site. According to the 911 Commission report Mohammed Atta flew over Indian Point in his pilot training course and is noted it for al Qaed.

Consistent support is right...isn't Newman still a big supporter of Yucca Mt as well, despite the fact that its surrounded by young volcanoes (the Lathroup Wells cinder cones) and criss-crossed with active earthquake faults. His advocacy has not done much for speedy up that failing process.

Here's an idea---maybe NEI can also convince the guy to start bottling nuclear waste in his "hot" sauce as part of your bogus dumping strategy. It makes about as much sense as some of your other schemes to dump and recycle nuclear waste into the consumer market.

I think its obvious that he doesnt want to be confused by the facts.

Anyways, I don't buy his products after finding out how misinformed he is on the nuclear waste fiasco. This just gives me the impetus to organize boycotts.

gunter
Pamela said…
I think Indian Point deserves some praise for taking the time and effort to give him a thorough tour. It takes some work these days to make that happen and a lot of places aren't willing to make that happen. Thank you to everyone at IP that worked to make the tour happen. Outreach and information is our best tool to winning the public approval battle.
Anonymous said…
I always liked Sundance better.
gunter
Anonymous said…
So Atta overflew IP and noted it. BFD. We see what happened with that. They bypassed it and went for a more vulnerable, higher-value target. In a contest between a containment structure and a skyscraper, we pretty much know which one is going to win.
Anonymous said…
According to Argonne, neither.

gunter
Anonymous said…
Sure. And how many nuclear plants were hit on 9/11 as opposed to conventional structures? If any self-respecting terrorist goes through the trouble of commandeering an aircraft, they're going to use it where they think they have a reasonable chance of meeting their objectives. A skyscraper is a reasonable target for that, a nuclear plant isn't.

But it's all moot anyway. There isn't going to be another airliner attack in this country. The heroes of Flight 93 proved that. No longer will passengers sit back and ride to their deaths passively. They'll rise up and kill those who would murder them before they allow themselves to become unwilling cannon fodder.
Anonymous said…
Anon,

I think it would more cautious to think of these adversaries as "self-sacrificing" rather than "self-respecting." They are willing to destroy themselves, afterall.

Anyways, my concern is that it doesnt need to be a commercial aircraft if there is a next time.

Larger ground forces than the current piddelly revised DBT perhaps supported by multiple and larger truck bombs or explosive-laden private aircraft remain a concern. There are lots of airfields within 10 miles of these facilities. Getting into the Baghdad's "Green Zone" isn't exactly a cake walk, but it has been subject to suicide attacks.

BTW, since we are on this topic does Neuman's Own have a spaghetti sauce with Chernobyl mushrooms, yet?
Anonymous said…
You're going from the ridiculous to the completely ridiculous. Sure, those "large ground forces" are going to go traipsing around nuclear sites completely unnoticed, just drive up to the containment structure and do whatever it is they want to do (as if that will do them any good). Cripes, I've been to nuclear facilities lately where detection of single suspicious individuals was routinely made and effectively intercepted. And you're going to tell me that "large ground forces" are going to get away completely unnoticed? Bah!

Here's a more likely worrisome scenario. Some previously unknown and undetected space-faring race enters Earth's atmosphere completely unnoticed and goes around zapping containment structures with their deadly discombabmulationatory destructo energy beams. Hey, you can't prove that it won't happen. Better shut everything down.

Take that and stick it in your Chornobil mushroom tomato sauce. I'm tired of this crap nonsense.
Anonymous said…
Obviously Paul Newman was bought off by the giant energy corperations,
why else would he support nuclear energy, i mean why would he choose clean, reliable nuclear energy over dirty coal and oil ? maybe he knows something we dont ?

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