:
Can you please tell me about your organization FUSE USA and
how this came about?
Sherwood Martinelli:
The story of how FUSE emerged into what it is today is a
long story. The short story, is a group of concerned
citizens, each working independently saw the wisdom of
joining forces, combining our talents under one umbrella
organization. By joining together, sharing our resources and
ideas, in assigning tasks we realized we could be more
effective in trying to stop the license renewal of Indian
Point. The old adage says two people can do the work of
three...we are using that same basic multiplier to build a
dedicated group of citizens to solve important issues
surrounding our environment, and safe sustainable use of our
energy resources. One unifying belief that brings us all
together, is a belief that Indian Point is not safe, that
the risks associated with its close proximity to Manhattan
make it unsuitable for 20 more years of operation.
Since our formation in August we already have hundreds of
members.
HM: I can imagine you must feel a little
bit like David verses Goliath taking on a billion dollar
company like Entergy. Why exactly did you file these
recent claims?
Sherwood Martinelli.
We should be so lucky to be David in this fight, or more
aptly, we are David fighting not one, but several
Goliath's on steriods, all at once. There is Entergy,
there is the nuclear industry itself. We also have to
take on EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), NEI
(Nuclear Energy Institute), and to some degree, even the
NRC, all who have very deep pockets. enormous staffs
and powerful law firms. Our strength is our ability to
find and expose the truth.
FUSE filed our 26 contentions, and will be filing more.
As we research, we keep discovering more information
that proves Indian Point is unsafe. Aging issues of the
plant, the fact that its a terrorist target, its close
proximity to New York, coupled with a horrid safety and
management record greatly concerns FUSE. Couple these
facts with non-working sirens, and an evacuation plan
that everyone admits will not work and there exists a
recipe for disaster.
Mix into this recipe the radioactive waste streams that the NRC, DOE
and the nuclear industry plan to leave on the banks of the Hudson
River for 100's of years. It becomes imperative that our community
take a stand. As the old slogan says, "Just Say No".
If the citizens become outraged, if they raise their voices as one
to tell the Federal Government, tell the NRC that we are not going
to accept another 20 years of Indian Point we will stop the license
renewal process in its tracks. It is our hope, that our filings, the
content of those filings will bring the dangerous truth of Indian
Point truly into focus.
HM
:
Why do you feel nuclear energy is not the answer?
Sherwood Martinelli:
I've not said that nuclear energy is not the answer, nor has
FUSE. What I have said, is America's fleet of 104 reactors are
not safe. And the NRC is not properly regulating America's
nuclear reactors. Further, you cannot build a road to any
tomorrow on the backs of 104 aging, antiquated dangerous
reactors that are reaching the end of their useful life spans.
You cannot build a vital, safe tomorrow for our children with a
flawed national strategy. GNEP (Global Nuclear Energy Program)
is fundamentally flawed. The DOE has decided to skip several
steps in the process, and is moving right into building a spent
fuel reprocessing plant...problem is, that technology has not
yet been proven to work. More importantly, the AP1000 reactor
that is the front runner for the next generation of American
reactors is not capable of burning the fuel that would be
created in the proposed GNEP reprocessing plant. The
undisputed problem with nuclear energy is the inability to
safely dispose of the nuclear waste. Most troubling, is GNEP is
going to make America the dump site for the entire world's
nuclear industry waste streams, and that is not a future we
should want for our children, and their children.
Entergy is a major player in the push to build new reactors. They
need enormous government subsidies and assurances, to get needed
investors in order to maintain market share during the changeover.
To do that, they are coming to our community and saying trust us.
Yes, you are right, Indian Point is getting older, there are some
serious issues with the plant, and we are well aware that tritium,
strontium 90 and cesium 137 are leaking into the Hudson River,
though we can't find the leaks or stop them.
However, we think we can minimize those risks, and feel relatively
confident that we can catch any major issues before those issues
create a significant radiological event. We'll even admit based on
statistics that some of you, or your children might die, or suffer
from various cancers as a result of our operating these aging
reactors for 20 more years, but the NRC agrees with us, that those
risks are acceptable when compared to our corporate needs.
Such sentiments beg the question, how much should one community
sacrifice for the good of Entergy's corporate coffers? The
citizens of Rockland, Westchester, Dutchess, and Orange counties,
the peoples of New York city have accepted and lived with the risk
that the Indian Point reactors represent for almost 40 years. Some
of us have died directly or indirectly because of Indian Point being
in our community. We have done our share for the greater societal
good, and it is unfair to ask us to accept unacceptable risk for
20 more years.
HM: Do you know if the escape routes and an exit strategy has been
put in place in case a tragic accident of some sort ever did happen?
Sherwood Martinelli:
The NRC will tell you they have been put in place. They would
be wrong. This conclusion is supported by two key facts easily
attained:
A) The NRC because of industry pressure (NEI) has reduced the
size of the evacuation zone, and now plans to implement what is
referred to as the keyhole evacuation pattern. A two mile zone
around Indian Point would be evacuating in the case of a fast
breaking radiological emergency. Going out from that two mile
radius in the shape of a cone to the ten mile radius, people
would be evacuated based on the size of the plume, and the
direction the wind is blowing. Rather than admit the evacuation
plan is not workable, they keep trying to limit the scope and
size of it to make it work. I live less than three miles from
Indian Point, and depending on the direction the wind is
blowing, Indian Point expects me to stay in my home during a
nuclear incident at the plant.
B) The NRC, the nuclear industry are waging a propaganda
campaign to change peoples perceptions. They want to sell
us on the concept of Sheltering in Place during a
significant nuclear incident. Go to your basement with a
roll of duct tape and some sheets of plastic and wait for
the all clear. What the NRC does not tell us, is that the
Centers for Disease Control has publicly let it be known,
that sheltering in our basements would only afford us a 40
percent level of protection from radiological contaminants.
So much for the Department of Homeland Security's duct tape
and plastic first line of defense.
HM:
Do you know what Hilary Clinton's take is on this since she
lives up the street from this nuclear power plant?
Sherwood Martinelli: Hilary Clinton's position changes with
the wind. Instead of being a pro-active leader in keeping
Westchester county safe, she instead makes token efforts
meant to get her some ink in the local papers, but then down
in South Carolina at a campaign stop told a Pro-Nuclear
crowd that nuclear energy must be on the table if we are
going to solve global warming. If she really wants to solve
global warming, she should have the Senate do a study on the
Nuclear Reactor thermal contributions to Global Warming.
Indian Point as example runs 2.4 Billion gallons of water
through their systems to cool their reactors on a daily
basis, and dumps that water back into the Hudson River at
103 degrees. What effect is that thermal discharge having
on Global Warming? And what are the true costs of nuclear
power generation, both fiscally and to public health? The
carbon footprint of nuclear is comparable to fossil fuel
power generation, plus of course you also end up with the
radioactive waste problem.
HM
:
What are your thoughts on the recent editorial in the NY Post
and their argument that nuclear energy seems safe and that there
hasn't been a nuclear accident since 3 mile island and so on? That
it would also drive business away and its not good for New York's
economy?
Sherwood Martinelli: Such a statement is factually incorrect.
Ask the New York Post about David Besse as one example. This
summer we had an earthquake shut down all 7 TEPCO reactors in
Japan, and that significant accident has been hushed up, and
ripped from the news media...why? Cooling towers at
Entergy's Vermont Yankee reactor in Vermont collapsed last
month, early this year Indian Point had a transformer explosion.
Just because we've dodged bullets, gotten lucky, does not mean
there have not been serious accidents at nuclear reactors.
Have people in New York forgotten the tube rupture at IP2 back
in the year 2000? How many people are aware of the
dangerous conditions of the reactor vessel heads at Indian
Point. These
crucial components are in such bad shape that Entergy has
quietly placed orders for replacement heads, with delivery and
installation slated for 2011 and 2012.
As for the lost jobs, people lose jobs every day. Look at the
mortgage industry right now as a perfect example. In a worse case
scenario, the closure of Indian Point would be a very short term
inconvenience for the citizens of New York. A significant nuclear
event at the plant would devastate New York's economy for decades
too come and bankrupt America . Additionally, give Entergy a call,
and ask them how many good paying jobs would be created if all three
plants were going through decommissioning. There is a very good
chance that decommissioning these three reactors would increase
employment in our area, not decrease it.
Also look what Entergy did in New Orleans after Katrina, they put
their plant into Chapter 11 and got government bailouts from
our tax dollars while the CEO earned $27 million that year. They
don't really care about the workers, actually since Entergy bought
Indian Point they have reduced the staff by approximately 800-1000
jobs.
Patrick Moore
HM
: There seems to be a split in the environmental
movement. That many feel nuclear is clean, meaning then its ok?
Why do you think this feeling about nukes has changed somewhat
since the 70s and 80s?
Sherwood Martinelli: NEI last year alone spent over $8 million
dollars selling the concept of Nuclear as Green Energy. The
nuclear industry trots Patrick Moore (former founder of
Greenpeace) out before the cameras at $15,000 an appearance as
a spokesperson for the industry. If you repeat your message
enough times, that repetition can sway public opinion. Problem
is, the nuclear industry message is fraught with lies and
misleading examples. They claim that Nuclear Energy is CO2
free...it is not. The carbon footprint of nuclear power from
mining, processing, transportation, construction, through
decommissioning is comparable to fossil fuel plants, and
additionally you end up with high level radioactive waste.
They claim nuclear energy is cheap, and again it is not. Look
at the federal subsidies given to the industry, look at the
Price Anderson Act, and the fact none of us can get insurance to
cover our losses in the case of a nuclear accident, look at the
millions of dollars a year that our local community has to spend
in supplementing Indian Points inadequate security at the
plant. Factor those hidden costs in, and nuclear energy is the
most expensive source of electricity in the world.
HM:
There
seems to be a growing movement of younger and trendy Hollywood
people and music celebrities interested in these types of environmental issues all of a sudden. Why do you think that is?
Sherwood Martinelli: I think these people have always been
interested in environmental and social issues. If anything,
think as their careers have blossomed, as they have become better
known on the world stage they are using their celebrity for noble
causes. That kind of involvement in issues bigger than themselves
should be commended.
HM: What would you say is your mission with this organization? Is
it just Indian Point or other power plants?
Sherwood Martinelli: Our
mission to advocate for sustainable energy that protects public
health and safety and the environment.
Cannot really discuss my mission without giving a great deal of
credit to the team. Ulrich Witte, our nuclear industry expert who
has been working day and night for the past three months. Susan
Shapiro and Maureen Ritter, who stubbornly stick to the task at
hand, whatever that task might be. Both always willing to jump in
wherever the need arises. Peter Alexander who has stepped in when
desperately needed to give us some much appreciated help and advice
in the area of public relations. People like Remy, and Judy who are
always just a phone call away, ready to step in and do what they
can. There are people like Harvey Wasserman, Joseph Mangano, Dorice
Mad, Jen Laird White, Heather Burns-DeMelo and many others who have
come onboard, offering us their assistance and advice at every step
of the way. So, who am I? I am part of a team, the proverbial pied
piper asking the world to follow us, to follow FUSE USA as we work
to make the world a safer place in which to live.
Leonardo Dicaprio
gives a brief introduction to the trailer for the new environmental
documentary "The 11th Hour" which he produced and narrated. The film
takes a look at the state of the global environment including
visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's
ecosystems.
Governor Eliot Spitzer
HM
:
Are you working on other ways of raising awareness?
Sherwood Martinelli: We have developed studies on replacement
energy for Indian Point, including ways to fund such
projects. For example the state of Minnesota taxes dry casking
of radioactive waste at a rate of $21 million per cask, per
year and uses that money to fund renewable's. Governor Spitzer
should consider such a plan here in New York. Additionally if
the roofs of municipal buildings in New York City were used for
solar installations, or converted to Green Roofs we would
already be a long way to replacement of Indian Points unsafe
energy contributions to the grid..
HM: Where do you believe this is heading?
Sherwood Martinelli: We are optimistic that truth will prevail,
and the human survival instinct will soon realize that we can
be safe and sustainable without nuclear power which was a
dangerous, failed scientific experiment.
HM: When will these judges give their decision on Indian point?
Sherwood Martinelli:
The new NRC process is streamlined to 18 -24 months, however we
are trying to slow that process down so that our community has a
fair and equitable review...public safety should not be put on a
review process time line. We want the NRC to take all the time
needed to fully and accurately review the risks associated with
Entergy's attempts to relicense Indian Point.
Win or lose in this first part of the process, Entergy's license
renewal application, the decision by the NRC will be appealed
to the 2nd circuit.
HM:
How are you doing with funds and what kind of help are you
looking for?
Sherwood Martinelli:
We are a young organization, right now we are working around the
clock to stop relicensing of Indian Point and need to raise
substantial funds for expert witnesses, legal appeals, economic
and scientific studies. Our current campaign is to raise
$250,000, which equates to 500 people donating $500, or 2,500
people donating $100. Reaching that goal is a good start to
reaching our goals.
FUSE USA
21 Perlman Drive
Spring Valley, NY 10977
(914) 293-7458
