By Mary Brennan, Clarkstown High School South, Class of 2011

This summer I was privileged to get a tour of the Indian Point nuclear generating station as a recipient of their scholarship program.  Twenty percent of the United States' energy comes from nuclear power. On the Safe Secure Vital Web site, they explain how we get energy from nuclear power:

Nuclear power plants use uranium oxide to generate electricity. Fuel, in the form of small ceramic pellets, is placed inside metal fuel rods. Rods are then grouped into bundles called assemblies. Fission occurs when uranium atoms split, causing a reaction that produces heat energy. This energy is used to boil water into steam, which drives a turbine generator to produce electricity.

Indian Point is a three unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York, on the East side of the Hudson River about thirty-five miles North of New York City.  Indian Point supplies twenty five percent of the electricity for Westchester County and New York City. It generates over 2,000 megawatts of electrical power. Indian Point's first unit was built in 1962. After a careful look at the annals of the region's earthquake history, the facility was constructed to be capable of withstanding an earthquake at least ten times stronger than the strongest earthquake on record, which registered a 4.7 on the Richter scale. Indian Point can handle earthquakes up to 6.1 on the Richter scale.

The tour began after a luncheon held in the General Services Building and hosted by our guide Patrick Falciano.  Our first destination was the Protected Area where all of our personal belongings were x-rayed and passed through a series of metal detectors and bomb detectors.  Inside the Protected Area we wore hard hats, earplugs, safety goggles, and proper footwear, which are all required for anyone in the plants’ actual operating space.

The first stop on our tour was outside, where we saw the Emergency Diesel Generators.  Overhead hung massive 138,000-volt transmissions lines that transmit power away from the plant. Indian Point has many Emergency Diesel Generators, but the ones we saw were 72 feet above sea level.  (No flooding danger here!)  Their function is to provide power to the plant for several days in case off-site electrical power is lost.

We then saw the 200-foot containment dome that surrounds the nuclear reactor. The dome is composed of  steel walls one inch thick, encased by four foot thick, re-barbed concrete. The containment dome has a negative air pressure balance that prevents any air from escaping when the entrance portals are opened for maintenance purposes.  Every precaution is taken to ensure that radioactivity is contained and that visitors and staff are fully protected from radiation exposure.

World Nuclear Association explains that the risk associated with large radiation doses is relatively well established. However:

Our knowledge of radiation effects derives primarily from groups of people who have received high doses... The risks associated with doses under about 200 mSv are less obvious because of the large underlying incidence of cancer caused by other factors. Radiation protection standards assume that any dose of radiation, no matter how small, involves a possible risk to human health.

Next, we strolled over to the Hudson Riverfront to see the Intake Structure where water is pumped from the Hudson River for use in cooling the plant. Water is drawn into the facility at a rate of 140,000-gallons per minute by one of the six huge pumps.  There are six pumps total, so the system can have an intake rate 840,000 gallons per minute. The Intake Structure also contains high volume traveling water screens to prevent fish and debris from entering the cooling system.  The fish are diverted into a separate trough and returned to the river.

Walking across the Turbine Building, the piercingly high decibel level was muted thanks to the sound-blocking ear buds we all were wearing. The turbine we saw produces more than 5% of New York State’s electricity.

Back inside, we were greeted in the Radiological Controlled Area.  Everybody who goes into the RCA must pass through radioactivity detectors when exiting to make sure they are free from radioactive contamination and that no radioactive substances leave the facility.

Our last stop was the Control Room -- the heart of the plant where all of the plants’ activities are controlled.

“[The control room] is where everything is spotless and looks just as new as the day it opened thirty years ago,” said nuclear security responder Matthew Brennan.

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Mary Brennan is a recent graduate of Clarkstown High School South who is making effective use of a gap year by interning for the Fall at TalkingScience. Mary loves to learn, to read, and to write.

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