Nuclear security

65,000% Rise in Radioactivity of Leak Is Tip of Iceberg for Nuclear Plant near NYC

Indian Point Energy Center, which sits roughly 30 miles from the heart of Manhattan in New York City, has been plagued with safety breaches and leaks, and has even been the subject of a deliberate cover-up since it began operations in the 1970s. A statement from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday revealing “radioactive tritium-contaminated water leaked into groundwater” near the nuclear facility is hardly a surprise — though no less indicative that it may be time to shut down the aging plant.

“The company reported alarming levels of radioactivity at three monitoring wells, with one well’s radioactivity increasing nearly 65,000 percent,” Cuomo’s statement asserted.