Plans are in place to dump one million gallons of radioactive wastewater, linked to cancer, into the Hudson River in New York State.

Earlier this month, Holtec International, announced plans to dump about one million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River this summer.

1 Million Gallons Of Radioactive Waste Likely Dumped Into Hudson River In New York

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Holtec International is in charge of decommissioning the Indian Point nuclear facility in Westhcester County. At a hearing on Feb. 2, officials announced Holtec will resume discharging radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River from a spent fuel pool at the Indian Point nuclear power plant as early as August, if not sooner, according to Riverkeeper.

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Riverkeeper is one of my many against this plan saying some of the radioactive waste is linked to cancer.

Photo by Kilian Karger on Unsplash
Photo by Kilian Karger on Unsplash
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"Riverkeeper is calling for a halt to the discharges and a means of storing the contaminated water safely in tanks on the site while safer disposal methods are evaluated. It’s time to draw the line against using the Hudson as a dumping ground for tritium, a radioactive isotope found in the wastewater. Ingestion of tritium is linked to cancer, and children and pregnant women are most vulnerable," Riverkeeper stated.

'Aging, Long-Troubled' Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Closes

The Indian Point Power Plant closed down around late April 2021.

Indian Point
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a press release "the aging and long-troubled Indian Point nuclear power plant" on the eastern shore of the Hudson River in Westchester County will officially close for good on April 30, 2021, as planned.

The 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, located 24 miles north of New York City, had presented numerous threats to the safety of over 19 million people who live or work in the New York metropolitan area and its environmental health, officials say.

"Best Option" Is To Dump Waste Linked To Cancer Into Hudson River In Hudson Valley

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Over the years, Indian Point suffered from safety and operational problems, including faulty baffle bolts that help secure the reactor vessels and various leaks and fires.

Located in the Village of Buchanan in Westchester County, the Indian Point site included three power reactors, two spent fuel pools, and various support facilities and infrastructure, generators, transformers, radioactive spent nuclear fuel, petroleum storage facilities, waste storage facilities, water intake and outflow facilities and structures, and piers.

Holtec said dumping the radioactive waste into the Hudson River is the company's "best option," according to Gothamist.

New York Lawmaker Want To Save Hudson River

NY Senate
NY Senate
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New York state Sen. Peter Harckham (D, 40th Senate District) has introduced a bill that would prohibit the discharge of any radiological agent into any body of water located in New York State.

"After decades of tremendous efforts to clean up the Hudson River, the idea of anyone dumping radioactive water into this estuary, the economic lifeblood of our region, is simply outrageous,” Harckham stated. “No person, corporation or government has the right to recklessly pollute New York State’s waters, and the mere idea that this is being contemplated is troubling. While the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant is a complex issue, there can be no rationale for releasing radioactive waste into the Hudson.”

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If approved, the bill would fine violators $25,000 per day if caught dumping radiological agents into the water in New York State. Fines for a second violation would be $50,000 a day.

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