ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo announced yesterday that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreed to make the safety of the Indian Point nuclear plant “its first and top priority” as it conducts Japan-inspired seismic-risk assessments at 27 nuclear plants in the nation.
Cuomo contended the NRC’s review would be “expeditious” but a spokeswoman for the federal agency said that wasn’t the case. “This won’t start until 2012,” said the NRC’s Elizabeth Hayden.
“I know what he [Cuomo] said, but . . . the letter seeking the information and modeling that we need will likely not be going out until the end of this year,” Hayden said.
Hayden said the reason the NRC wasn’t in a rush to get the data is “because this is really not a serious concern.”
The governor’s statements came hours after Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy and state Operations Director Howard Glaser met with top NRC officials to discuss Indian Point-related dangers.