Entergy Reactor Less Harmful to Hudson River Than Expected

Entergy Reactor Less Harmful to Hudson River Than Expected

by Lee Gliddon

By Julie Johnsson - Jun 27, 2012 2:15 PM PT

Entergy Corp. (ETR)’s Indian Pointnuclear-power plant near New York City poses less harm to the Hudson River than an earlier study indicated, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

New data provided provided by New Orleans-based Entergy shows that the plume of heated water discharged by Indian Point into the river has a “small” impact and that the number of fish caught in the plant’s water intake system had been over estimated by a factor of 1,000, the atomic regulator said in a draft report posted on the NRC website today.

Environmental groups oppose Entergy’s bid to renew the plant’s license, which expires next year, citing the harmful effects of radiation leaked by Indian Point into the Hudson and the intake of river water to cool its 2,045-megawatt generators.