BUCHANAN – House Members Eliot Engel (D- Westchester/Rockland) and Nita Lowey (D- Westchester) Wednesday called on the House energy and Commerce Committee to hold hearings on the licensing of nuclear facilities located within an evacuation area containing a high population.

The Indian Point nuclear power plant is in Buchanan and since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on nuclear facilities in that country, there has been much concern about the safety of Indian Point since it is close to the City of New York and located near a fault area.

State Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R- Blooming Grove), has toured Indian Point several times and says it is safe. She noted there is a difference between the Japanese plants and Indian Point and said the tsunami, not the earthquake, is what began the chain of events in Japan.

“That was because the facilities were all very much underground. So, when they lost their generating facility, their ability to protect their spent rods and such was curtained.” Calhoun said Indian Point doesn’t have that problem but it “should definitely be reviewed. She said people should not panic over the nuclear power plant safety issue.

Calhoun also noted Indian Point generates 30 percent of the electric power for New York City and in the short term, there would be no way to make up for the loss if the nuclear plant was shut down.