WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- The Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant should be shut down if control room operators and other workers go on strike, a county official said.þþWestchester County Executive Andrew Spano said Tuesday he was not worried about security, since security workers are not involved in the current contract dispute. He was worried, however, about possible operating problems inside the plant, one of two reactors in Buchanan.þþThe plant's owner, Entergy Nuclear Northeast, insisted its contingency plan -- with managers filling in for strikers -- would keep the plant safe.þþSpano's statement threw a jolt into the tense contract negotiations between Entergy and Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, which represents 276 operations and maintenance workers at the plant. But the talks continued and both sides expressed hope for a settlement.þþThe workers have authorized a strike for midnight Saturday, when the existing contract expires.þþThe company said it was ``disappointed'' that Spano would make his announcement in the midst of bargaining.þþSpano, who has previously called for the shutdown of the plant and its twin, Indian Point 2, on security grounds, said he was ``not reassured that the replacement workers ... can guarantee the plant's safety.''þþThe plants, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan, became the focus of a shutdown campaign after the terror attacks of 2001. Last year, however, federal agencies refused to move toward a shutdown, finding that evacuation plans were adequate.þþThe union, which had staunchly defended Indian Point against a security shutdown last year, cheered Spano's statement.þþ``Anyone would want the people who work there every day -- not managers who take a crash course -- to be the ones running the plant,'' spokesman Steve Mangione said.þþAlex Matthiessen, a leader of the movement to close down the plants, said the plant would be staffed by ``benchwarmers and second-stringers.''þþBut Jim Steets, an Entergy spokesman, said many of the managers, including those who would take over the control room, have experience in the very jobs they would be assuming.þþNeil Sheehan, an NRC spokesman, confirmed that the commission had reviewed the company's strike contingency plan and ``found it to be acceptable.''þþIn a statement, Entergy said it would shut down Indian Point 3 ``before putting the safety of its employees or the community at risk.''þþ
Source: NY Times
