Entergy Announces Independent Safety Evaluation at Indian Point

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to provide public assurances about the operation and protection of New York's largest nuclear power facility, Entergy Nuclear today announced the start of a fully independent examination of safety, security and emergency preparedness at its Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in Buchanan.

The Independent Safety Evaluation (ISE) will be conducted by a distinguished independent panel of experts selected for their unique qualifications and independence of relationships with Entergy which would compromise their judgment. The ISE would supplement extensive evaluations already regularly conducted by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission through its reactor oversight process.

"Although repeated and continuous NRC assessments have concluded Indian Point is safe, we hope this independent evaluation will be another step in building public confidence in Indian Point's safety and security, and serving as a vital role in New York's energy future," said Michael Kansler, president and chief nuclear officer of Entergy Nuclear.

"We are taking the extra step of performing an independent safety evaluation to reassure the public that Indian Point is a safe and secure facility with acceptable plans in place to address an emergency."

The decision to perform an ISE came after the company listened to various constituencies and policymakers and conducted numerous focus groups in an effort to understand the concerns associated with Indian Point.

    This unprecedented action includes the following elements of the ISE:
    The safety elements include evaluation of:
    -- Implementation of nuclear safety requirements, conservative decision
       making, regulatory compliance, and identification and resolution of
       safety problems.
    -- Conduct of operations, engineering, maintenance, management, and plant
       material condition.

The security evaluation would include Indian Point's capability to deal with credible security events, including ones involving terrorist attacks.

    The emergency preparedness evaluation includes:
    -- Accident response and accident management capability.
    -- Interface with and support of offsite emergency management.

A formal written report will be produced and made available to the public on a schedule to be determined by the ISE panel. The co-chairs of the panel were appointed by J. Wayne Leonard, chairman and chief executive officer of Entergy Corporation, the parent of Entergy Nuclear, with the complete understanding that they would be independent of the company and have total autonomy to conduct a thorough investigation. The members were selected by the co-chairs and will operate completely independently of the company, which will not be represented on the panel.

Entergy is funding the cost of the evaluation because the company does not believe it should be the public's responsibility to pay for an ISE through taxpayer dollars. In addition, panel selection criteria include absence of relationships with Entergy or other circumstances that could unduly influence a member's judgment on matters reviewed.

The ISE panel, which has more than 250 years of industry and academic expertise, will be co-chaired by Drs. James T. Rhodes and Neil E. Todreas.

Dr. Rhodes is the retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, a leading industry standards group, and a former president and chief executive officer of Virginia Electric and Power Company. He has more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry.

Dr. Todreas is the Korea Electric Power Corporation Professor of Nuclear Engineering and a professor of nuclear science and engineering and mechanical engineering emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has served at MIT for 38 years, including an eight-year period from 1981-1989 as head of the Nuclear Engineering Department. He has been co-director of the MIT Nuclear Power Reactor Safety summer course since 1975. He is the recipient of the American Nuclear Society Thermal-Hydraulic Technical Achievement Award and its Arthur Holly Compton Award in Education. He has also received the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award from the American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

    The other panel members will be:
    -- Kenneth E. Brockman -- Brockman is president and principal consultant
       with MEM, LLC. He has over 30 years of experience with a variety of
       companies and agencies, including the International Atomic Energy
       Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Detroit Edison Company and
       Westinghouse Electric Company.
    -- John S. Dyson -- Dyson is chairman of Millbank Capital Management.
       Dyson spent a decade in New York state government, including four years
       in the cabinet of Governor Hugh Carey, who also appointed him as
       chairman of the New York Power Authority for six years. He also served
       as former deputy mayor of New York City.
    -- Elmer J. (Buzz) Galbraith -- Galbraith was a senior assistance
       representative and team manager with the Institute of Nuclear Power
       Operations. His more than 45-year career includes work with Public
       Service Electric & Gas Company and Washington Public Power Supply
       System. He also served 20 years in the U.S. Navy, ultimately attaining
       the position of commanding officer of a nuclear submarine.
    -- Maureen O. Helmer -- Helmer, an attorney practicing law in the areas of
       energy, telecommunications and ethics, is the former chair of the New
       York State Public Service Commission, an agency she led from 1998 to
       2003. She also served as chair of the New York State Board on Electric
       Generation Siting and the Environment.
    -- William F. Kane -- Kane is president of WFK Associates, LLC. His
       45-year career includes 34 years in various roles and responsibilities
       with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including serving six years as
       deputy executive director for operations. He also served as an officer
       in the U.S. Army.
    -- Cristine McCombs -- McCombs is director of state government programs
       for Beck Disaster Recovery, a provider of program management services
       for hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness/planning, response and
       recovery. She is the former director of the Massachusetts Emergency
       Management Agency, where she was responsible for emergency planning for
       communities surrounding three nuclear facilities.
    -- Dr. Harvey M. Stevens -- Dr. Stevens is president of Stevens
       Associates, a technology firm specializing in technical and security
       engineering support to government and industry. He has over 25 years of
       professional expertise in the fields of emergency planning, risk
       analysis, counter-terrorism, and threat assessment.
    -- Martin Vonk -- Vonk is an emergency preparedness consultant. His more
       than 30-year career includes positions with the Nuclear Management
       Company, Commonwealth Edison, Exelon Nuclear and the University of
       Missouri.

The independent panel's evaluation will begin on March 27 with a visit to IPEC. After that, it is anticipated that the panel will meet, visit and inspect Indian Point on the schedule determined by panel members.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.

Entergy Nuclear's online address is http://www.entergy-nuclear.com