Like Unimogbert, I was a submariner too (Ballston Spa Prototype as well). While people always worry about the terrorist incident with nuclear power plants, most (almost all) really don't understand what it would take to get to the "hot side" to do damage and release radiation. Put it this way, assuming you get past security which I won't go into, the containment structure for radiation control is a lot tougher that you might imagine.

Chernobyl is not a good example as it is a different design than US reactors and was the equivalent of a "self feeding fire". US reactors are pressurized water and are to a point self-limiting. I would not hesitate to live near any US nuclear plant. The dose you get from flying from here the east coast to the west coast is higher than I got over multiple days of training.

Regards,
Bill

Williamlatham: While I respect the depth of your knowledge & experience, given your service , I have an initial two word response, "Oyster Creek".

This response is reinforced by the fact that Indian Point sits atop a bluff over the Hudson River and uses the river water to cool the reactor. There is an active earthquake fault near/below the facility, discovered after construction. In a breach or rupture scenario, there is a substantial chance of debris or contamination entering the Hudson, upstream of NYC.

My worst fear is less a breach of the reactor vessel and more a fear of a rupture ( via a natural or man made event ) in the open, water-filled pools holding the spent fuel rods. A resulting loss of coolant and the fallout producing incendiary calamity that would produce. You know that those long term storage "pools" we're not in the original design plan or threat evaluation. If memory serves, analogous storage pools at the Fukishma facility did loose coolant. Fire was avoided by pumping seawater to overflow and the contaminated drainage ended up into the ocean.

Finally, there is the fact that the facility is about 50 years old and it's now highly irradiated brittle metal has reached its designed service limit. All of these facts, taken together, make a resulting disaster, Providence forbid, look less like a Black Swan Event and more like a predictable event.

I'd be pleased, really and truly , no kidding pleased, if you can tell me why my fears are exaggerated ?

Speaking of nuclear power plants and earthquake faults -- I'm wondering if that was the real reason that the San Onofre nuclear reactor here in SOCAL was shutdown. As I recall there were issues with some of the plumbing (leaks) but that should have been fixable. Just wondering ...

We're in a similar situation, with the added benefits of being beside a major manufacturing area, national freight & passenger rails, major highway, and under a flight path to the local regional airport.

I was pretty pre-occupied with it all when we first moved here, but now we just live with it. Prepared to bug-in or out for a number of reasons, lots of stored water in case of tainted water, KI pills on-hand, and BOBs and get-home bags packed - just in case.

On the upside, they don't seem to store nuclear waste this close to the plants. People in those areas seem to living with some serious health issues.

I live about six miles south of the Indian Point Power plant, in Croton-on-Hudson. While there is the usual blather from a certain type of environmentalist about closing the plant - which I believe supplies about 6% of the power for NY State - I have no safety concerns at all. I know at least one person who was involved in safety concerns - OSHA stuff - at the plant and he never had any worries.

Cold Spring is a GREAT area. I know it very well and it's literally at the heart of the Hudson Highlands. Great hiking area - one of the top day hikes in the northeast - Breakneck Ridge - is five minutes up the road from downtown Cold Spring. My college roommate brought up his family in the town and still lives there. The only negative I can think of - it's a bit of a long commute if you work in Manhattan.

Good luck, whatever you do.