No. I-08-032 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331 

 May 13, 2008

NRC TO DISCUSS INSPECTION OF COMPANY’S ASSESSMENT 

OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION AT INDIAN POINT PLANT ON MAY 20 

 The results of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection of Entergy’s work on 

characterizing groundwater contamination at the Indian Point nuclear power plant will be 

discussed at a public meeting on Tuesday, May 20. Indian Point is located in Buchanan 

(Westchester County), N.Y., and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast. 

 Scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., the meeting will take place at the Colonial Terrace, 119 

Oregon Road in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. Prior to the formal session, the NRC will offer an 

informational poster-board open house at the facility, from 4 to 6 p.m. At that session, members 

of the public will have an opportunity to discuss issues related to the subject on a one-on-one 

basis with NRC staff. 

 “Throughout the course of Entergy’s efforts to determine the extent of the contamination 

and then develop a plan to address it going forward, we have closely followed the company’s 

actions every step of the way,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “As part of 

our reviews, we have also conducted independent analysis and groundwater sampling. At the 

meeting on May 20th, we will explain what we found as a result of our inspections and whether 

we consider Entergy’s plans for dealing with the contamination to be reasonable, thorough and 

protective of the public and the environment.” 

 The groundwater contamination at Indian Point was first identified after cracks were 

found on a wall of the Unit 2 spent fuel pool during excavation work adjacent to that structure. 

Entergy notified the NRC of that condition on Sept. 1, 2005. The company initiated an 

investigation and subsequently determined that there was tritium contamination in the 

groundwater in the vicinity of the spent fuel pool. That discovery triggered a comprehensive 

effort to characterize the extent of any groundwater contamination at the site, to identify the 

sources and to develop a plan for addressing the problem. 

 On Sept. 20, 2005, the NRC commenced a Special Inspection to examine Entergy’s 

actions in response to the problem. That inspection concluded that the groundwater 

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contamination did not – nor was it likely to – affect public health and safety. The results of that 

review were discussed at a public meeting on March 28, 2006. Since then, the NRC has 

continued to inspect and monitor the company’s activities. Reactor Oversight Process Deviation 

Memorandums, signed by the agency’s Executive Director for Operations, authorized the 

allocation of additional inspection resources to carry out these reviews. 

 Entergy submitted to the NRC the results of its groundwater investigation on Jan. 11, 

2008. It also provided its plans for remediation and long-term monitoring of the contamination. 

At the meeting on May 20th, prior to the NRC’s presentation regarding its inspection, the 

company will discuss the results of its hydrogeophysical site characterization effort; its plans for 

continued monitoring of groundwater conditions at the site; and the upcoming drainage of water 

and removal of fuel from the Unit 1 spent fuel pool. The actions involving the Unit 1 spent fuel 

pool are expected to result in the halt of groundwater contamination from that location, which 

has been the most significant source of the contamination at the site. 

 The NRC staff will then provide details of its inspection. Among the objectives of the 

inspection were to understand the cause of the leakage and its radiological significance; ensure 

that appropriate and timely actions were taken by Entergy to investigate the condition; determine 

the company’s conformance with applicable regulatory requirements; and provide an 

independent analysis to evaluate the quality of the company’s assessment and investigation 

results. NRC inspectors reviewed company records and previous inspection reports issued by the 

agency; observed and inspected Entergy activities; interviewed company personnel; and 

independently collected and analyzed groundwater samples. 

A copy of the inspection report will be available in the NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML081340425. ADAMS is 

accessible at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html . Help in using ADAMS is 

available via the NRC’s Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by email at PDR@NRC.GOV . 

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