Most of leaked oil contained, Cuomo says

Most of the 600 gallons of petroleum that leaked at the nuclear power plant has been contained, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says.

BUCHANAN >> Most of the 600 gallons of petroleum that leaked from a heat exchanger at the Indian Point nuclear power plant on Friday has been contained within the plant and only a small portion reached the discharge canal, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who toured the area by boat on Sunday.

Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi said the problem was discovered when “staff identified an oil sheen in the plant’s discharge canal” on Friday morning. No sheening of oil was detected in the river, he said.

State environmental officials inspected again on Saturday and found no oil or sheen on the river or the canal and Cuomo said after Sunday’s inspection no additional petroleum is expected to reach the discharge canal.

The Indian Point nuclear power plant is about 45 miles south of Kingston City Hall, on the eastern shore of the Hudson River, and 24 miles north of the New York City boundary.

State Environmental Commissioner Basil Seggos suggested the absorbent booms placed in the discharge to canal to absorb the petroleum sheen may not have been effective.

“The booms are actually placed at the very far end

of the canal system downstream from the discharge point into the Hudson River so that raises a significant question of if oil got into the water at any rate, it would have gotten into the canal because of the location of the booms,” Seggos said. “One of the booms is actually ripped off as well.”

Nappi said the Department of Environmental Conservation has been onsite many times since the spill was reported Friday morning “and we have not gotten any negative feedback about our boom placement prior to now.”

The oil that leaked lubricates plant equipment and is not radioactive; the plant continues to run safely and there is no impact on workers or public health or safety, Nappi said.