Indian Point Evacuation Plan Called Unrealistic

"There’s no magic number, of course. Is it perilous at 10 miles away, but not 11? Is there an evacuation zone that would be a one-size-fits-all plan for any nuclear disaster? You don’t need a physics degree to answer those questions.

But we do know that American officials have told citizens of the United States to stay at least 50 miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan as the nuclear crisis continues.

In the case of a comparable disaster here, this is what a 50-mile circle around the Indian Point nuclear plant on the Hudson River in Westchester County would look like: past Kingston in Ulster County to the north; past Bayonne and Elizabeth, N.J., to the south; almost to New Haven in the east; and into Pennsylvania to the west. It includes almost all of New York City except for Staten Island; almost all of Nassau County and much of Suffolk; all of Bergen County, N.J.; all of Fairfield, Conn.

Try evacuating that on short — or long — notice."

Peter Applebome reports for the New York Times March 20, 2011.