It said evacuation plans for the area surrounding the plant were unworkable, especially in the event of a large release of radiation from a terrorist attack.
It revolves around the cause of a large release of methane into the atmosphere at the end of the last ice age.
Under special conditions, a very fast chain reaction might produce a very large release of energy in short, a weapon of fantastic power might be feasible.
The report, by James Lee Witt, a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called for more planning to counter a large release of radiation, a possibility in a terrorist attack.
But this year Westchester County, where Indian Point is, refused to submit its plans, saying federal guidelines for such an evacuation did not take into account a large release of radiation that could result from a terrorist attack.
Justice Alito warns that the majority makes a "dangerous error" in relying on the three-judge court's finding that a large release of prisoners will not jeopardize public safety.
Each case — a collapse of house prices and a cascade of problems threatening a large release of radiation — was viewed as so improbable that it could be virtually ignored in considering risks.
A state report on emergency planning at Indian Point, prepared by James Lee Witt, the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, concluded that current emergency plans were inadequate and warned that they could not protect the public from a large release of radioactive material.
Despite the findings of a consultant's report released Jan . 10 emergency plans for the Indian Point nuclear power plant could protect the public from a large release of radiation, even from a terrorist attack, an official with Entergy, the company that runs the plant, said today.
Entergy officials have disputed those points and say the emergency plan does adequately address how to respond to a large release of radiation, though company disaster specialists say they cannot conceive of a rapid release of large amounts of radiation that would render the emergency plans unworkable.
