Rudolf Giuliani's Atomic Energy Record
There was a fire at the Indian Point Energy Center, 40 km. from New York, causing alarm among local residents and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was the sixth incident at the nuclear plant in a year. The burnt-out transformer bushing could influence the U.S. presidential race as a smudge on former NY mayor Rudolf Giuliani's image. After he left office, he was active in private business. Giuliani is a lawyer, and he founded several successful law and consulting firms. One of those firms, Giuliani Partners, is directly involved in safety issues at Indian Point.
Indian Point began to have problems in 2002, with an inspection by company belonging to James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Clinton administration. The next year, Witt's company concluded that the plant's safety systems would be unable to protect the public in the event of a sudden radiation leak. Entegry Corp., owner of Indian Point, quickly sought out a second opinion and hired Giuliani Partners consulting firm to conduct an independent inspection. Giuliani, who was mayor of New York at the time of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, is considered a top expert in security from terrorist threats. He personally declared the plant safe in November of last year, when it filed to extend its operating license another 20 years.
Indian Point is located on the bank of the Hudson River, 60 km. from the center of Manhattan and 40 km. from the town of Riverdale, just north of New York City, which is popular among Russian diplomats and journalists. Public dissatisfaction with the plant has become noticeable. A petition drive is being conducted on the Internet to close the plant. The signatures collected will be sent to NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer. After last Friday's fire, the plant's safety rating was lowered one notch from “Green,” the safest, to “White” on a four-level rating system.
Surveys show that Giuliani is the top competitor to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose house is a mere 20 km. from the plant. A Quinnipiac University poll released on April 5 showed Clinton had the support of 50 percent of residents of the state of New York, leading over Giuliani's 42-percent support. Clinton has called for an independent safety assessment of Indian Point in Congress.
There are also reports that another Giuliani-associated firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, had connections to the Citgo oil company, which is controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
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All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 09, 2007
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