Spectra Energy's Algonquin incremental market project is known as the A.I.M pipeline. This pipeline would carry high pressure methane gas from Massachusetts through Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. This project has met heavy resistance. In Peekskill, New York, residents have blockaded the Spectra work yard with a fully sustainable shipping container with two activists living inside.
The main concern is that the pipeline is planned to run only hundreds of feet from the India Point nuclear power plant. Nuclear experts and residents speak of concern not only for their communities and family, but express that a nuclear disaster would also threaten everyone in New York City. This pipeline is dangerously close not only to a nuclear power plant, which could cause catastrophic damage to the surrounding area, but it's also within 500 feet of elementary schools and homes, where a rupture in the pipeline would incinerate these areas.
There's a risk of an event that would destroy an entire area: homes, communities, New York City and also the natural environment. Paul Blanch a registered professional engineer that has studied nuclear safety for 50 years, and is astonished that this pipeline is being built. He states that, "an event would impact 20 million people, causing damage exceeding $8 trillion. The pipeline is 400 feet from the control room, and if an event were to occur, whether an explosion or release of gas, it could cause disabling of people in the control room and cause a meltdown of both reactors." He goes on to say that it’s very likely that we would have a release exceeding those of Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Nancy Vann describes how dangerous the pipeline is. "The pipeline would have a blast radius from a rupture of 800 to 1000 feet. And not only does it run so close to the nuclear power plant control center, but also within 105 feet of the power supply for the Indian Point nuclear plant that keeps the cores cooled." If the power to these cores goes out, there's a backup generator. However, the pipeline will run 115 feet from the fuel that would fuel those backup generators.
Pipelines do fail. Safety Inspectors allow pipes to be buried underground without undergoing proper inspection. The reasonable thing to do would be to dig them back up, but with companies like Spectra, you receive pressure, because it costs the company money. The fact is that the pipeline isn't safe and construction is still underway. If the people are against this pipeline, along with state representatives and mayors, who's calling the shots? Companies like Spectra have too much power and need to be stopped. It’s time we concern ourselves with conservation and life instead of money and power.
