Fallout from New Indian Point Poll

Most area residents want to keep Indian Point open, according to a new poll produced by Marist College and NY1/YNN. The headline from the Marist press release for the new poll states that "Nearly Half of Residents Near Indian Point Want to Keep Power Plant Open." The number that Marist's press release refers to is their survey of New York City and Hudson Valley adults. Those adults surveyed were in the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess and Ulster, as well as the five boroughs. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 6%.

Patch called Mary Azzoli, the director of media for the Marist Poll, to ask her if the numbers could be broken down by municipality, such as Buchanan, Verplanck, Croton-on-Hudson and Ossining residents. Azzoli said that they did not break down the numbers that way, and that the poll was conducted by surveying individuals by county and borough, not by municipality.

Riverkeeper's Hudson River Program Director Phillip Musegaas says the new poll actually highlights the fact that an increasing number of New York residents want Indian Point closed. "The other key statistic from this poll, that I think was not reported, is that when they asked people if they thought a nuclear catastrophe, like the one in Japan could happen here in New York, more than half of those polled said yes," said Musegass.

Indian Point Communications Manager Jerry Nappi says the Marist poll numbers are positive for the plant. "We find that the more people know about how we operate—about how the plant is designed, the more likely they are to support it," said Nappi.

"The most striking finding in the poll for me is the very big gender difference. A lot fewer women support nuclear power than men. The second thing that stands out is that only just over half the respondents statewide favor nuclear power as a source of energy.  That means that almost half the population opposes nuclear energy or is undecided," said Croton-on-Hudson Mayor Leo Wiegman.

Please tell us how you feel about the new poll in the comments box next to this story. To read the new poll's press release and all of the information available from the poll click here.