Protesters call for end of nuclear power

Some flew flags featuring the nuclear waste symbol covered with a handprint. Others hung banners urging "solidarity with the people of Japan."

Activists rallying against the use of nuclear power Saturday gathered at Manhattan's Hudson River Park to charge that local plants, such as Indian Point Energy Center 25 miles upstream in Buchanan, endanger lives.

"Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, much of Nassau. If there was a meltdown at Indian Point, they'd all be affected," said Karl Grossman, a SUNY Old Westbury professor. "It's 22 million people who live within 50 miles of Indian Point."

Grossman, 69, of Sag Harbor, and about 300 demonstrators organized by the Coalition Against Nukes, denounced nuclear power plants that they say compromise the safety of residents who couldn't possibly evacuate in an emergency.

The rally coincided with about 10 others held around the nation, said Priscilla Star, 59, of Montauk, who founded the coalition in March after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused meltdowns and radioactive leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

There's a risk of a similar tragedy unfolding in New York, she said.

"If you're in Nassau, you've got Indian Point to think about. If you're on the end of Long Island, you've got Millstone coming down across the Sound to hit you," Star said.

Entergy Corp., which operates Indian Point, has spent more than $1 billion in recent years to upgrade equipment and ensure safety at the upstate plant, countered Entergy spokesman James Steets.

"We've taken additional measures in light of Fukushima to protect it against natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods," he said. "It'd be irresponsible to shut it down, given that it provides 25 percent of the electricity used in Westchester and New York City."

Dominion, which operates Millstone, could not be reached for comment.

The Manhattan rally brought out a contingent of Japanese natives who voiced concerns about the Fukushima catastrophe's aftermath.

Yuko Tonohira, 31, raised in Hokkaido, Japan, and now living in Brooklyn, accused the Japanese government of withholding information about health and environmental consequences, and leaving citizens desperate for answers.

The nuclear disaster, she said, "changed the lives of many in Japan, and it has changed mine. I'm determined to terminate the monster over our planet."