Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant 

Pamela Randall

 Walton High School

 plr72@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

It’s about a month after that fateful day, September 11, 2001.  The World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. were targets of the worst terrorist attack on the United States.  Thousands of lives have perished.  The whole country is grieving for lost loved ones.  There is a clear sense of fear and anticipation in the air of ‘what’s next’.  As mayor of a small town in the tri-state area, your concerned citizens have focused their sites on Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant located in Buchanan, NY.  Indian Point has three reactors that supply energy to surrounding areas including your town and New York City.  Any of the three reactors could potentially be prime targets for a future terrorist attack.  The time is now for you to decide whether the benefits of Indian Point out weigh the consequences of keeping the plant running.

 

 

This Webquest is intended expose you to a public policy situation.  You will need to examine the background of Indian Point and other nuclear power plants, determine the usefulness of the plant and any potential hazards to determine a logical recommendation submitted to Governor George Pataki.

 

 

 

 

Task

            

 

Your task will be, in groups of two, to create a PowerPoint Presentation of your proposal to Governor Pataki on whether Indian Point should remain open and in operation.  For this project you must include the 6 Step Public Policy approach:

 

  1. Identify the problem.  (Define and describe the social problem, players and public policy.)
  2. Gather evidence to identify the causes of the problem.
  3. Describe and evaluate the existing policy.
  4. Develop solutions for the problems in the existing policy.
  5. Select the best policy for the problem.

 

 

 

Process

 

Refer to the following guidelines for the completion of your product.

 

Before completing your two projects:

 

1.      Research the sources listed below in order to respond to all the following questions.

2.      Complete the 6 step public policy worksheets found at the site listed.

3.      Hand in the worksheets for evaluation.

 

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html

 

 

Guidelines for your Power Point Presentation:

 

 1)      Research the sources to create your presentation.

 2)      All your slides will be original.

 3)      Your presentation will include 10 slides.  Eight (8) slides showing your information, one (1) for your introduction and one (1) slide listing the credits (like a movie).

 4)      Your slides will be based on the 6-step PPA (Public Policy Analysis).

 5)      Focus your presentation on factual information rather than opinion.

 6)      Your presentation will also include information showing the class how you came to your conclusions.

 

 

 

Evaluation     

 

The evaluation of your projects will be done in two parts.  The first part will be on your Power Point presentation.  You and your group will present your project to the rest of the class and the class will submit rubrics based on your group’s presentation.  The instructor will then combine these rubrics, along with your self-assessment, to determine a score.   

 

 

 

 

Rubric

 

 

Inadequate

1

Fair

2

Good

3

Excellent

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power Point Presentation

No Knowledge of Public Policy,

Minimum Data Supporting Public Policy

Minimum Knowledge of Public Policy, Few Data Sources

Good Knowledge of Public Policy, Adequate Amount of Data Sources

Outstanding Knowledge of Public Policy, Tremendous Data Sources

 

 

 

Resources

          Sites regarding any nuclear power plant:

 

                   Design, operation, maintenance, why nuclear power - http://www.nucleartourist.com/

                   Employee’s perspective - http://webpages.charter.net/jimzim/DiabloCanyon.html

                   Database for safety and risk analysis - http://www.insc.anl.gov/

                   Three Mile Island - http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/tmi/tmi.htm

                   Nuclear Terrorism - http://www.tmia.com/sabter.html

                   Sociologist advice on nuclear safety - http://www.queensu.ca/epu/mehta/mehta.htm

                   U.S. Nuclear Power Plant maps - www.nukepills.com

                   American Nuclear Society - www.ans.org

 

          Sites specific to Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant:

 

                   http://www.closeindianpoint.org/

                        http://www.nucleartourist.com/us/nyc.htm

                        http://www.ems.org/nuclear/indian_point.html

                        http://www.highlands.com/IPP/

                        http://www.safesecurevital.org/articles/article_mark3.html

                        http://www.petitiononline.com/cipn2002/petition.html

                        http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/2001/March/Day-20/i6904.htm

                        http://www.earthtimes.org/feb/environmentalissuesindianfeb19_02.htm

                        http://www.nci.org/02/03f/22-06.htm

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

The effects of human activities can have many unforeseen consequences. This is especially so if the activity is the result of an application of science. If proper research is not done before hand, then the costs of fixing errors can be great in terms of dollar output, cleanup projects, restoration projects, and ecological disabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

Bronx High School Educational Standards Addressed

 

 

S2 - Life Science Concepts:  Biology

         

S4 - Scientific Connections and Applications:

S4a:  order and organizing; form and function; change and constancy; cause and effect

 

            S4b:  the relationship between science and technology

 

            S4c:  personal and environmental safety

 

S5 – Scientific Thinking

          S5a:  frames questions to distinguish cause and effect

                       

S5b:  uses S1-S4 to explain a variety of observations and phenomena

                       

S5c:  uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations, and models; makes adjustments based on new knowledge

 

S5d:  proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers and critiques alternative explanations

 

S5e:  identifies problems; proposes and implements solutions; evaluates the accuracy of design, and outcomes of investigation

 

S5f:  works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas

 

S6 – Scientific Tools and Technologies

S6a:  uses technology and tools to observe and measure objects

 

S6b:  records and stores data using a variety of formats

 

S6d:  acquires information from multiple sources

 

S6e:  recognizes and limits sources of bias in data

 

S7 – Scientific Communication

            S7a:  represents data and results in multiple ways

 

            S7d:  explains a scientific concept or procedure to other students

 

            S7e:  communicates in a form suited to the purpose and audience