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1. The nuclear power station

The Indian power energy center is located in Buchanan New York. The plant with three reactors supplies energy used for both domestic and commercial purposes. The plant produces 2000 megawatts of electricity. Entergy Nuclear North East owns and operates the nuclear plant. This is a brunch of the larger Entergy Corporations. The company provides the much-needed energy in New York considering that this is one of the few importers of energy. This is despite the high production since the consumption is also very high (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency & OECD 2007).

2. The New York transportation system.

The transport system in New York is vital for the movement of people. The system includes railway and road transport. The New York City Metropolitan Transport Authority is in charge of both the subway and road transports. This critical infrastructure is praised for being cheap, fast, reliable and environmentally friendly. By providing means for mass movement, the number of personal cars on the roads is greatly reduced if compared with the absence of the services. Transport in New York is friendly to all people despite their age, gender or disability status. The elderly and those with disabilities are offered subsidies when using the public systems. Tickets are bought in different vender machines or by use of credit card.(http://www.nycgo.com/articles/nyc-transportation-getting-around)

3. New York waste treatment plants.

New York has a total of fourteen waste water treatment plants. In total, the plants are estimated to treat 1.3 Billion gallons of waste water every day. Waste waters from homes and rain are all drained to the plants hence ensuring sanitation in the city. This is a very important service that assures residence of their comfort and averts possibilities of outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

The private and public partnership structure at Indian Point Energy Center

The Indian Point Energy Center is privately owned but on top of meeting its investments, it seeks to ensure public interests are served. This is the spirit of private-public Partnership. A private company works with the public authorities to fund projects that are of importance to the general public. IPEC produces 25% of the energy required in New York. The company utilizes public resources to achieve this. For instance, water used in the reactors comes from river Hudson. This company requires a license from the state of New York to operate. The current tenure is being discussed as most of the contract was to expire by 2012. This means that this private company requires permission from the public to continue with its operations, (Yescombe 2007). In return, the company provides the much-needed energy to homes and businesses as well as creating employment opportunities and contributing to charity organizations.

IPEC plays an important role in environmental conservation since nuclear energy is a form of clean energy, (OECD 2007). This reduces pollution arising from power production that relies on fossil energy.

Agency tasked with providing institutional knowledge on nuclear energy

The Nuclear Energy Institute NEI is a USA government agency whose task is to foster the advantages of nuclear energy to the government and the rest of the world. It achieves this by publishing verified information regarding nuclear energy. It provides information on the benefits of this source of energy as well as the possible risk and measures of handling nuclear disasters.

Risk assessment of using nuclear energy

Nuclear energy has registered very few but catastrophic accidents. Most result from melt down of the reactors, (OECD 2007). If the nuclear safety systems are tampered with, it fails to regulate the heat and hence may emit radioactive material. Nuclear plants face risks from natural disasters like floods and earthquake. Fires and other human actions like explosive also risk destroying the plants. Waste material from nuclear plants remains dangerous long periods after their use. Safe storage of this material is, therefore, necessary to prevent contamination with the soil water or even humans.

The consequences of a nuclear disaster are immense since the radioactive material is known to altar body cells and cause cancer. The place becomes uninhabitable.

Activities to help manage risks for a nuclear disaster

The threat from terrorist attacks should be addressed through enacting strict security measures this will be implemented through securing access to the nuclear plant. Intelligence gathering should also be part of the security measures to ensure that a prediction of potential attack is possible. Building a huge drainage facility is necessary to face off the threat of floods. Water barriers and large getters can help direct waters away. A careful assessment of nuclear locations should be done to evaluate the possibility of floods.

Ensuring that all nuclear reactors have the ability to shut themselves down in case they are destroyed may be handy. If for instance earthquakes occur and the plant is destroyed, then it would be safer if the reactors go off. Fire extinguishing plans should be present in every nuclear plant. A frequent check up of the extinguishers should always be done to ensure that they are functional.

How to evaluate effectiveness of the activities

By conducting continuous research and experimentation with nuclear energy, it is possible to find out limitations in the current safety measures. By carrying out controlled nuclear tests, it is possible to evaluate whether, for instance, the latest fire extinguishing methods can work.

How to share information on nuclear safety

The social media and internet, in general, provide a platform for disseminating information. Through creating a blogging site, I can reach many people and clarify the myths and misconceptions about nuclear energy. Publishing in technology and energy journals is the other way of reaching the masses. Articles on the past nuclear disasters and the consequences can be made public. Use of movies is an interesting way of educating people. Through partnering with film makers and authors, it is possible to produce movies with themes on nuclear disasters which can reach large audiences.

References:

Yescombe, E. R. (2007). Public-private partnerships: Principles of policy and finance. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency., & OECD (2007). Risks and benefits of nuclear energy. Paris: Nuclear Energy Agency, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.