Panel Completes Independent Safety Evaluation on Indian Point

From Entergy's press release:

The Independent Safety Evaluation (ISE) panel's report, while identifying areas for improvement that need to be addressed, confirms that Indian Point Energy Center is a safe and secure plant, Entergy officials said Thursday.

What does Entergy need to work on?

... the Panel found that IPEC’s relationship with the public and stakeholders, particularly on matters of emergency preparedness, is not healthy. Additionally, the Panel concluded that IPEC’s emergency response facilities and equipment do not meet high industry standards, and should be upgraded.

Overall, the Panel found that security at the plant is strong but problems with staffing shortages in some security functions and certain aging security systems and equipment should be addressed on a priority basis.

Check out the report (pdf) and let us know your thoughts. Was the panel worth it? Do you think they were objective? Will their assessment have any weight with the public? Will anyone actually read the report? And so on.

Update: Thoughts from Idaho Samizdat.