There are new claims Monday that radiation from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant is making people sick.

The report was released by Rep. Eliot Engel, actor Alec Baldwin, scientists and an anti-nuclear group. It claims radioactive leaks from the plant are to blame for spiking cancer rates in the region. Engel, Baldwin and anti-nuclear activists are calling for the plant to be shut down.

The health report says the aging reactors are causing an increase in thyroid cancer and childhood cancer in the four counties surrounding the plant. According to the report, baby?s teeth from Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam counties were tested in the late 1990s. The test showed high levels of cancer-causing strontium 90, which exceeded the state and national rates.

Entergy, which owns and operates the plant, says the health study is unscientific. Entergy officials say the report has already been discredited by local and state health agencies. The company maintains the plant is safe.

The report comes just two weeks before the deadline for Indian Point?s license renewal. Entergy has requested the Nuclear Regulatory Commission extend the plant?s license for an additional 20 years beyond 2013.

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