Vermont Yankee is a real little troublemaker. Last year, a large part of one of the US nuclear power plant’s cooling towers collapsed. The collapse was put down to rotting wood in the tower’s construction. Further poor maintenance also led to a ‘reactor scram’ and shutdown in the same year.
Problems have continued for poor Vermont. The reactor has just suffered its third leak of coolant in a year, the last being in July. Vermont wants permission to carry on for another 20 years while a US Senate Finance Committee has called for independent oversight of the plant. We couldn’t agree more. Little Vermont Yankee needs a chaperone.
Kevin says:
It's actually the Vermont Senate Finance Committee which is calling for a review of Vermont Yankee, not the US Senate. Entergy Nuclear's Vermont ...
It's actually the Vermont Senate Finance Committee which is calling for a review of Vermont Yankee, not the US Senate. Entergy Nuclear's Vermont Yankee doesn't need a "chaperone", it needs to be shut down. The plant is running at 120% capacity and is literally falling apart, posing serious risk to Vermonters and our neighbors- not to mention the high-level radioactive waste that is piling up. Entergy Nuclear, the plant's corporate owners (who are out of Louisiana) are pushing for relicensing and spinning out misinformation campaigns (for which they are now being investigated for, thanks to VPIRG). This out-of-state corporate owner is playing dirty and dangerous games in Vermont. Vermonters don't want VY to continue. It's clear at the public hearings and it's clear in the polls. Vermont is the only state in the country where our citizen's have a legitimate voice in whether or not a nuclear power plant in their state is relicensed, thanks to a law passed that gives our legislature the power to decide if a re-permitting process can even occur. In every other state the Nuclear Regulatory Commission makes the decision and the state boards follow suit (the NRC has never denied a re-permit). There are numerous grassroots and advocacy organizations working together to shut down Entergy Nuclear's Vermont Yankee, while at the same time advancing innovative policy for a Renewable Future based on our many local resources. The bottom line is that when this issue comes to the legislative session in 2009, you can bet Vermonters are going to shut it down.
Posted 19 September, 2008 at 3:37 Flag abuse Read more Read less
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