In Victory for Activists, Entergy to Close Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant; Will More Follow?

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In Victory for Activists, Entergy to Close Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant; Will More Follow?

One of the country’s oldest and most controversial nuclear plants has announced it will close late next year. Citing financial reasons, the nuclear plant operator Entergy said Tuesday it will decommission the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station in Vernon, Vermont. The site has been the target of protests for decades and has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks. In 2010, the Vermont State Senate voted against a measure that would have authorized a state board to grant Vermont Yankee a permit to operate for an additional 20 years.

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Nuclear Timelines: A New Tool for Looking at History

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Nuclear Timelines: A New Tool for Looking at History

Our crew unveils the new, user friendly Fairewinds' Timeline Maker for tracking problems at individual nuclear plants around the world.  Listen as Nat, Lucas and Arnie explain how simple it was to use the Fairewinds' Timeline Maker to illustrate the technical issues and flawed corporate decision-making that ultimately forced the shutdown of San Onofre.  The Timeline Maker can be used at any nuclear plant throughout the nation, and can be customized by individuals and groups to prevent  Forty Good Years from becoming One Bad Day.

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White House & NRC Recommend 50 Mile Fukushima Evacuation, Yet Insist US Safe With Only 10

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White House & NRC Recommend 50 Mile Fukushima Evacuation, Yet Insist US Safe With Only 10

Fairewinds' Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen emphasizes the need to enlarge evacuation zones around US nuclear plants to 50 miles. Reducing US evacuation zones to only 10 miles during a nuclear power accident compromises public safety.

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The Implications of the Fukushima Accident on the World's Operating Reactors

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The Implications of the Fukushima Accident on the World's Operating Reactors

Arnie Gundersen explains how containment vents were added to the GE Mark 1 BWR as a "band aid" 20 years after the plants built in order to prevent an explosion of the notoriously weak Mark 1 containment system. Gundersen also discusses seismic design flaws, inadequate evacuation planning, and the taxpayer supported nuclear industry liability fund.

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Declaration of Arnold Gundersen Supporting Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League's Contentions

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The TVA must conduct a completely new environmental analysis prior to the issuance of any construction permit for Bellefonte Units 1 and 2. The evidence clearly shows that by the Reinstatement of the Construction Permits for Bellefonte Units 1 and 2, NRC has allowed TVA to violate federal laws, and that licensure and operation of  Units 1 and 2 pose a grave risk to public health and safety.

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Declaration of Arnold Gundersen Supporting Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone in its Petition

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Dominion Nuclear's application fails to satisfy any of the NRC criteria to be accepted as a Stretched Power Uprate. A thorough review of the evidence presented by Dominion Nuclear and compared and contrasted with NRC Stretched Power Uprate requirements clearly shows that the Dominion Nuclear Stretched Power Uprate application should in fact be treated as an Extended Power Uprate (EPU) application.

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Gundersen Letter to NRC ACRS Re: Vermont Yankee Uprate 11-05

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Rather than being granted an uprate to produce 20% more power than Yankee was designed to produce, Arnie Gundersen recommends that it continue to operate at its current power level until its 40-year license expires in 2012.  An uprate would reduce safety margins, add stresses on the plant’s aging components, and changes the most critical safety design feature of Vermont Yankee, reducing the plant’s ability to protect Vermonters in the event of a “single failure.”  

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