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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Gundersen on Democracy Now Discussing Hurricane Sandy

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Gundersen on Democracy Now Discussing Hurricane Sandy

Gundersen speaks with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now the morning after Hurricane Sandy makes landfall. They discuss the Oyster Creek nuclear plant, which was close to the eye of Hurricane Sandy. The tidal surge at Oyster Creek was within six inches of flooding the service water pumps that cool the nuclear reactor. Several other plants shut down and reverted to their diesel engines for reactor cooling. They also discuss how spent fuel pools are not cooled by diesels - so in the event of a "loss of offsite power," if a plant is shutdown for refueling, the spent fuel pool cannot be cooled.

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Gundersen on Democracy Now Discussing Hurricane Sandy

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Gundersen on Democracy Now Discussing Hurricane Sandy

Gundersen discusses the likelihood of nuclear plants in the path of Hurricane Sandy to lose off-site electrical power. In this scenario, a plant would be forced to rely on backup diesel generators to cool the reactor. Gundersen says: "Its not a question of the winds from this hurricane blowing the plant down. It's a question of the loss of off-site power. That's exactly what happened after Fukushima Daiichi"

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