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"The plume of tritium leaking from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant is suspected of being 35 feet deep, 200 feet wide and 400 feet long, according to the Legislature's nuclear expert. Arnie Gundersen, a member of the Vermont Legislature's Public Oversight Panel for Vermont Yankee, told lawmakers Wednesday morning the quickest way to stop the tritium leak before finding its origin would be for the reactor to shut down. Gundersen said that move would likely cost Entergy, the company that owns Vermont Yankee, about $1 million a day in electricity sales. "If the plant shuts down, the tritium leak stops," Gunderson told members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee at the Statehouse Wednesday. "It would take years for the tritium to move off-site, but you would not be adding anything to it if the plant shut down.""

"Vermonters have been getting a lesson in radioactive tritium over the past two weeks because of the discovery of contamination at Vermont Yankee. Vermonters are not alone. Other Entergy reactors - including plants in Massachusetts and New York - also have similar leaks. VPR's John Dillon has more. (Dillon) The Indian Point nuclear plant is almost as old as Vermont Yankee. It sits on the Hudson River, about 35 miles north of New York City. "

"Despite pledges of "transparency" and "openness" in its bid to regain the trust and confidence of Vermonters after its radioactive leak at Vermont Yankee, Entergy Nuclear attorneys have taken steps to keep key documents at the Public Service Board under seal and confidential. Entergy Nuclear attorney John Marshall, and three other attorneys from Downs Rachlin Martin, requested the protective order from the board Wednesday, a day before Entergy Nuclear executive Mark Savoff reiterated a pledge Thursday during a press conference for openness and full communication. Entergy specifically is seeking to seal the report from its internal investigation conducted by its law firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, into whether Entergy Nuclear Vermont executives lied to state regulators, state consultants and legislators over the existence of buried underground pipes at Vermont Yankee."

"It could cost between $4 billion and $8 billion to supply Vermont's electric needs from renewable sources, according to a report issued by the Coalition for Energy Solutions, a loosely associated group of energy professionals who study and evaluate energy options. The report was an evaluation of a study released by the Vermont Public Interest Group, which stated renewable energy sources and energy efficiencies could make unnecessary the continued operation of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon past its original license expiration date of 2012. "Our Evaluation makes the same assumptions about total electric demand, total purchases from the grid, and complete use of renewables (no extensive gas-fired back-up) as (VPIRG's) Repowering Vermont (report)," wrote Howard Shaffer and Meredith Angwin, the authors of "Vermont Electric Power in Transition." "

"The Vermont Public Service Board wants to know why Vermont Yankee management has refused to allow a documentary film maker to bring his camera on a site visit on Thursday. Yankee has until noon today to respond to Robbie Leppzer's request to allow him to film the PSB's visit, it wrote in a letter to the power plant's managers. Leppzer, who has been following the debate over Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's future, said he only wants the chance to tell the story from both sides Last week, he learned his attempt to present an impartial account of the issue was thwarted when his request to allow him to bring his video equipment to the site was refused. "I've been seeking the viewpoints and perspectives of all sides of the nuclear power debate including Entergy representatives and Vermont Yankee staff," said Leppzer. "I was looking forward to filming at the PSB site visit as a way of showing the work they are doing and their transparency with government." Leppzer said he's been filming public hearings, meetings of the Legislature and legislative committees, a town meeting and public workshops such as those recently held by Entergy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "

"Greenpeace activists crashed Entergy's annual shareholder meeting Friday in Jackson, Miss., demanding the company halt its efforts to seek the continued operations of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Entergy, who owns and operates the Vernon-based nuclear facility, has rejected the Vermont Senate's Feb. 24 vote to deny the extension of a public good certificate allowing the plant to operate past its license expiration date in March 2012. Greenpeace party-crashers delivered a letter from Vermonters demanding the company retire the plant as scheduled in 2012 as Entergy executives delivered statements about company profits. "Entergy's effort to overturn the Senate's denial of a certificate of public good are in vain," said Vermont's Greenpeace organizer Jarred Cobb. "Vermont Yankee is an aging and dangerous nuclear reactor that will not be a part of this state's energy future." "

""Loan Guarantee Fever" in Congress Finds No Counterpart in Across-the-Board Cold Shoulder From State Solons; From Kentucky to Arizona, Industry Lobbyists Fail to Overturn Bans, Pass Costs on to Consumers or Get Nuclear Classified as "Renewable Energy" WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It was front-page news across America this February when the Vermont Senate voted to shut down the troubled Vermont Yankee reactor in 2012. But what most Americans don't know is that the nuclear industry also lost all of its seven other major state legislative pushes this year ? going 0-8 and putting yet another nail in the coffin of the myth of the "nuclear renaissance" in the United States, according to an analysis by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS). Even as some in Congress would lavish tens of billions of dollars ? and even unlimited ? loan guarantees on the embattled nuclear power industry, state lawmakers in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Vermont and West Virginia and Wisconsin said a firm "no" this year to more nuclear power. The legislative issues ranged from attempts by nuclear industry lobbyists to overturn bans on new reactors to "construction work in progress" (CWIP) assessments to pay for new reactors to reclassifying nuclear power as a "renewable resource." How bad is the nuclear power industry doing in state legislatures? In 2009, the industry went 0-5 with reactor moratorium overturn efforts in Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, and West Virginia. Even after stepping up its on-the-ground efforts in 2010 with paid lobbyists and extensive public relations efforts in states like Wisconsin, the industry again came up with nothing."

A Nov. 1 deadline set by legislative leaders came and went, and still no deal between Vermont Yankee and the state's largest utilities on a post-2012 power contract. House Speaker Shap Smith said that means it will be "very difficult" for the Legislature to vote next year on whether Vermont Yankee should be allowed to continue operating after its license expires in 2012. The Vernon nuclear power plant needs the Legislature's approval before the state Public Service Board can decide on a new 20-year operating agreement.

A Nov. 1 deadline set by legislative leaders came and went, and still no deal between Vermont Yankee and the state's largest utilities on a post-2012 power contract. House Speaker Shap Smith said that means it will be "very difficult" for the Legislature to vote next year on whether Vermont Yankee should be allowed to continue operating after its license expires in 2012. The Vernon nuclear power plant needs the Legislature's approval before the state Public Service Board can decide on a new 20-year operating agreement.

"The Vermont Public Service Board has set a hearing for the evening of July 8 at Brattleboro Union High School to take public testimony on whether it should order the shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The board is considering a petition by groups critical of nuclear power that Vermont Yankee be shut down until repairs can be completed to ensure any leaks of radioactive substances have stopped. Critics of the plant also are calling for it to be penalized for misleading state officials. Plant personnel said in sworn testimony before the board and elsewhere that the Vernon reactor did not have underground pipes carrying radioactive substances. Such underground pipes were found to be leaking earlier this year."

The owners of Vermont Yankee have decided not to offer Vermont utilities a new deal on power. Yankee faced a year-end deadline to come up with a new power contract. But the owners of the nuclear plant said the deal that's already in place is good enough for now. VPR's John Dillon reports: (Dillon) Entergy Vermont Yankee wants permission to run the plant for another 20 years, after its current license expires in 2012.

The Brattleboro Common transformed from a picturesque, quiet corner of the town into a festival of grassroots activism Saturday during the Nuclear Free Jubilee. Hundreds of residents turned out for the event, hoping to push the state closer toward a clean, renewable energy future and fuel a drive toward "green collar" jobs and industries. The nuclear free event was sponsored by the localized campaign known as Safe and Green, which looks to highlight the public support for closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant located in Vernon when the original license expires in the next four years. "This is a unique moment for Vermont," said Ellen Kaye, Safe and Green coordinator within Vermont. She estimated about 1,000 people participated in the day's events.

The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is suffering from another problem with its cooling towers, with leaks of more than 60 gallons of water a minute attributed to faulty packing in pipe joints, officials said Wednesday. Spokesmen for Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Nuclear and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the leaks were in sections of the Vermont Yankee's east cooling tower not considered key to plant safety.

Radiation levels measured at the fence line of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant were 30 percent higher in 2007 than in 2006. Despite the 30 percent increase, the report stated the highest fence line measurement recorded by the Vermont Department of Health was less than 18 millirem. "At no time has Vermont Yankee posed a measurable risk to public health," said Health Commissioner Wendy Davis.

Vermont Yankee's advertisements would have us believe that nuclear power is clean, safe and reliable. This is psychological abuse on the part of Entergy towards the good people of Vermont. This week, throughout the state, I had the opportunity to listen to two speakers who have dedicated themselves to exposing the truth that we don't hear in our dialogues, debates and discussions about the future of Vermont Yankee. Lorraine Rekmans, a member of the Serpent River First Nation in Ontario and candidate for parliament, and Ian Zabarte, the secretary of state for the Western Shoshone Nation near Yucca Mountain, spoke about the missing pieces in Entergy's clean energy campaign. These missing pieces are uranium mining, waste storage and current nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada test site.

Top Vermont legislative leaders say it's doubtful lawmakers will vote this year on whether the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant should be allowed to operate past its currently scheduled shutdown date of 2012. Plant owner Entergy Nuclear is seeking a 20-year license extension, and Vermont is the only state in the country where lawmakers have given themselves the power to vote it up or down. Such license extensions normally are decided by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Sprawling along the Connecticut River, just a few miles from the Massachusetts border, lies Vermont Yankee, one of the country's oldest nuclear power plants and supplier of about a third of the Green Mountain State's electricity. Discuss COMMENTS (57) When the reactor first booted up in the early '70s, it was a symbol of an energy revolution in New England. Today, it is a symbol of how the region stands apart from the rest of the country, a place where skepticism of nuclear power - in the form of vocal and organized opposition - persists even as the nation gives nuclear energy a fresh look. A march in Montpelier last week was only the latest reminder of ongoing opposition to Vermont Yankee's bid to extend its operating license 20 more years.

Summary On January 7, the Vermont Department of Health was notified by Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station that samples taken from a ground water monitoring well on site (identified as GZ-3) contained tritium. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. It is a by-product of the nuclear fission process in a nuclear reactor, and also occurs naturally in the environment in very low concentrations. Most tritium in the environment is in the form of tritiated water, which easily moves about in the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil and rock. The finding of tritium in ground water signals that there has been an unintended underground release of radioactive material, and that other radioisotopes may have contaminated the environment. Vermont Yankee officials are conducting an investigation to identify the source of the tritium, and the magnitude of contamination, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in an oversight role."

"The Vermont Department of Health says levels of radioactive tritium in groundwater samples taken at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have skyrocketed again - to 2.7 million picocuries per liter. The nuclear plant, located in Vermont's southeastern corner, is now monitoring drinking water wells on site and the Connecticut River on a daily basis, although the radioactive isotope hasn't been found in either. Tritium has been linked to cancer when ingested in large amounts. The federal safety standard for consumption is 20,000 picocuries per liter. State health officials say underground piping could be leaking the substances, which was first discovered at Vermont Yankee on Jan. 7."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Markowitz says she supports a new state energy plan that would close down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in 2012. Markowitz says the plant isn't safe to operate for another 20 years. VPR's Bob Kinzel reports. (Kinzel) All five of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates say they oppose the relicensing of Vermont Yankee for another 20 years. Some of the candidates stress the lack of money for the plant's decommissioning fund, and some argue that the cost of future power from the plant won't be competitive with prices on the short term spot market.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Markowitz says she supports a new state energy plan that would close down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in 2012. Markowitz says the plant isn't safe to operate for another 20 years. VPR's Bob Kinzel reports. (Kinzel) All five of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates say they oppose the relicensing of Vermont Yankee for another 20 years. Some of the candidates stress the lack of money for the plant's decommissioning fund, and some argue that the cost of future power from the plant won't be competitive with prices on the short term spot market.

"Mike Carlson was at his desk when he noticed his chair starting to move. The computer monitor on his desk at Central Vermont Public Service Corp. in Rutland shuddered, too, Wednesday afternoon moving from side to side, thanks to a magnitude-5.0 earthquake in Canada at abount 2:30 p.m. that shook a region stretching as far west as Michigan and into New England. Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon reported an "unusual event," the lowest of four levels of emergency classification. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan says the earthquake wasn't felt in the control room but was in other parts of the site. Yankee officials say there's no evidence of damage to the plant. Vermont Emergency Management spokesman Mark Bosma said no reports of damage have been reported. Advertisement "