Vermont Yankee to close in 2014!

In a victory for the state of Vermont and its people, Entergy will close Vermont Yankee (a GE Mark I BWR, identical in design to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1-4) in 2014 and begin decommissioning the reactor. According to the Wall Street Journal, "The station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014." The State of the Vermont, with overwhelming public support, voted to, and has been demanding, the shutdown of the troubled, aging Mark I, a twin design to those that melted down and exploded at Fukushima Daiichi. Entergy fought successfully to keep the plant open in the courts of law with support from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But the company had been exposed for lying under oath about buried leaking pipes and the reactor had suffered leaks, fires and the collapse of cooling towers. It is also contributing to thermal pollution in the Connecticut River that harms the wildlife there and the aquatic ecosystem. More news...