Cooling tower collapse at VT Yankee reactor
A Cooling Tower Collapse Raises Concerns about a New License for the Aging Vermont Yankee Reactor
After key components of a Vermont Yankee cooling tower fell to the ground Tuesday, members of Safe Power Vermont are saying “no” to renewing Entergy’s license to operate for another 20 years.
Safe Power Vermont - a coalition of experienced citizen, environmental, legal, and anti-nuclear organizations committed to closing the nuclear power plant - said that while alarming, the collapse of the cooling tower is not surprising.
“Vermont Yankee is running at 120% of its designed capacity. This surge in power combined with its already ailing infrastructure leaves Vermont Yankee incredibly vulnerable to dangerous accidents just like this one,” said Deb Katz, Executive Director of Citizens Awareness Network.
Advocates questioned the clean bill of health that the cooling tower recently received from Entergy’s experts. They called into question Vermont Yankee’s claims that the 35 five year old reactor is not experiencing serious aging strain that jeopardizes the plant’s future. “Vermont Yankee telling us that the plant is running like new is like a hair dresser telling you that you look twenty years younger, its nice to hear but far from the truth,” said James Moore, Clean Energy Advocate for VPIRG.
The plant’s history of defects and accidents is not insignificant. Just in the past decade, Vermont Yankee has documented 76 cracks in its steam dryer, three fires in its transformer station, a dangerously overcrowded spent fuel pool for radioactive waste and now a cooling tower collapse. Despite this, Entergy is aggressively looking to extend the plant’s license to operate for an additional 20 years.
Advocates also noted that Vermont Yankee benefited from the recent expiration of a rate payer protection plan. This fact will leave Green Mountain Power, Central Vermont Public Service, and Vermont rate payers with higher bills in the future.
“Any further reliance on Vermont Yankee will pass on both a financial, as well as safety risk to future generations. Vermont Yankee was built to run 40 years and at 35 it is already testing father time, the plant must close in 2012,”said Ed Anthes of Nuclear Free Vermont.
In accordance with Act 160, the Vermont legislature has the power to prevent Vermont Yankee from running past its 2012 lifespan. Safe Power Vermont says the coalition will continue to work for the facility’s closure to prevent a seemingly inevitable accident of catastrophic proportions.
For Immediate Release: August 22, 2007
For More Information:
James Moore, 223-5221
Deb Katz, 413- 339- 5781
Chris Williams: 802- 767- 4276