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Nuclear Industry to Vermont: 'Drop Dead'
The
nuclear power industry is sending a clear and forceful message to the
citizens of Vermont: "Drop Dead."
The greeting applies to Ohio,
New York, California and a nation under assault from a "renaissance" so
far hyped with more than $640 million in corporate cash.
The
Vermont attack includes:
Mar 18, 2010
The
nuclear power industry is sending a clear and forceful message to the
citizens of Vermont: "Drop Dead."
The greeting applies to Ohio,
New York, California and a nation under assault from a "renaissance" so
far hyped with more than $640 million in corporate cash.
The
Vermont attack includes:
1) A direct threat to ignore the state
Senate's 26-4 February vote against renewing the Yankee reactor's
operating license. As a condition of buying Yankee, Entergy long-ago
ceded to the legislature approval of any extension of an operating
license, which expires in 2012. But Entergy now says it will spend all
the corporate cash it needs to evict the current Senate and install one
more to its liking.
2) Vermont's pro-nuclear Republican Governor
Jim Douglas says the Senate's vote is "meaningless." Douglas is not
running for re-election but is certain to become a high-priced Yankee
arm-twister when he leaves office.
3) Entergy has also implied
that if it fails to buy itself a pro-nuke legislature in 2010, it will
sue over any denial of the license extension.
4) Entergy is
trying to shift ownership of Yankee into a shell corporation called
Enexus which would allow it to avoid financial exposure. The scheme has
been attacked by regulators and analysts in New York (Entergy also owns
Indian Point) and elsewhere. "With its leaks and lies," says Yankee
activist Deb Katz, VY "is a liability for Entergy and a black eye" which
some observers think the industry may want to jettison.
5)
Entergy's decommissioning fund has been radically drained by stock
market losses and mis-management. It retains nowhere near enough money
for safe dismantlement, so Entergy says Yankee must operate for decades
more to recoup the losses.
6) Under oath and in public, Entergy
officials have denied the existence of underground piping at Vermont
Yankee which does exist and is leaking radioactive tritium as well as
other deadly isotopes.
7) A probe (nicknamed "Rover") sent into
the piping system to locate the leak has become stuck in radioactive
muck.
8) State regulators and others warn that Yankee's
radioactive offal may already be pouring into the Connecticut River.
As
angry citizens in Vermont and downwind New Hampshire and Massachusetts
are told their worries have no place in a reactor renaissance, the
message to "drop dead" has spread.
In Ohio, the infamous
Davis-Besse reactor has turned up---again--- with potentially
catastrophic defects. In 2002 Davis-Besse came within a fraction of an
inch of a catastrophic melt-down when boric acid ate nearly all the way
through the reactor pressure vessel. Now assemblies that guide rods into
the reactor core are again cracking. Davis-Besse's owner, First Energy,
is ignoring demands from terrified downwinders that the nuke be
permanently shut.
In New York, Entergy's Indian Point is leaking
inside and out. Entergy continues to resist public demands for
shut-down or a definitive clean-up.
In California, Pacific Gas
& Electric is pushing hard to extend the operating license for its
Diablo Canyon reactor, ignoring public demands for a three-year project
to map earthquake faults that run within three miles of the plant.
Federal
agents have confirmed that a suspected al Qaeda operative worked at 6 US nukes
sites. Former CIA official Charles F. Faddis warns that America's 104 operating reactors are
dangerously vulnerable to terror attack.
None of which seems
to phase an industry and administration that want the public to pay for
still more.
Politically, economically, ecologically and in
terms of the public health, the message from the "nuclear renaissance"
to the American people is perfectly clear: "Drop Dead."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Harvey Wasserman
Harvey Wasserman is an activist and author. His first book "Harvey Wasserman's History of the United States" was published in 1972. Harvey edits www.nukefree.org.
The
nuclear power industry is sending a clear and forceful message to the
citizens of Vermont: "Drop Dead."
The greeting applies to Ohio,
New York, California and a nation under assault from a "renaissance" so
far hyped with more than $640 million in corporate cash.
The
Vermont attack includes:
1) A direct threat to ignore the state
Senate's 26-4 February vote against renewing the Yankee reactor's
operating license. As a condition of buying Yankee, Entergy long-ago
ceded to the legislature approval of any extension of an operating
license, which expires in 2012. But Entergy now says it will spend all
the corporate cash it needs to evict the current Senate and install one
more to its liking.
2) Vermont's pro-nuclear Republican Governor
Jim Douglas says the Senate's vote is "meaningless." Douglas is not
running for re-election but is certain to become a high-priced Yankee
arm-twister when he leaves office.
3) Entergy has also implied
that if it fails to buy itself a pro-nuke legislature in 2010, it will
sue over any denial of the license extension.
4) Entergy is
trying to shift ownership of Yankee into a shell corporation called
Enexus which would allow it to avoid financial exposure. The scheme has
been attacked by regulators and analysts in New York (Entergy also owns
Indian Point) and elsewhere. "With its leaks and lies," says Yankee
activist Deb Katz, VY "is a liability for Entergy and a black eye" which
some observers think the industry may want to jettison.
5)
Entergy's decommissioning fund has been radically drained by stock
market losses and mis-management. It retains nowhere near enough money
for safe dismantlement, so Entergy says Yankee must operate for decades
more to recoup the losses.
6) Under oath and in public, Entergy
officials have denied the existence of underground piping at Vermont
Yankee which does exist and is leaking radioactive tritium as well as
other deadly isotopes.
7) A probe (nicknamed "Rover") sent into
the piping system to locate the leak has become stuck in radioactive
muck.
8) State regulators and others warn that Yankee's
radioactive offal may already be pouring into the Connecticut River.
As
angry citizens in Vermont and downwind New Hampshire and Massachusetts
are told their worries have no place in a reactor renaissance, the
message to "drop dead" has spread.
In Ohio, the infamous
Davis-Besse reactor has turned up---again--- with potentially
catastrophic defects. In 2002 Davis-Besse came within a fraction of an
inch of a catastrophic melt-down when boric acid ate nearly all the way
through the reactor pressure vessel. Now assemblies that guide rods into
the reactor core are again cracking. Davis-Besse's owner, First Energy,
is ignoring demands from terrified downwinders that the nuke be
permanently shut.
In New York, Entergy's Indian Point is leaking
inside and out. Entergy continues to resist public demands for
shut-down or a definitive clean-up.
In California, Pacific Gas
& Electric is pushing hard to extend the operating license for its
Diablo Canyon reactor, ignoring public demands for a three-year project
to map earthquake faults that run within three miles of the plant.
Federal
agents have confirmed that a suspected al Qaeda operative worked at 6 US nukes
sites. Former CIA official Charles F. Faddis warns that America's 104 operating reactors are
dangerously vulnerable to terror attack.
None of which seems
to phase an industry and administration that want the public to pay for
still more.
Politically, economically, ecologically and in
terms of the public health, the message from the "nuclear renaissance"
to the American people is perfectly clear: "Drop Dead."
Harvey Wasserman
Harvey Wasserman is an activist and author. His first book "Harvey Wasserman's History of the United States" was published in 1972. Harvey edits www.nukefree.org.
The
nuclear power industry is sending a clear and forceful message to the
citizens of Vermont: "Drop Dead."
The greeting applies to Ohio,
New York, California and a nation under assault from a "renaissance" so
far hyped with more than $640 million in corporate cash.
The
Vermont attack includes:
1) A direct threat to ignore the state
Senate's 26-4 February vote against renewing the Yankee reactor's
operating license. As a condition of buying Yankee, Entergy long-ago
ceded to the legislature approval of any extension of an operating
license, which expires in 2012. But Entergy now says it will spend all
the corporate cash it needs to evict the current Senate and install one
more to its liking.
2) Vermont's pro-nuclear Republican Governor
Jim Douglas says the Senate's vote is "meaningless." Douglas is not
running for re-election but is certain to become a high-priced Yankee
arm-twister when he leaves office.
3) Entergy has also implied
that if it fails to buy itself a pro-nuke legislature in 2010, it will
sue over any denial of the license extension.
4) Entergy is
trying to shift ownership of Yankee into a shell corporation called
Enexus which would allow it to avoid financial exposure. The scheme has
been attacked by regulators and analysts in New York (Entergy also owns
Indian Point) and elsewhere. "With its leaks and lies," says Yankee
activist Deb Katz, VY "is a liability for Entergy and a black eye" which
some observers think the industry may want to jettison.
5)
Entergy's decommissioning fund has been radically drained by stock
market losses and mis-management. It retains nowhere near enough money
for safe dismantlement, so Entergy says Yankee must operate for decades
more to recoup the losses.
6) Under oath and in public, Entergy
officials have denied the existence of underground piping at Vermont
Yankee which does exist and is leaking radioactive tritium as well as
other deadly isotopes.
7) A probe (nicknamed "Rover") sent into
the piping system to locate the leak has become stuck in radioactive
muck.
8) State regulators and others warn that Yankee's
radioactive offal may already be pouring into the Connecticut River.
As
angry citizens in Vermont and downwind New Hampshire and Massachusetts
are told their worries have no place in a reactor renaissance, the
message to "drop dead" has spread.
In Ohio, the infamous
Davis-Besse reactor has turned up---again--- with potentially
catastrophic defects. In 2002 Davis-Besse came within a fraction of an
inch of a catastrophic melt-down when boric acid ate nearly all the way
through the reactor pressure vessel. Now assemblies that guide rods into
the reactor core are again cracking. Davis-Besse's owner, First Energy,
is ignoring demands from terrified downwinders that the nuke be
permanently shut.
In New York, Entergy's Indian Point is leaking
inside and out. Entergy continues to resist public demands for
shut-down or a definitive clean-up.
In California, Pacific Gas
& Electric is pushing hard to extend the operating license for its
Diablo Canyon reactor, ignoring public demands for a three-year project
to map earthquake faults that run within three miles of the plant.
Federal
agents have confirmed that a suspected al Qaeda operative worked at 6 US nukes
sites. Former CIA official Charles F. Faddis warns that America's 104 operating reactors are
dangerously vulnerable to terror attack.
None of which seems
to phase an industry and administration that want the public to pay for
still more.
Politically, economically, ecologically and in
terms of the public health, the message from the "nuclear renaissance"
to the American people is perfectly clear: "Drop Dead."
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