Where Does Vermont Yankee's Waste Go?

Vermont Yankee's waste stream is long and wide. While much of the reactor's environmental impact is in the tri-state area (Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire), it starts and ends far from that small corner of New England.

The Air
As part of its routine operation, VY vents radioactive through a large smokestack connected to its cooling system. Many of the gases released break down into radioactive particles that settle in surrounding communities as a kind of "fall-out." Over VY's 36-year history, it has released over 400,000 curies of radioactive waste into the air.

The Connecticut River
VY also discharges tritium and other radioactive contaminants from its cooling system into the Connecticut River. Since 1972, VY has released over 2,000 curies of tritium into the river.

Vernon, VT
The most commonly known waste product of nuclear power is the used fuel. Sometimes called "spent fuel," the irradiated fuel rods are actually about one million times more radioactive than before they were used in the reactor - and hot enough to catch fire if they are not kept under water. Right now, over five-hundred tons are stored in the spent fuel pool, six stories above ground. Since there is no viable disposal solution for this waste on the horizon, Entergy plans to begin storing some of the waste in canisters outside the reactor building, probably for decades. When Entergy took over VY, it promised to remove all of this waste by 2012. After failing to find a way to dispose of their waste, Entergy must not be allowed to continue making it for another twenty years.

Barnwell, SC
"Low-level" radioactive waste - which includes all waste except the used fuel - is shipped to Barnwell, SC. Barnwell is a poor, rural 48% African American community that hosts the country's primary radioactive waste dump. Although the dump is slated to close in 2009, within a few years the community's water supply will become contaminated by waste leaking from the dump, raising concerns about environmental racism. After the Barnwell dump closes, more radioactive waste may have to be stored in Vermont unless another community is forced to host a nuclear waste dump. Mention Sierra Blanca, TX-VT compact, and environmental racism.

East Springfield, MA
Contaminated uniforms, gloves, and booties are sent off-site to be "cleaned" at industrial laundries that serve the nuclear industry. The closest such laundry is operated by UniFirst, Inc. in East Springfield, MA - a largely minority and immigrant community. These laundries routinely have bad safety and working conditions, fail to train their employees about radiation hazards, and discharge radioactive and chemical waste into the local water supply. The UniFirst/NTS laundry in E. Springfield has repeatedly dumped waste in the local sewage system and even the pond in a nearby park. Workers have been endangered by fires and spills in the plant.

Native American Communities
The beginning of the "nuclear fuel chain" is the mining and refining (called milling) of uranium ore. Mining and milling operations produce immense amounts of radioactive and chemical waste. They are mostly located on Native American lands in the Dakotas and the Southwest. For every pound of uranium that is used in a reactor, 3,500-4,000 pounds of radioactive uranium tailings are generated. In addition, uranium enrichment produces seven pounds of "depleted uranium" for every pound of enriched uranium. This means the 500 tons of spent fuel at Vermont Yankee represent only the tip of a huge iceberg of radioactive waste: nearly 4,000 tons of depleted uranium - and about 2 million tons of uranium tailings. The industry is also targeting Native American communities in Nevada and Utah to locate waste dumps for all of the nation's spent nuclear fuel. There has been a persistent pattern of environmental racism throughout the history of the nuclear industry.

Global Warming, Acid Rain, and the Nuclear Fuel Chain
Before it can be used for nuclear power, natural uranium must be "enriched" to increase the amount of uranium that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. This is a very energy-intensive process, and the US's only operating enrichment plant (in Paducah, Kentucky) is largely powered by huge, old coal-fired power plants. These coal-fired plants not only contribute to global warming, they also contribute to acid rain in the northeast that damages our forests, lakes and rivers.

Also, the Paducah enrichment plant leaks enormous amounts of CFCs (chloro-fluoro-carbons) - ozone-depleting chemicals that are banned in the US. The ozone layer in the atmosphere is necessary to protect people from solar radiation that causes skin cancer. Under the law, companies are still allowed to use CFCs until their existing stockpiles are gone. The US's uranium enrichment plant is responsible for half of our country's CFC emissions, making it among the single largest ozone-destroyers in the world.

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Pull The Plug Solar Panel Raffle

HELP PULL THE PLUG ON VERMONT YANKEE TODAY WHILE TAKING A CHANCE AT LOWERING YOUR ELECTRIC BILLS!

Tickets $30.00 each

The Raffle will run through Sunday, November 28 or until 500 chances are sold, whichever comes first. In order to enter the raffle each entrant shall purchase a ticket online at www.vtcitizen.org or in person at events throughout the duration of the raffle. Tickets purchased online will be mailed to the participant upon verification of payment.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Thanks for your support and good luck!

The sponsor of this raffle is the Vermont Citizens Action Network, PO Box 16, Hancock VT 05748, (802) 767-9131, which is a registered Vermont Non-Profit Corporation. Donations and purchases of raffle tickets are not tax deductible. Participation in this raffle shall be deemed to be your complete acceptance of the terms and conditions herein.

Entry in the raffle is available only to persons over the age of 18 who live in a jurisdiction where the purchase of raffle tickets is legal. You may be asked to provide the Sponsor with proof of age and/or identity to participate in this raffle. Board members of the sponsor or any entities affiliated with or related to the Sponsor shall not be eligible to enter the raffle. For the purposes herein, the term relative shall mean spouse, partner, parent, child or sibling.

Each entrant shall be entitled to make multiple entries into the raffle. Each ticket shall be priced at $30.00. A maximum of 500 chances will be sold. In the event that the Sponsor deems an entrant to have acted in bad faith, such entrant shall be excluded from the raffle and consequently deemed ineligible to win the Prize, as defined below.

The prize for winning the raffle shall be determined based on the total number of tickets sold as follows: (a) one-half of the proceeds of the raffle, up to a maximum amount of $4,000 if less than 280 raffle tickets are sold or; (b) a solar electric (PV) system consisting of panels and inverters with a wholesale value of $4,000 (retail value of approximately $4,600) provided by The Greenfield Solar Store, 2 Fiske Avenue, Greenfield MA 01301, (413) 772-3122 if 280 to 500 tickets are sold.

Only one prize will be awarded. Chances of winning may vary based on the total tickets sold but will be no more than 1:500. The Sponsor shall execute a random drawing, which shall take place before January 1, 2011. The exact date and location will be announced prior to November 28, 2010 via our website at vtcitizen.org. After the drawing, the winner will be contacted via telephone and email. If, for any reason, the winner fails to respond within thirty (30) days to the notification of his/her winning or if the winner fails to pickup the prize within thirty (30) days of notification of arrival, such winning entrant shall be deemed to have forfeited his / her claim to the prize and the sponsor will conduct a secondary drawing to select a winner. The sponsors decision is final with respect to all matters relating to awarding of the prize and shall not be subject to review or appeal by any entrant or by any third party.

Your participation in the raffle is deemed your agreement that the Sponsor may use your name, likeness or image for promotional and marketing purposes without the requirement for any payment to you and you hereby grant the Sponsor the right to do the same and expressly waive any claims against the Sponsor in this regard. The Prize is neither transferable nor exchangeable. By entering the raffle, each entrant unreservedly agrees to these terms and conditions, which govern the raffle and the awarding of the prize. By entering the raffle each entrant agrees to release, discharge and hold harmless the Sponsor, its legal representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents from any damages whatsoever suffered, sustained or allegedly sustained in connection the Raffle or the acceptance of the Prize.

The winner shall be solely responsible for any taxes, installation, storage, delivery or other fees levied in relation to the receipt of the prize. The winner shall be responsible for arranging for delivery or pickup of the system at Greenfield Solar Store, 2 Fiske Avenue, Greenfield MA 01301, (413) 772-3122 upon it's arrival. The Sponsor reserves the right to alter these terms and conditions at any time and in its sole discretion. The Sponsor reserves the right, at any time, to cancel, modify or suspend the raffle if, in its sole judgment, the raffle is not capable of being conducted as specified. The winners names will be disclosed to anyone who writes to the sponsor at its physical address. These terms and conditions and any matters relating hereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Vermont and jurisdiction over any and all disputes shall be exclusive to the state and federal courts in Vermont. All sales of tickets to this raffle are final and 100% non-refundable.

Thanks for your support and good luck!

Purchase Benefit Tickets

Save the Date: Aug. 15

Local Release Party for "Come Over"

The Organ Barn at Tree Frog Farm in Guilford, Vermont

CD Release Party Poster Please join Patty Carpenter and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band for the launch party for their new CD, Come Over, at the Organ Barn at Tree Frog Farm in Guilford, Vermont. In addition to a premiere performance of the new album, including spoken word sections and narrative with Verandah Porche, there will be a summer's picnic, and a musical ramble and dance concert featuring some of the best musicians from Boston, New York and the local area.

The release party is a benefit in support of the efforts of the Vermont Citizens Action Network (VCAN) to close the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant. Time to Celebrate our Victories and Marshall our Resources. And to kick out the jams!

You don't have to be anti-nuclear to want to close Vermont Yankee.