Vermont Senate Votes to Shut Down Nuclear Plant

2 years ago

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Just a week after President Obama called for a revitalization of the nation's nuclear industry, the Vermont Senate voted to deny a license extension for the state's only nuclear power plant.

Senators voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to shut down the Vermont Yankee plant, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by officials, and other problems, The New York Times reported. Vermont Yankee's license expires in March 2012.

Entergy, operator of the 38-year-old plant, has been plagued by criticism following the 2007 collapse of a cooling tower and last year's leaks of radioactive tritium.

Inspectors found no evidence that the leaking material entered the local water supply or harmed any workers or nearby residents.

Unless the state Senate reverses itself, it would be the first time in more than two decades that the public or elected officials decided to close a nuclear reactor, according to the Times.

Last week Obama moved to revive nuclear power with $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees for two reactors in Georgia.

There are 104 active nuclear power plants in the U.S.

Filed Under: Energy

Tagged: Daily Guidance, DailyGuidance, nuclear power, NuclearPower, vermont

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