Giant "Trojan Cow" tells Entergy (owner of VT Yankee) to moooooove on!

Watch the You Tube!

The Brattleboro Reformer reported on the 300 protestors who rallied at the Vermont Yankee atomic reactor's front entrance, including 40 who were arrested in a non-violent civil disobedience trespass. Relations between protestors and state police were peaceful, friendly, and cooperative. The action, themed for the 4th of July holiday, declared "Independence from Entergy."

Declaration of Independence from proposed Fermi 3 new atomic reactor: "No indoctrination without representation!" regarding Fermi 1 meltdown history

A cover of John G. Fuller's 1975 non-fiction book "We Almost Lost Detroit," about the 1966 meltdown at the Fermi 1 experimental plutonium breeder reactor in Monroe, MichiganBeyond Nuclear and its allies in the intervention against the proposed new Fermi 3 atomic reactor in Monroe, Michigan have filed their 25th contention opposing the proposed new atomic reactor, citing a violation of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). NRC, Detroit Edison and the State of Michigan have finalized a NHPA mitigation Memorandum of Agreement about the demolition of the Fermi 1 containment shell, despite its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, in order to make room for the construction of Fermi 3, a General Electric-Hitachi so-called "Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor" (ESBWR) . However, the decisions were made without even notifying -- let alone involving -- the public, a violation of NHPA. The coalition has issued a media release. Read more, including links to the historical documents.

"The story of Fermi 1's nearly catastrophic failure offers a large window into the history of commercial nuclear power, an institutional void of safety culture within the primary regulatory agency, and nuclear power’s inherent weapons connection," said Keith Gunter of Livonia, Michigan, a launch partner of Beyond Nuclear and an official intervenor against Fermi 3. "After all, as John G. Fuller's book and Gil Scott-Heron's song titles put it, 'We Almost Lost Detroit,' not to mention Monroe, Toledo, and beyond," Keith Gunter added. (see image, above left)

Fermi nuclear power plant also hosts Unit 2, the single largest Mark I in the world. It is nearly as big as Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 and 2 put together. Its high-level radioactive waste storage pool holds several times more inventory than do the pools at the four wrecked reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. Unit 4 at Fukushima Daiichi contained the most irradiated nuclear fuel of any pool at Units 1-4 -- 219 metric tons, according to the Japanese Parliament's Independent Investigation of the nuclear catastrophe. By contrast, Fermi 2 likely contains more than 600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel.

In fact, every single irradiated nuclear fuel assembly ever generated at Fermi 2 is still held in the storage pool, even though Fermi 2 has held an NRC rubberstamp to transfer out irradiated nuclear fuel into dry cask storage for several years now. The problem is, structural welds on various floors of the Fermi 2 reactor building were never installed 40 years ago. The reactor building is not structually sound enough to support a crane, holding 100-ton waste transfer cask loads.

In that sense, Fermi 2 is in a similar predicament to Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4. The hydrogen explosion in March 2011 severely damaged the Unit 4 reactor building, so much so that the building could not support the crane, lifting 91-ton waste transfer casks. It took Tokyo Electric from March 2011 to November 2013 to rebuild the Unit 4 reactor building's infrastructure to the point where it could support the crane, lifting 910-ton loads. Tepco is now slowly removing the irradiated nuclear fuel fron the Unit 4 storage pool, claiming that the project will be finished by the end fo 2014.

Waiting for the worst: a fuel pool fire at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4

The risk of a catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4's high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) storage pool shows that we have a lot to worry about here in the U.S. as well, where identical or very similar HLRW storage pools are located at 31 GE BWR Mark I and II atomic reactors.

However, U.S. GE BWR Mark I and II HLRW storage pools contain several times more irradiated nuclear fuel than the worst pool at Fukushima Daiichi: Unit 4 has 219 metric tons in its inventory. However, despite having permits to transfer wastes to dry cask storage, both Fermi 2 in MI and Pilgrim in MA, both Mark Is, still contain every single irradiated nuclear fuel assembly ever generated at the reactors, over 600 metric tons worth each.

Interviewed by Radio Australia, Institute for Policy Studies' Bob Alvarez addressed what could happen if another major earthquake rocked the coastal Fukishima area. "The drainage of water caused by an earthquake or the toppling of the pool, which would be the worst possible consequence, could result in essentially the cladding around the spent fuel, which is made of an alloy of zirconium, to heat up and catch fire. And then there would be a massive release of radioactivity," he said. "The spent fuel pool in number four at Fukushima contains roughly ten times more caesium 137 than released by the Chernobyl accident," he pointed out.

Mitsuhei Murata (pictured left), a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland and a career diplomat who fears for the future of his nation, was also interviewed on the show. He also fears that inaction could spell further disaster. "I call it the sickness of Japan," he said. "Colloquially it can be explained that first, we hide; then we postpone; and then we assume no responsibility." When asked by show host, Mark Willacy, whether a problem with the fuel pool at Unit 4 could spell the end of Japan, Murata replied: "Yes. And there is no one who denies that." Read the full transcript or listen to the show.

"Taking Back America's Energy Future from the Lobbyists: 1 Million Americans to Fight Industry Efforts to Kill Clean Energy Agenda"

"Burning Money" image by Gene Case, Avenging AngelsBeyond Nuclear has joined with three dozen national, regional, and local grassroots organizations to launch the American Clean Energy Agenda. See the media release, entitled "Taking Back America's Energy Future from the Lobbyists: 1 Million Americans to Fight Industry Efforts to Kill Clean Energy Agenda." The American Clean Energy Agenda is posted online. Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps, who took part in the early April summit to hammer out these principles in Boston, said: "Only in Orwell's worst nightmare would dirty, dangerous, and expensive nuclear power be considered clean energy."

Efficiency upgrades, as well as electricity from renewable sources such as wind power and solar PV, could readily replace the nuclear power electricity mega-wattage from Mark Is and IIs. Renewables and efficiency could do so more safely, securely, and cleanly.

The cost and reliability of renewables and efficiency continues to improve. The cost of new atomic reactors is skyrocketing. Age-degraded old reactors face both growing cost (for safety significant maintenance and repairs) and reliability problems.

INDEPENDENCE FROM ENTERGY Rally and Action

The Safe and Green Energy Alliance (SAGE) has called for a rally in Brattleboro, VT and non-violent direct action at Entergy's Vermont Yankee atomic reactor on July 1st. See the SAGE online announcement here; see the full size poster (left) here.

Vermont Yankee is a GE BWR Mark I, identical in design to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1-4.