Nuclear whistleblowers take aim at Vermont Yankee

The Associated Press has reported that Paul Blanche, an energy consultant based in Connecticut who has worked for several New England reactors, has accused both Entergy Nuclear and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a "run-to-failure, fix-it-when-it-breaks mentality," saying he wouldn't get on a plane run by an airline with that approach. "There's no justification for continuing to operate that plant," Blanche said. Meanwhile, Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates, Inc., himself a former atomic whistleblower and now serving on a State of Vermont public oversight panel on Vermont Yankee's re-licensing, recieved a phone call from a current whistleblower at the reactor saying that Entergy Nuclear officials knew of radioactivity leaks two years ago emanating from buried pipes. If true, this would bolster allegations of perjury by top level Entergy officials, who testified under oath to state officials last year that there were no underground pipes carrying radioactive materials. State officials are taking this latest allegation very seriously, further diminishing Vermont Yankee's hopes of surviving a Vermont State Legislature "no confidence" vote next Wednesday.