PSB Update: Send Your Comments

Please send in your comments to the Commissioners. The Public Service Board (PSB) Commissioners are receiving hundreds of comments on docket 7600. This docket proposes to shut down Vermont Yankee immediately. Even up the balance! The opponents have organized campaigns to send comments to the PSB, and we have to send comments also!

You can file a comment using the PSB general Comment Form. Choose "other" from the Drop Down list, and head your comments with the words "Docket 7600."

The Door to the Meeting

The picture above shows the scene near the door of Brattleboro High School on July 8, just before the PSB meeting on Docket 7600. That's me on the left (green shirt, purse). My own picture of the man in the fish costume didn't show all three eyes, but Howard Shaffer was kind enough to send me this picture.

If you double-click on the picture, you can read the sign "Revoke the Certificate of Public Evil." I suspect the fish was part of the Safe and Green Campaign's Fourth of July event, focusing on "radioactive fish." The fact that all fish have only contained background levels of radioactivity doesn't matter much to the foes of the plant. The fish are NOT radioactive, but with a fish costume and a few lies, the facts won't matter.

As I approached, the fish began talking to me. "Hi Meredith," it (he?) said. "See what your tritium has done to me? I have three fins!" (It had three eyes and two fins, actually.) After a few moments banter, the fish said he was going to eat a banana, and I warned him against doing so.

This is the first time a fish has addressed me by name. However, my favorite Mahler symphony includes a movement about St. Anthony talking to the fishes. The fishes hear the Saint's good advice, but don't change their actions.

So I was partially prepared for this conversation.

No News is Still News?

The opponents had nothing new to say. The tritium leak is fixed, the NRC gave the plant a clean bill of health. A heat-wave was raging with power prices up near $150/MWh and the plant was at 100% power, selling by contract at $45 .

What could they say? They said the same old stuff. They said that they are scared of the plant. They SUNG that they are scared of the plant. (Two people sang their testimony.) They brought banners saying No Nukes. Street Theater from top to bottom. No content.

The picture shows a man testifying (I don't know his name). The commisioners are at the front table. You can see John Dunn's back (striped shirt on left). John works at the plant. The woman with the banners is taking a picture. The man with the video camera is the controversial documentary maker, Robbie Leppzer.

The Good News

From my point of view, there were several pieces of good news about the meeting. Sure, the statements of the opponents were repetitive and snore-inducing. How long can you listen to "I'm scared. I'm really really really scared?" I guess, about three hours is the limit.

However, in the good news, more people than usual testified in favor of the plant. I was particularly happy to see a person I had never met speaking up for the plant. As the Sentinel Source reported:

David Garrecht of Guilford, Vt., spoke in support the plant’s operation and said he’s concerned that the plant will be closed early due to pressure from the media and opponents of the plant.

Garrecht said he isn’t involved with any of the advocacy groups that have formed in support of or in opposition to nuclear energy generation.

“The only connection I have is that I use electricity and I get bothered a little bit when some of the advocates say they’re speaking the public will, because that’s not my will,” he said. “I think that Vermont Yankee ought to continue until it can be replaced in 2032 by a more dense design of clean energy.”

To which I say: Amen.

New Sites and Old Sights: Blog Carnival, IAMVY, and Communications

Blog Carnival

It's time for the 9th Blog Carnival of Nuclear Energy. This one is hosted by Rod Adams of Atomic Insights, and includes the outcome of a bet (how much uranium was used in 2009) and a description of what wind energy did for Canada in the recent heatwave. (Wind energy did nothing for Canada during the recent heatwave. Just what the dog did in the night.)

Step right up! See the outcome of bets on energy usage! Place your own bets in the comment section!

Or just have a good time at the Carnival.

IAMVY

The IAMVY (I am VY) site is up again, after a long hiatus. A long miserable hiatus. I'm glad to see it back.

A little history.

I AM VY is a site about employees and safety culture at Vermont Yankee. The site was actually launched about six or seven months ago, and began operating just in time for the "They Lied About Piping" issue to come front and center. (I have blogged about this issue extensively.)

Two of the people featured on the original I AM VY site were Dave McElwee, a senior employee at the plant, and his daughter, who also works at the plant. The opponents were ecstatic when McElwee was one of the employees placed on administrative leave during the investigation. You can imagine the ruckus.

Shortly after placing McElwee on leave (late January) Entergy took him off the IAMVY site and rewrote his daughter's description of working at the plant. Greenpeace had a field day with this action. On February 10, Entergy took the IAMVY site down. Great joy was expressed in the camps of the opponents.

Happily, the site was relaunched a few days ago, featuring plant employees and plant culture again. It's definitely worth a look.

Is the Controversy Over?

The IAMVY site is still controversial. As I have noted in several posts, the Gundersens and their followers are very excited about finding background levels of strontium 90 in Connecticut River fish. I'm talking about background levels, you understand. You could get the same quantities of strontium 90 in your fish if you buy your seafood at the grocery store. However, such mere facts have never stopped an attack when ignorant people have decided to attack.

On IAMVY, plant employee Ross Rosinski says he enjoys fishing in the river and eating the fish. Yesterday, on Twitter, Nuclear Fissionary and a local reporter, Shay Totten, were going at it hammer and tongs. The excitement started with Totten's remarks about the employee being willing to eat the fish. I am not sure which person at Fissionary was posting, but I do know that some of the people on the site are recreational fishermen as well as pro-nuclear activists.

I am sure that there will be more fireworks on this subject in weeks to come.

What We Have Here Is A Failure to Communicate

Sometimes, sometimes, we hope there is a better way. That someday, plant opponents won't make mountains out of molehills. (Background levels of strontium in the fish! Close the plant down!) That nuclear proponents will do a better job of explaining themselves, and especially, of listening.

Two excellent recent posts address these problems.

Greg Molyneux, of Nuclear Fissionary, asks What Makes Successful Communication? He advises that you start by understanding the audience. Everyone in communication should read this post.

In Nuclear Townhall, Gwyneth Cravens describes her journey from Seabrook protestor to nuclear supporter. The post includes her excellent answers to the most common anti-nuclear questions. After all, they were her OWN questions, when she started out. She had to answer these questions for herself, first.

Money

Just a little note that Vermont Yankee has been running at 100% during the heat wave, and selling power to Vermont at $45 MWh, by contract. The ISO NE grid was averaging about $130 MWh, as older and more expensive plants come on line. With the cool weather and the end of the workweek, the grid is down to between $43 and $48 MWh today.

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Once again, my picture of the carousel in the main square of Avignon. I like this picture.

Inspiring Testimony Sent to the PSB

As I wrote in yesterday's post, there's a meeting tomorrow (Thursday) night at 7 at Brattleboro High School The PSB will meet about Docket 7600, the docket for shutting down Vermont Yankee early. I encourage people to attend this meeting. (There's more information about this docket in my post yesterday's).

However, not everyone can attend such meetings. However, you can submit comments to the PSB by email. File a comment using the PSB general Comment Form. I wrote my comment under "other" ( I could not choose "Docket 7600" from the drop-down list). I put the words "Docket 7600" near the beginning of my comment. It only took a few minutes, and I urge you to do the same.

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Since yesterday, I have received copies of some excellent, inspiring comments which were sent to the PSB by plant supporters. I thank them, and I want to share their comments, in the hopes of inspiring your comments!

• Theresa Derting posted her message on the Facebook Save Vermont Yankee page, and I have copied it here.
• John Ewell sent me a post by Facebook Message, and gave me permission to post it here.

These two comments are great: well-written and full of ideas. One is short and one is long. Both are effective. My own comment emphasized that shutting down Vermont Yankee would be hard on older or low-income people in Vermont.

Be inspired by these comments, steal ideas from them if you want, and file a comment using the PSB general Comment Form. Start your comment with the words Docket 7600.

(John Ewell sent his same post to Docket 7440 when he was finished. That was a very good idea, and takes almost no time. I urge you to do the same. But posting to Docket 7600 is the first order of business today.)

Late News: Nuclear Townhall, a new and influential blog, chose this post as one of their two "best of the blogs" today.

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From Theresa Derting

RE: Docket 7600

I work at Vermont Yankee and I know that it is safe because I do. Entergy has invested enormous amounts of money in updating the facility since it was purchased, and continues to do so now. The tritium leak, even though relatively small by comparable standards, was stopped shortly after it was found, using a careful and methodical process. The company is in the process of implementing further protections to prevent incidents like these. The people who work at VY are committed to the protection of the public AND themselves. I would not work there if there if I was afraid. I would not have my daughter in elementary school directly across the river if I was afraid. Shutting VY down early because of a leak that has already been stopped is a silly notion. Shutting it down early when the effects of the leak are minimal at best is even sillier. Shutting it down early to the detriment of the ratepayers of the state of Vermont would be like the proverbial cutting one's nose off to spite one's face. Please discard this docket as the waste paper it should be.

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From John Ewell

My name is John Ewell. I am a Radiation Protection Technician. I have worked in the nuclear industry for about 30 years, almost 9 years at Vermont Yankee. I am a native New Englander, raised about 15 miles from the Pilgrim Nuclear plant. I now live in Western Mass, having lived in about 20 states. I have worked at 24 different nuclear units, operating and decommissioned. I have also been part of the decommissioning of the Rocky Flats weapons facility in Colorado.

So, I have a lot of experience in varied parts of nuclear power. I have worked as the guy mopping the floors, and supervised 25 people in a hazardous waste environment. Vermont Yankee is the place I chose to be my last nuclear plant. I had opportunities within the region at the time I hired on at VY, but I chose VY. I still believe I made the right choice.

Vermont is in a unique position of being able to predict their energy production for the future. As renewable energy production begins to take off, Vermont has a predictable, reliable energy source for up to 20 years, while green renewable energy production gets established. Rather than shutting down Vermont Yankee, use this time to setup clean, reliable green energy production. Setup the zoning regulations. Determine exactly what infrastructure and tax incentives are needed to support renewable, non-carbon energy production. Don’t go with the “quick fix”, but really set it up right. Vermont has the chance to show the rest of the country how to do it right. From the start, without time pressure or political pressure to “hurry up”.

An early shutdown of VY would be the same as scrapping the family minivan, because it is getting old, and we will have electric cars in the future. But those electric cars aren’t here now. And we still need the minivan to get the kids to baseball practice. If we had a true renewable energy infrastructure in place, shutting down VY may be justified. But we don’t. We still need the power. We can use this time to put it in place. VY will still get us to baseball practice. And to work. And won’t put smog into our air.

Recently in CT, a power plant, using natural gas, blew up. Killed 7 workers that spent years building that plant. Natural gas is highly combustible, and that industry is not as highly regulated as nuclear power. Nuclear power in the United States is not prone to these type accidents. The only accident at a nuclear plant (Three Mile Island) didn’t kill or injure anyone. Large scale energy production has it’s risks. But large scale energy production is needed to help our economy recover and grow. A growing economy will be able to pay for renewable energy. But if the energy isn’t there, the economy will not be able to build it.

The recent tritium leak at VY is one of the issues that has happened at several other nuclear plants in the country. VY identified it, notified the public immediately, and met the challenge head on. The leak was found, the piping replaced, the leak stopped, and we are in the process of removing the tritium water from the ground onsite. It did not spread to the public. It did not get into the groundwater, because of VYs quick action The remediation will be done quicker than about any other site. Just about everyone onsite worked on this project. We took it personal. People worked long hours, different groups worked together, and I am proud to have been part of the team. What we accomplished will be an example to the industry. It should be an example to the public. Find the problem - fix the problem. That is what VY does. That is what my coworkers believe in. That is “how we roll”.

Obviously, I would like for VY to continue to operate. I work there. But also, believe that I work there because I know it is safe. I have worked at other plants. I want to work at VY. I want you to believe in VY the way I do. Look at this as an opportunity to plan for Vermont’s future, instead of a chance to make a “statement” that will be more costly in the long run, both to the industry and workers in the state, and it’s environment.

Thank you,

John I Ewell

Radiation Protection / Industrial Safety

Vermont Yankee

PSB Meeting Thursday Night. Get Your Comments In!

There's A Meeting Here (Thursday Night)

The Public Service Board is holding a hearing, Thursday July 8, at Brattleboro High School. The hearing is about Docket 7600. This is the docket to shut down Vermont Yankee immediately. (The relicensing docket is Docket 7440.) The hearing starts at 7 p.m and should be over at 9:30, because the high school does not stay open after 9:30 at night.

What's It All About, Anyhow? Why Should I Do Anything?

Starting in January, and going through sometime in March, there was a leak of tritiated water at Vermont Yankee. On Thursday February 25, the day after the Senate vote against Vermont Yankee renewal, the PSB opened a new docket, docket 7600, on closing Vermont Yankee early, due to the tritium leaks. As I noted in a blog post at the time, the PSB said they would hold the first hearing on the new docket in March, and I predicted the leak would be over by then. (It was).

But of course, it's not over till it's over. Once you open a docket, it stays open. It's like some modern version of Dickens Bleak House--a never-ending court case. The fact that the leak is fixed and being remediated seems irrelevant to the law.

Since the docket is still open, everybody and their brother is weighing in with claims for the docket. The original docket was started by the Conservation Law Foundation, and concentrated on the leaks and leak remediation. Recently, the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) has taken a slightly different spin on the matter, saying that Entergy is violating the public trust about groundwater. A quote from Groveman of the VNRC:

"Groundwater is to be managed for the benefit of all Vermonters and the public trust doctrine does not allow for contamination of groundwater, even beneath your own property," he said. "Groundwater flows across property boundaries so these boundaries are meaningless when it comes to public trust resources."

I am particularly fond of this quote because it implies that septic tanks are illegal in Vermont, since they do "contaminate" their "leachfields" on your "own property" to some extent.

Is It Just Silly?

In my opinion, the people attacking Vermont Yankee on the basis of tritium leaks and groundwater contamination have VERY weak arguments. Pretty close to just-silly, as a matter of fact.

BUT, when Yankee opponents are the only ones to show up at a meeting, this has an effect. When the PSB sits at the front of the room, looking at the audience, it looks as if everyone is against Vermont Yankee. If there are no supporters at the meeting, the arguments of the opponents seem to carry more weight, no matter how trivial the content of these arguments might be.

So, try to attend the meeting and support the plant.

What If I Can't Come to the Meeting?

You can still help. Many people in the opponent organizations will testify at the meeting. They will make charges against the plant. As my friend Howard Shaffer points out:

"A charge unanswered is a charge believed." A quote from former US Senator Alan Simpson, in Newsweek recently.

Therefore, we must answer these charges. We know what the opponents are going to say: tritium, groundwater, leaky badly-run plant. We must write own comments and submit them to the board, noting that

• leaks were found and fixed within weeks
• there is no groundwater contamination outside the plant boundaries, and there will be none (contaminated groundwater is being removed).
• the plant is a valuable asset to people of Vermont, keeping electricity rates and emissions low.

You can write about your own experience with the plant and its safety culture. You can write about septic tanks and groundwater. You can say anything you want, really, as long as it is true and hopefully relevant.

You can submit comments by email. File a comment using the PSB general Comment Form. I wrote my comment under "other" ( I could not choose "Docket 7600" from the drop-down list). I wrote the words "Docket 7600" near the beginning of my comment. It only took a few minutes, and I urge you to do the same.

Aside: On the Docket 7440 page, at the bottom you can see a link to file a public comment. (This is the relicensing docket.) No such link is at the bottom of the Docket 7600 page, or on meeting announcement for July 8. I am not sure what to make of this. If the meeting tomorrow night is a hearing only, without public participation, there should still be an area in the general docket where the people can file a public comment. I'm not sure why they haven't made it easier to comment on the 7600 docket. End Aside.

Come to the meeting or submit your comments by email! Or both!

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About the cartoon. G. Murphy, the same artist who drew the parody cartoons in a previous post, allowed me to use this original cartoon. The copyright remains with him, of course.

This cartoon is about Indian Point. A series of polls taken by the Manhattanville College showed strong local support for Indian Point. 70% pro-plant, 30% anti. However, one of the local papers headlined the survey results: "Residents Worried About Indian Point." This totally misleading headline prompted Mr. Murphy to pen this cartoon, which shows the gap between perceived opinions (of people making a lot of noise) and actual local opinions.

It's the Nukes What Gets the Blame: A Fish Story Continued

On Friday, the Vermont Department of Public Health announced they had caught another fish in the Connecticut River, and it contained background levels of strontium 90 in its bones. The Department of Public Health website says that the fish contained 80 to 100 picocuries per kg in "inedible portions" of the fish. Generally, fish bones are tested for strontium, since strontium behaves similarly to calcium in the body.

The Vermont Health Department website made a gallant attempt to put these findings in perspective, noting that: A New York study found background levels of Sr-90 in fish to be in the range of 120 to 360 pCi/kg. Heck, a month ago, I made my own gallant attempt to put strontium levels in perspective in my post, a Radioactive Fish Story.

These Connecticut River fish have the same amount of strontium in them as any other fish.

What They Say

"Perspective" is a weak buttress against the hysteria shown by those who oppose Vermont Yankee. For example, Maggie Gundersen contributes to the Green Mountain Daily blog. Gundersen's post about the fish is thick with innuendo and conspiracy theories. Here are a few quotes:

When the Vermont Department of Health (DOH) does the heavy lifting, Entergy's Vermont Yankee plant doesn't have to lift a finger.

(The) DOH was able to post it on their website late on the afternoon prior to one of the region's biggest holidays... NEWS DUMP.

No wonder Vermont Yankee did not want to let all the press know about more contaminated fish and needed some DOH help with the NEWS DUMP. Hope folks along the Connecticut River aren't planning any fish fries for the holiday weekend. Best to throw them back.

What They Say, but Translated into English

The confusing quotes above require some translation. To understand them, you have to believe the following:

• The fish in the Connecticut River are dangerously contaminated with radioactive strontium.
• This strontium comes from Vermont Yankee.
• The fish in the Connecticut River should not be eaten.
• The Department of Health and Entergy are in deep collusion. Together, they conspire against the people of Vermont.
• Press releases from the Department of Health reveal terrible things about strontium contamination from Vermont Yankee.
• However, the Department of Health prepares press releases just before holiday weekends, in the hopes that nobody will pay attention to these releases.
• The press releases are issued at low-readership times as a favor to Vermont Yankee.
• The Department of Health's attempts to compare this fish with other fish from other rivers is part of their effort to mislead.

This might seem like a grab-bag of assertions, but there is a set of underlying themes.

Underlying Tactics

The tactics above are simple and well-used. They follow two themes:

• Heavy-duty conspiracy theory: They are all lying to you! Believe only ME!
• Scares and warnings of imminent danger: Hope folks aren't planning any fish fries!

When will the plant opponents stop these conspiracy theory plus scare story tactics? When will they stop telling lies about background versus dangerous levels of radiation? When will they stop maligning Vermont public officials and Connecticut River fish?

Probably never.

Fear translates directly into donations, and donations are what anti-nuclear groups require.

In the music-hall song, She Was Poor But She Was Honest, the chorus reminds us that:

"It's the same the whole world over

It's the poor what gets the blame

It's the rich what gets the pleasure

Isn't it a blooming shame?"

I would change the words a little.

"It's the same the whole world over

It's the nukes what gets the blame

It's the scares what gets the money

Isn't it a blooming shame?"

Late News

In an article in the Times Argus today, Arnie Gundersen also expresses his belief that any strontium present in these fish must come from Vermont Yankee. He ignores statements from:

• the river steward of the Connecticut River Watershed Council
• the Vermont Department of Health

Both say that the strontium measurements in the fish are background level.

Hmm. I'm wondering if I should have labeled Gundersen's comment "news"? If it is predictable, is it "news"?

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The graphic, from Wikimedia Commons, shows the Coat of arms of Narva town, Estonia. It appealed to me because of the conjunction of fishes and weapons of war.

The Fourth and France

Last night I watched a fabulous fireworks display sponsored by our town: Hartford, Vermont. I happen to live across the street from Kilowatt Park, a park and playing field next to the Connecticut River and just upstream of Wilder Dam. The "Kilowatt" name comes from the presence of Wilder Dam, and the park is there because it is a federally-mandated low-use area (no permanent buildings) near the dam. There's a soccer field, hiking trails, picnic benches. And once a year, the town sponsors a fireworks display with rockets shot above the river. Which is just about as safe as pyrotechnics can be.

After it grew dark, the local bands stopped playing and a solitary man stepped up to the microphone. He began singing The Star Spangled Banner. As he sang rockets red glare...whoosh. The first rocket shot up in the sky, and thousands of glowing sparks fell. We had perfect weather, and this was a glorious display. (Hey Tad, if you are reading this: Wow, you did a great job!)

But What About the French?

On the Fourth, we remember the American founding fathers and the founding mothers and the Declaration of Independence. We tend to downplay the French connection. The French fought side by side with the American revolutionaries, sending battalions and ships. Lafayette did not come alone. The French government supported the Revolutionaries with their Navy, supplies and troops.

Well, yeah, the French government helped us because the "Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend" but the bottom line is...they helped us. Most of the French soldiers in America were volunteers, inspired by ideals of democracy and freedom. I can't get a firm count on this, but there were at least 12,000 French ground troops on our side, as I read various Internet articles. We'd still be singing God Save the Queen if it weren't for the French.

Aside: The second verse of God Save the Queen is just plain ridiculous IMHO. "Frustrate their knavish tricks." That's a prayer? That's part of a national anthem? No disrespect to Great Britain or Canada or anybody. But have you ever thought about dropping that second verse? End Aside.

We were helped by the French way back when, and we still have a lot to learn from the French.


Fuel Recycling

For example, the French recycle nuclear fuel. They have been doing it since 1976, and a group of us visited their facility last month. Steve Aplin of Canadian Energy Issues has an excellent post about our visit.

Therefore, in honor of Independence Day, and in honor of the friendship between America and France, I am sharing a ten minute video about fuel recycling at La Hague.

Happy Independence Day to all Americans!

And while we are at it: Vive La France!

Carnival of Nuclear Energy

The Eighth Carnival of Nuclear Energy is up at Next Big Future. The Glorious Fourth is a great day for a Carnival. Stop over and enjoy yourself.

Nuclear Power Rap

Sometimes something so good comes along that I have to share it. E-Rob's I Do Nuclear Power.



Thanks for Green Revolution for hosting this originally. The lyrics are also on the Green Revolution website. Here's a taste of the lyrics:

(Chorus) I do Nuc… Nuc… Nuc.. Nuc Nuclear Power (3x) Cuz Nuclear Power is the best (Its the Best) I do Nuc… Nuc… Nuc.. Nuc Nuclear Power (3x) Cuz Nuclear Power is the best (Its the Best)

(Verse 1) Nuclear power is nuclear technology that use nuclear reactions to extract energy If you dont like nuclear power you’re fool it produces high amounts energy with almost no fuel I know you think this would be a tough job but the fuel comes from uranium rods And this is not an impossible mission Because we get heat nuclear fission With heat, and the heat makes steam, and the steam turns turbines like it was a washing michines ....(Chorus)

(Verse 2) I dont really like solar Powered lights because you cant use the suns power at night Using Wind Power is really dumb You cant control it, sometimes its calm ....