The production of nuclear energy from a large nuclear reactor produces 25 to 30 tons of high-level waste (HLW) each year (ANS 2008). Low-level waste (LLW) makes up the other 90% of the waste generated by nuclear reactors. LLW currently generated by VT Yankee is shipped to Barnwell, South Carolina. Luckily for us, we don’t live in Barnwell; unfortunately for us, the Barnwell site will close on July 1, 2008, leaving Vermonters to decide where in Vermont we will store radioactive material that we generate. According to the Low-level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPA) of 1985 the State of VT is responsible for the waste that we generate.
VT Yankee is storing its HLW in dry storage casks along the banks of the Connecticut River. These casks are meant to store HLW for a short period of time until properly disposed in a deep geological repository; unfortunately, no such repository exists. Since passing the LLRWPA, no new LLW sites have been created in the country.
The storage casks are only 1.5 feet above the probable maximum flood (PMF). According to John P. Holdren, Director of Woods Hole Research Center and Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University, there has been a 30% increase in rainfall in New England during the past century and there is no evidence to suggest any change in trend in the future. An increase in rainfall will mean an increase in stream flow which may result in a higher PMF; any increase greater than 1.5 feet would flood the casks. Dry casks are meant to remain dry while storing nuclear waste.
Nuclear waste storage is a grave problem with dire consequences for the entire state of Vermont and the country. No deep geological repository exists anywhere for HLW. Finding a safe repository for HLW, generated by the 104 operational nuclear plants in America, has yet to be solved. Waste generated today through mining, enrichment, and use of uranium will release highly harmful gamma rays (radioactivity) for hundreds of thousands of years.
The process of producing electricity from enriched uranium generates radioactive waste. Due to the closing of the Barnwell, S. Carolina site and the LLRWPA, we as Vermonters must store all HLW and LLW generated by VT Yankee in our state. In order to stop generating more nuclear waste we must cease production of nuclear energy.
Without VT Yankee, we will need electricity from other sources. This is a good thing. Far too long we have pretended that we have the best solutions without investigating all options. Looking earnestly at where and how we generate electricity is a conversation far overdue in the state of Vermont. A diverse energy portfolio only means a stronger and safer state. Imagine Vermont as a national example of alternative energy, a beacon of light in a time of an electrical dark age. It seems as if somewhere along the way we have forgotten the basics of perpetual energy (wind and sun). We should not generate more nuclear waste. We must find others means of producing the electricity. As Bill Mckibben says, “there is no silver bullet but rather silver buck shot.” It is far past time to start making intelligent decisions on energy policy. The fear of progress should not hinder the ingenuity of optimism.
Benjamin Torello Chaucer
Students Against Nuclear Energy (SANE) at JSC