Vermont Yankee
From Brattleboro Community Brain Trust
Vermont Yankee
Timeline Info (Reminder: this is a wiki - sign up and add what you know).
Abbreviations
AEC - Atomic Energy Commission (1946-1974)
AP - Associated Press wire service
NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission (created 1974)
PSB - Vermont Public Service Board
VY - Vermont Yankee
1954
Sept. 16 - Yankee Atomic Electric Company is formed by 11 New England electric utilities (including Central Vermont Public Service) with the intention to build an prototype nuclear power plant in New England "at an early date." (Yankee Rowe would start operation in 1961.)
Sept. 16 - Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis L. Strauss told the National Association of Science Writers, "our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter; periodical famines in parts of the world will be past history; and people will live longer because the atomic sciences will help uncover mysteries of life and death."
1966
Aug. 7 - General Electric awarded $88 million contract to build VY in Vernon. The original plan has no cooling towers.
1967
Sept. 7 - AEC Board rules that it would not hear testimony on "so-called thermal pollution" saying that it has no jurisdiction on matters other than radiological pollution. Even so, VY president Albert A. Cree says he thinks the company has lost any chance it had to complete a proposed atomic power plant by the target date of October 1970 (because of the opposition of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont based on river water used for cooling being returned 10-20 degrees F higher, potentially destroying fish and wildlife).
1969
Jan. 13 - US Court of Appeals upholds AEC's granting of VY's construction permit in New Hampshire vs. AEC, 406 F.2d 170 (1st Cir. 1969). The ruling allowed the AEC to ignore any non-radiation effects like thermal pollution when granting permits. The National Environmental Policy Act addressed the lack of regulation in 1970.
Oct. 22 - Bennington audience at the local high school bursts into laughter when VY plant chief Robert Jones says insurance companies have refused to sell full coverage for atomic plant accidents because the "safety record is so good they have no statistics to base rates on." He later agrees that the risk near a metropolitan area is too large for private insurance coverage. The crowd also snickers when he says his company installed the cooling towers voluntarily.
1971
Feb. - New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution founded by concerned groups of citizens and scientists from Vermont and western Massachusetts.
Apr. 14 - AP publishes article on the $7 million cooling towers "used to cool Vermont's angry conservationalists." The article reports that VY president Albert A. Cree states (wrongly in hindsight) that "if Vermont Yankee Atomic doesn't go on the line by the end of the year as planned the state will be hit by power shortages greater than ever before." Regarding thermal pollution, he stated, "Everyone is concerned that we might heat the river up a bit, but practically every village for a hundred miles upriver on both sides dumps its sewage into the Connecticut." Conservationalists claim (wrongly in hindsight) that the cooling towers (built to reduce thermal pollution) will blanket the [Vernon] village in fog during warmer months.
May 5 - VY backs down on its men-only policy for tours of the plant.
1972
Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor begins operating in Vernon along the Connecticut River, downwind and downstream from Brattleboro. It is one of the smallest boiling water reactors in the country at 510 megawatts (see uprate in March 2006). The 35-year operating license expires in 2007 (see Mar. 24, 1989 and Dec. 19, 1990 for first extension).
1973
1974
Mar. 4 - Valve V10-25A, part of the emergency cooling system, fails during a monthly test due to a burned out motor.
Oct. 13 - Associated Press reports that, during the first 23 months of operation, VY has shut down 17 times because of accidents, equipment failures, lightning strikes, or to correct dangerous conditions.
1975
Nov. 19 - New England Coalition files a petition saying the NRC's table "'seriously underestimates' the impact on human safety and health by disregarding the long-term effects of certain long-lived radionuclides." (see 2008)
1976
1977
1978
1979
etc
1985
Sept. 20 - Planned extended shutdown to replace cracked steel pipes. Shutdown was delayed several times, in part to find replacement power. CVPS asks for rate increase to cover replacement power (Mar. 27). NRC says delay was undue risk (June 14). See 1986 for startup after 9 months.
Oct. 22 - NRC fines VY $50,000 for August 8th radiation exposure to a worker--VY appeals, but pays fine following year.
1986
May 16 - Unsuspected faults discovered during shutdown.
June 23 - NRC says VY's safety system has 90% probability of failure.
July 1 - VY starts up after 9-month shutdown.
July 1 - VY shuts down because of a problem after only 2 hours of operation, resumes after 31 hours.
July 17 - VY returns to full power.
Aug. 26 - Vermont Supreme Court ruling passes costs of VY outage to ratepayers.
1988
June 7 - Sewage sludge contaminated with Cobalt 60 found on a farm in Vernon.
June 16 - VY fined for using temporary sewage holding tank as a permanent tank.
Aug. 25 - VY shuts down for leaky valve in the area surrounding the reactor vessel. Shutdown is extended on Aug. 27 when another leaky valve is discovered.
1989
Mar. 24 - VY asks for license extension from 2007 to 2012.
1990
Dec. 19 - NRC extends VY license from 2007 to 2012 after NRC dismissing claims that license extension is illegal.
1991
Aug. 15 - VY fined for security violations, pays $75,000 fine on Oct. 2.
1993
Aug. 3 - NRC levies $50,000 fine due to VY's failure to shut down during safety system malfunction in October 1992.
1994
Jan. 21 - NRC levies fines totaling $187,000 for handling of spent radioactive fuel and failure to maintain safety system.
1995
July 6 - NRC fines VY $50,000 because cooling repairs were not timely (story broke on May 25).
1996
Aug. 23 - NRC fines VY $50,000 for letting a key safety valve remain closed for 22 years.
Ross Barkhurst joins to Vermont Yankee as new president and CEO.
1998
Mar. 20 - Planned 6-week shutdown for repairs, improvements, and partial refueling; problems extend outage to 10 weeks (see Sept. 20, 2000 for fine resulting from deliberate erroneous information during shutdown).
Apr. 14 - VY is fined $55,000 by the federal government for failing to follow its operating license and failing to discover engineering shortcomings on its own.
Apr. 15 - Air sample finds high levels of lead during paint removal project.
June 2 - VY restarts after 10-week refueling and maintenance outage.
June 10 - Early morning series of equipment failures prompts emergency shutdown (a screw was lodged in a valve that sent too much cooling water to the core); a special inspection team is sent to VY to investigate, finding additional electrical problems.
July 16 - VY is cited for seven low-level violations of its operating license in the previous week - no fine imposed.
Sept. 1 - NRC gives VY "good" rating (out of "superior," "good," and "adequate").
Oct. 17 - Emergency shutdown caused by steam leak.
Oct. 23 - Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission refuses to license proposed low-level nuclear waste dump citing a geologic fault; site would have taken VY, Maine Yankee, and Texas low-level waste (see also June 5, 2008).
Nov. 7 - Unlawful trespass charges dropped at VY's request against 21 protesters arrested at the plant on Aug. 27.
2000
Vermont Dept. of Health gamma radiation monitors show VY in violation for annual radiation limit measured at the site boundary (20 millirem/year).
Radiation monitors at Vernon Elementary School record annual dose at state limit for adult male at site boundary.
Sept. 20 - Vermont Yankee cited for misstatement. NRC does not issue fine.
2001
First sale attempt to Amer-Gen ends unsuccessfully.
Entergy offers $180 million.
Record short refueling outage saves estimated $1 million (May 21).
2002
July 31 - Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation sells the 540 megawatt Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant to a subsidiary of Entergy Corp.
About 480 full-time employees according to Ross Barkhurst.
2003
Oct. 8 - PSB fines Entergy a total of $51,000 for withholding documents from a state investigation into Entergy's proposal to raise power output at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant by 20 percent.
2004
Vermont Dept. of Health records gamma radiation at the site boundary 25% greater than state limits for 2004. Radiation measurements at Vernon Elementary School for 2004 nearly reach the the state action level for the site boundary.
April - cracks were found in the plant's steam dryer.
April 21 - two highly radioactive spent fuel rods were lost.
June 18th - fire breaks out at 6:50 am, contained to non-nuclear areas. Shuts plant for 19 days.
July 6 - Reactor resumes operation after fire.
July 8 - Vermont Yankee fire team responds to black smoke from furnace. No damages or injuries reported.
Nov. 24 - PSB recommends $85,000 fine against Entergy for beginning construction repairs without first gaining state approval. Entergy says they won't contest the fine on Feb. 26, 2005, but considers it unwarranted.)
2005
June 22 - NRC announces it will not fine VY after missing fuel rods are discovered in a safe place.
July - Electrical insulator breaks, shutting down plant.
2006
January - Entergy files for 20-year extension past the 5-year extension of the original 35-year license.
March - Plant obtains permission from Nuclear Regulatory Commission for 20% uprate to 640 megawatts.
August 12 - VY starts website promotion [safecleanreliable.com]
2007
Expiration date of original license to operate (see 1989-1990)
Jan. 18 - VY and 3 other "sister plants" to to the Monticello reactor in Minnesota put on notice that they have the same design as that plant where a failed weld caused turbine pressure to drop and prompted an emergency shutdown there.
Jan. 31 - Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore backs relicensing.
Apr. 26 - Seven "Raging Grannies" activists arrested at VY.
June 8 - Vermont Environmental Board blocks VY's bid to increase water temperature.
June 11 - A thunderstorm was blamed for making the emergency tone alert system around VY inoperable for one day the previous week.
Aug. 21 - Cooling tower collapses.
Aug. 30 - Emergency shutdown due to lack of grease on turbine steam valve.
Nov. 9 - Entergy announces plans for 6-plant spinoff (including VY) to a limited liability company (LLC).
Dec. 31 - Rutland Herald calls troubles at VY the year's top news story.
[[1]] article by Eesha Williams published in The Commons
2008
Feb. 25 - NRC approves 20-year VY extension. Vermont considers independent review of nuclear plant’s licensure.
Mar. 6 - Entergy files for license extension with PSB.
Apr. 1 - New England Coalition’s 1975 petition gets a response from NRC after 32 years (see 1975).
Apr. 4 - Entergy Nuclear searches for the cause of a second emergency telephone line failure.
Apr. 30 - The name "Enexus Energy Corp." is chosen for Entergy Corp.’s proposed spin-off company.
May 7 - Gov. Douglas vetoes bill that would have required Entergy to increase decommissioning fund.
May 12 - NRC refuses to answer questions about VY’s ability to resist a terrorist attack.
May 15 - NRC cites Entergy for security violations at VY.
May 17 - VY crane drops waste storage cask. Unit not damaged.
May 29 - Emergency preparedness drill at Brattleboro area schools called a success.
June 5 - VY no longer has access to South Carolina disposal site and will store low-level waste.
June 28 - 12 towns in northwestern Massachusetts pass resolutions opposing VY's bid to extend its license for 20 years.
Nov. 10 - 16 additional cracks found in the steam dryer, a key component in the reactor.
Nov. 17 - Vermont Energy Partnership (SourceWatch description) releases report advocating license extension.
2009
January 6 - Brattleboro Selectboard decides to use town's Intervenor Status to monitor VY Relicensing process, but submits no conditions or concerns.
January 7 - VY won't power down to fix leaking valve gasket on a four-inch pipe in the reactor building, says Reuters.
January 8 - VY Powers down to 40% to fix "mildly radioactive" leak in feed water system, says Reuters.
April 2 - VY announces radioactive leak in a filter that removes radioactivity from other water leaks, the third in three months.
December - Safe and Green Campaign plans march to Montpelier. VY debuts IamVY website.
2010
January - Safe and Green March to Montpelier to shut VY.
January - Tritium leaks at VY; previously unreported underground pipes suspected.
February - Tritium leaks likely reach Connecticut River; IamVY website goes away.
February - Peter Shumlin calls for Vermont Senate vote on relicensing before Town Meeting in March.
February - Vermont Senate votes no on relicensing VY, 26-4.
External Links
Volunteer-run and non-profit sites
Safe Power Vermont [2]
- CAN is a grassroots environmental organization [3]
Corporate Sites
Government Sites
Other Resources
- Wikipedia Entry for Vermont Yankee
- Google News Archive Search for Vermont Yankee with click-able timeline
