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Nuclear Plant Powers Way Down After Water Leak Found

Michael Kanellos Nuclear Plant Powers Way Down After Water Leak Found

January 8, 2009 at 5:19 PMThe Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has cut power production by 60 percent after a leak in the pipe that provides water to the steam generator was discovered, according to the AP.The leak is dripping about 60 drops a minute and the water is mildly radioactive.On Wednesday, the Vermont Yankee (which is my favorite nuclear power plant name) had a leak in the gasket.Better clean it up, lads. The nuclear industry is promoting itself as a clean and economical and large-scale alternative to coal and natural gas. It’s also not intermittent like solar or wind, and a few plants can provide large amounts of baseload power, say proponents………………

Debates rage over whether nuclear will be economical or not. See Joe Romm’s take on a new report that says new nuclear will cost 15 cents or more a kilowatt hour.

But — ugh — safety and leaks are tougher to argue over. If the safety and maintenance record gets murky, nuclear advocates are going to have a tough time mustering support.

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Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium

January 10, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs