nuclear-news

Arrests as protestors rally at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

Cape activists arrested at nuclear plant protest rally –
http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/news/x1570561392/Cape-activists-arrested-at-nuclear-plant-protest-rally#axzz2U3qikh4c – Wicked Local  21 May 13, – Cape Cod  PLYMOUTH —
Ten people were arrested at last Sunday’s  “Rally at the Reactor” at
the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth.
The activists were arrested for trespassing when they attempted to
deliver their message to a representative of Entergy, the corporate
owner of the plant. Arrested were Joyce Johnson of Falmouth, William
Maurer of Falmouth, Janet Azarovitz of Falmouth, Arlene Williamson of
Mashpee, Sarah Thacher of Dennis, Margaret Rice-Moir of Brewster,
Diane Turco of Harwich, Doug Long of Orleans, Femke Rosenbaum of
Wellfleet and Debbie McCullough of Truro, were arraigned in Plymouth
District Court today. They will appear in the Plymouth District Court
for a pretrial hearing July 19.
Cape Downwinders, who organized the rally, stated in its message that
it would no longer tolerate “Pilgrim’s negligence in endangering the
health and safety of the surrounding communities.”
The 41-year-old nuclear facility has exceeded its life span and the
risk of a nuclear accident increases every day, the Downwinders said.
The reactor at Pilgrim is the exact same design as the three reactors
that exploded in Fukushima, Japan in March 2011. The re-licensing of
the Pilgrim Facility took place last year to extend its life for an
additional 20 years even though it was strongly opposed by Gov.
Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressmen Bill Keating and
Ed Markey, state Sen. Dan Wolf as well as the National Park Service.
Gregory Jaczko, the NRC chairman at the time of the relicensing, voted
not to relicense the reactor.
The Downwinders also noted that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station has
had valve leaks, equipment malfunctions, underground pipes leaking
tritium and in the early hours yesterday the turbine auxiliary oil
pumps failed, resulting in a fire.
“When this plant was licensed in the early 1970’s what it was licensed
as was an energy station – it was licensed as an energy station for 40
years,” Wolf said to the crowd at Sunday’s rally. “The legacy that
we’re going to be leaving our children is a 60-year-old nuclear waste
dump. The deal was never that we would keep all the spent fuel here.”

May 22, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, USA