nuclear-news

The water, which is actually about 100 degrees at discharge, raises the river to a state-regulated level that environmental groups such as the Connecticut River Watershed Council say damages fisheries and the environmental health of the river.

 Dr. Andrew Larkin, a retired internist from Northampton, Mass., said the Connecticut River was 10 degrees warmer near the plant’s discharge than other spots in the river he tested.

One protester, Harvey Schakman of Shelburne Falls, Mass., wore a giant fish hat made of copper, and said he was “Shadman,” reciting a history of destruction and pollution of the Connecticut River, decimating the shad population.

 “The heated water coming from the reactor confused us, but still we persisted,” Schakman said, adding that only one in 10 shad get past all the dams on the Connecticut River, “only to be cooked by the reactor.” “We have lost so many, now we are down to a few, but still we persist,” he said.

This is the second year that the SAGE Alliance, a coalition of antinuclear groups, has organized the flotilla to focus public attention on the water discharge. About two dozen kayaks and canoes took to the water, with an equal number of people on shore to protest the daily discharge of warm water. Some people wrote messages to Entergy on cedar shingles and set them floating on the river.

“No nuclear accidents. All it takes is one,” wrote Elo-Mai Noormets of Westminster, Vt.
“Peace and health to this river,” wrote Leslie Sullivan Sachs of Brattleboro, Vt. http://rutlandherald.com/article/20130811/THISJUSTIN/708119973