Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Given that Vermont Yankee uses a very small volume of nuclear fuel to produce 650 megawatts of electricity and to power one-third of Vermont homes, with enough electricity left over to sell on the open market, its production is incredibly efficient.
A nuclear power plant uses fuel contained in bundles, each weighing 660 pounds. In an 18-month operating cycle, Vermont Yankee uses about 23 tons of nuclear fuel. Nuclear fuel is composed of Uranium-235, non-nuclear filler, and Uranium-238, which is natural Uranium.
A 1,000-megawatt coal plant requires 4.23 million tons of fuel to run for the same 18-month period and releases about 8.5 tons of Uranium-238 into the environment. If the nuclear industry could extract and process this Uranium, it would provide Vermont Yankee with six months of operating fuel. Coal plants are also responsible for releases of materials that cause acid rain, smog, lung damage, and global warming.
The Uranium-238 released by coal plants has caused the DOE Oak Ridge National Lab to recalculate the radiation exposure received by those living near a coal plant. The difference is 10 times more than what one would receive living near a nuclear plant.
What charitable organization could afford to have a loss of 27 percent in its fundraising? In 2010, the United Way of Windham County raised $500,000 through community fundraising. Of that amount, Vermont Yankee employees, through personal contributions and a corporate match, provided $136,000, which was 27 percent of the...
