About Nuclear Free Vermont
Nuclear Free Vermont by 2012 is a grassroots, all-volunteer association of citizens committed to closing the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee power reactor in Vernon, Vermont when its license expires in 2012 and that the State of Vermont should not only be addressing the energy replacement, but also should have begun the planning for the loss of jobs that could arise from VY's closure.

NFV's position is that nuclear power is not "clean" or "safe" as the publicity spin of the nuclear industry claims.  How can it be "clean" when it produces lethal radioactive waste that will be dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years and for which scientists have not yet found a permanent solution?

If nuclear power were "safe", why would all the towns surrounding the reactor need an Evacuation Plan that requires hundreds of  hours from local officials and volunteers for meetings, trainings and drills, a Plan that many citizens doubt would work if there were a serious accident in Vernon? 

Please sign up for our email alerts which will let you know when you can help -- sign a petition, vote, attend a public hearings, call or write to a legislator or government agency, join a rally or march, etc.  Together, and in coalition with other like minded groups, we will succeed.

The goal of NFV is to educate the public about the many safety issues surrounding this 32 year old reactor, including the propsed 20% power uprate, the inadequacy of evacuation plans, the risk of fire in the overcrowded, spent fuel pool, the issues surrounding dry cask storage of radioactive waste, the proposed re-licensing, as well as the failure of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to fufill its responsibility of protecting the health and safety of the public.

Since its inception in 2001, Nuclear Free Vermont has sponsored three Town Meeting resolutions. The first, in 2002, was in response to the impending sale of Vermont Yankee to an outside corporation and was designed to take the pulse of the community as to their opinion about nuclear power and whether it should remain a part of Vermont’s future. The second, in 2003, was placed on the ballot in 16 towns . Ten towns said that Vermont Yankee's license should not be extended in 2012 and one town tied on this vote. In the third resolution, in 2004, 73% of the voters of Brattleboro voted to direct elected officials to begin planning now to replace the jobs and energy that will be needed when Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee closes.

Although all these resolutions were non-binding, the result has been an ever-increasing awareness and discussion of the effects of this plant on our community. In addition to sponsoring these resolutions, NFV tries to help citizens identify ways to influence public policy on nuclear power , eg. writing Letters to the Editor, contacting legislators and town and state officials as well as attending and testifying at public hearings.