Cape Downwinders succeed! Put Entergy on trial;use necessity defense!

[PuraVidaDreamin]

By CHRISTINE LEGERE
clegere@capecodonline
March 20, 2014
PLYMOUTH — Residents who live in Plymouth or other towns near the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station run an increased risk of developing cancer, according to an epidemiologist called as an expert witness for the defense Wednesday during the trespassing trial of 12 Cape activists in Plymouth District Court.

Richard Clapp, a retired professor from the Boston University School of Public Health, said the continued operation of the Plymouth plant was "a risk and an unacceptable risk in my view."

Clapp is the scientist who originally established and directed the Massachusetts Cancer Registry in the 1980s.

The Cape Downwinders, arrested for trespassing on the power station property last spring, are using a "necessity defense," which focuses on whether breaking the law was the only way to accomplish an intended result.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140320/NEWS/403200344/-1/NEWS01

I am so proud of these brave men and women. I was originally arrested with this group, but had to plead out early, got fined and ended up with 6 months probation. I had to plea out because I know my place of employment would likely penalize me, and with a mortgage there is no way I could support myself without a job. The average age of the members of this delegation of Downwinders is 65. These participants have already retired. My point is, the system and it's corporate masters have made it extremely hard on a younger population to participate in necessary acts of civil disobedience, to help change a world that is degrading before our eyes, and only serves the uber wealthy elite. But we cannot give up! Just like these Downwinders have kept fighting for a cleaner and safer planet, both of our generations have one thing in common, we owe it to future generations.







http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140320/NEWS/403200344/-1/NEWS01

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. Been a good week for the Downwinders

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140319/NEWS/403190324

On Friday, State Senator Dan Wolf will be testifying as an expert witness.

By CHRISTINE LEGERE
[e-mail]
March 19, 2014
PLYMOUTH — The Cape protesters on trial in Plymouth District Court on Tuesday for trespassing onto Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station last spring said they had a moral responsibility to break the law because shuttering the 42-year-old plant is in the public's best interest.

During her opening statement, Harwich resident Diane Turco, co-founder of the Cape Downwinders and one of a dozen defendants, said she hoped for a verdict of not guilty.

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"In the best American tradition, we acted on a moral imperative with civic responsibility," Turco said.

The Downwinders have been looking forward to this week's trial. Several have been arrested in the past for trespassing, but the charges were always dismissed before they had their day in court.

"I'm glad we're finally here," said Falmouth defendant Joyce Johnson during a break. "It's been a long time coming. We're just trying to make our part of the world safe."

The Downwinders opted Tuesday for a bench trial before Judge Beverly Cannone, a decision made late Monday night. Cannone had agreed last week to give the group their trial, saying there was basis for a necessity defense.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. Trial day 4 "necessity defense" Downwinders are Amazing

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140321/NEWS/403210337/-1/NEWS01


By CHRISTINE LEGERE
[e-mail]
March 21, 2014
PLYMOUTH — An expert on safety and security at nuclear power plants told a Plymouth District Court judge Thursday he believes the thousands of spent fuel rods packed in pools at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station present a danger to the public.

Gordon Thompson, executive director of the Institute for Resource and Security Studies in Cambridge, testified on the potential dangers of the Plymouth nuclear plant during the third day of the trespassing trial involving 12 Cape Downwinders. The Downwinders are an activist group whose mission is to protect the lives of Cape and Islands residents from a nuclear disaster at Pilgrim.

Thompson said the spent fuel rod assemblies emit radiation. "Those assemblies will be hazardous for several hundred thousand years."

According to Thompson, the original pools at Pilgrim were designed 42 years ago to hold about 580 spent fuel assemblies. The pools there and at other nuclear plants were redesigned and fitted with racks to accommodate more rods when plans to store spent fuel at a single repository in Nevada were stalled.

About 3,800 rods at Pilgrim are stored in pools in the upper level of a building outside the reactor.

"My position is the original design capacity was much safer than the high density configuration," Thompson said. According to the scientist, being tightly packed increases the risk the rods will ignite.

A nuclear event at Pilgrim could be triggered by earthquake, extreme wind, equipment failure, employee error or attacks by persons inside or outside the plant.

"There are double the number of rods in Plymouth pools than there were at Fukushima," Thompson said. "Consequences could exceed those at Fukushima."


Governor pens letter to NRC

Gov. Deval Patrick made good on his promise to Cape Downwinders at the Statehouse last week and penned a letter to the chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to express concern on behalf of 15 communities on the Cape.
"The unique geographical relationship between Pilgrim and the communities comprising Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts could put those residents at serious risk should there be an accident," the governor wrote in his letter.
To view the letter, go to capecodonline.com/nrcletter.
Thompson said the spent fuel rod assemblies emit radiation. "Those assemblies will be hazardous for several hundred thousand years."

According to Thompson, the original pools at Pilgrim were designed 42 years ago to hold about 580 spent fuel assemblies. The pools there and at other nuclear plants were redesigned and fitted with racks to accommodate more rods when plans to store spent fuel at a single repository in Nevada were stalled.