VERNON, Vermont --Concerned by persistent reports of radioactive releases from Entergy's Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and failures of seismometers at the plant to register the recent earthquake, six women of the Shut It Down affinity group locked the main gate shut Tuesday, August 30. Arrested mid-morning for trespass by Chief Mary Beth Hebert of the Vernon Police Department, the women carried a banner reading, "VY Pollutes All / Shut It Down." All from Massachusetts, the six expressed concern that pollution in the Connecticut River affects them more than Vermonters because the plant's location in Vernon is just over the border. Massachusetts elected officials at all levels have expressed worry about Vermont Yankee's radioactive discharges and record of leaks and maintenance failures. Further, said Hattie Nestel, 72, of Athol, Massachusetts, one of the women arrested, Vermont Yankee irresponsibly and untruthfully represents itself as clean, safe, and green. "Vermont Yankee leaks radioactive pollutants into the environment," Nestel said. "The nuclear power plant poses profound risks to citizens of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York in the event of a nuclear accident like the meltdown like Fukushima. It is hardly green: its every process relies on damaging the environment by exploiting minerals and fossil fuels with considerable carbon discharge into the environment. "Recent earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding are the canary in the mine warning us that future disasters can result from vulnerabilities of this nuclear power plant built according to exact specifications of reactors at Fukushima," Nestel continued. The six arrested include Nestel; Frances Crowe, 92, Paki Wieland, 68, and Nancy First, 81, of Northampton, Massachusetts; Betsy Corner, 64, of Colrain, Massachusetts, and Ellen Graves, 69, of West Springfield, Massachusetts. Supporting the group were Marcia Gagliardi, 63, of Athol; Mary-Ann Palmieri, 73, of New Salem, Massachusetts, and Sandra Boston, 71, of Greenfield, Massachusetts. The group presented a statement to Vermont Yankee personnel: "Tritium leaking into the Connecticut River from Vermont Yankee. Strontium-90 found in Connecticut River fish not far from Vermont Yankee. Earthquake detectors failing to register during a 5.8 earthquake. Floods. What more do we need to shut down Vermont Yankee? Another Fukushima? Shut it down now." First, Graves, and Wieland were told to appear in Windham County District Court on November 22 to answer Tuesday's charges. Corner, Crowe, and Nestel were scheduled for court on November 29. As previously directed, Nestel and First appeared at the district court today to answer charges for a June 30 trespass at Vermont Yankee undertaken by fifteen members of Shut It Down. The court said it had no paper work for the women, whose names were not on the court docket. Nestel's call to the Vermont State Attorney's office resulted in Deputy State Attorney Stephen Brown's assertion that the women will be re-cited because paper work was delayed as a result of the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

Resisters and supporters after booking for trespass at Vernon, Vermont, Police Department, all from Massachusetts, from left, resisters Frances Crowe, 92, and Nancy First, 81, of Northampton, Hattie Nestel, 72, of Athol, and Paki Wieland, 68, of Northampton; supporters Mary-Ann Palmieri, 73, of New Salem and Sandra Boston, 71, of Greenfield; resisters Ellen Graves, 69, of West Springfield and Betsy Corner, 64, of Colrain

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