Why can a Chernobyl-like event occur at Vermont Yankee?
First, Chernobyl was a very different type of facility. It was an experimental reactor that produced power, as well as plutonium for military use, creating safety problems that do not exist at Vermont Yankee. Second, Chernobyl was built without containment structures to prevent radioactive material from spreading in the event of an accident. Vermont Yankee, on the contrary, was designed only for the safe production of clean power and protects its materials inside of a containment structure built to withstand the most extreme scenarios. All U.S. nuclear plants, like Vermont Yankee, are required to have containment structures to protect the health and safety of its workers and citizens. A plant of Chernobyl’s design could not have been built in the U.S.
