It will take decades to clear the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant site of nuclear material and that's stirring concerns in the state.
Entergy Corp. announced Tuesday it would shutter the 41-year-old plant at the end of next year then put it in "safe-store," an industry term that means the plant will be mothballed, possibly for decades.
The thinking goes like this: Over the years, radioactivity decreases, meaning there is less risky material to transport and ultimately bury at an approved waste site.
And there is currently no facility in the country to accept high-level nuclear waste, meaning casks full of spent fuel sit at shuttered plants, secured by armed guards.
Many of the state's elected officials want the process expedited and the nuclear material off-site as soon as possible.
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