Recent commentary in the local media suggests that four ladies walking through an open gate at Vermont Yankee is a threat to public safety. A closer look shows that it just isn't so.
The four elderly ladies, members of a group that have staged several protests at the Vermont Yankee facility over the past several years, did get a few feet past the perimeter gate. But what the writer doesn't mention - and what people who have never visited the plant could not be expected to understand - is that between the perimeter gates and the Vermont Yankee power plant is a quarter mile of open ground overseen by guard towers, professional security officers, traffic barriers, and more than $10 million worth of additional defensive infrastructure designed to stop man and machine, that has been installed at Vermont Yankee since Sept. 11, 2001.
The very high security is a visible example of Vermont Yankee's “defense in depth” redundant systems and well-trained staff that are responsible for the plant's security and excellent safety record. On the grounds and in the plant, as was demonstrated in this case, problems are dealt with quickly and safely, thanks to defense in depth.