The owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant wants to end the system of sirens, free “tone alert radios” for people within 10 miles of the reactor, and automated phone calls in case of a nuclear emergency. Vermont Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone's throw from New Hampshire. Thanks to a protest movement in the Brattleboro area that saw thousands march and hundreds arrested for non-violent, civil disobedience, the 42-year-old reactor will close permanently in December. It's owned by Entergy Corporation of Louisiana.

But when Vermont Yankee closes, its 700 or so tons of nuclear waste will remain on site. The waste is the deadliest material on earth. According to the federal government, the waste will still be toxic 1 million years from now. Most of the waste at Vermont Yankee is in a water-filled pool seven stories above ground. If the water leaks out of the pool, the waste will catch fire, leak radioactivity into the atmosphere and will kill thousands of people, according to a report to Congress by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“We think this is a terrible idea,” Michael Mariotte told the Valley Post about Entergy's plan. He works for www.nirs.org.

Entergy wants to end the emergency alert system 16 months after Vermont Yankee closes.

Among the groups fighting Entergy's plan are www.NukeBusters.org and www.SafeAndGreenCampaign.org.