122 Words

That's all that the New York Times devoted to a story that, given the state of the world, I think warranted a little more coverage. Here's the story: Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, in Vernon, Vermont, is missing two highly radioactive spent fuel rods.

Yes, I said "missing". As in, can't find them, misplaced them, lost 'em, must've thrown them out by mistake. In an age of "dirty bombs" and orange alerts, don't you think New Yorkers would want to know more about this than a 122 word AP newsbrief on page A-23, column 2? [link] Things like, how do you lose radioactive material in the first place? What's being done to find them? How do other nuclear power plants handle their spent fuel rods? Is anyone doing an inventory to make sure that we know where all of our fuel rods are? How good is the record keeping at Yucca Mountain (where waste material is being sent for permanent storage)? You know, just a few small questions. We New Yorkers are a nosy bunch, after all.

If you know where the fuel rods are, by the way, I suggest that you call Vermont Yankee (800-368-3749) -- they're still looking for them a month later.