Pro-nuclear activist Meredith Angwin and Arnie Gundersen, a critic of the nuclear industry, were civil, cogent and persuasive in the latest installment of UVM’s Janus Forum debate series, “Vermont Yankee:  Shut It Down or Keep It Running?” held Feb. 24 at the Davis Center. But their tone and manner couldn’t conceal the fact that they disagreed, often wildly, on virtually every point.

Take the impact of closing the plant on the Vermont economy. The price of electricity would rise 15 to 30 percent, with devastating effect, asserted Angwin. There will be an abundant supply of electricity in Vermont for years, even without Vermont Yankee, Gundersen countered, and prices wouldn’t rise beyond what they would normally.

What about the ultimate question, the safety of the Vermont Yankee plant?

“The physical dangers have been overstated, in my opinion, to the point of absurdity,” said Angwin. Counter to that claim, Gundersen cited serious issues with “mechanical problems, management problems, and ethical problems.”

Angwin, who substituted for scheduled debater Howard Shaffer, who was ill, is a chemist, writer and pro-nuclear advocate. Gundersen, chief engineer of Fairewinds Associates, the firm responsible for analyzing the shortfall in Vermont Yankee's decommissioning fund, is a former nuclear industry executive and licensed reactor operator.