Community Corner

Profile: Nancy Burton, Anti-Nuclear Activist

A Decade-Plus Of Fighting Against Millstone

It would be hard-pressed to find an activist more opposed to an issue, and more dedicated to that opposition, than Nancy Burton.

In the past decade alone, Burton has filed at least 12 civil suits, almost all against Dominion, owner of Millstone Power Station, or related to the nuclear power plant. Many of these cases have been thrown out, although in some instances Burton proclaimed successes.

Burton, president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone, has strongly criticized a range of companies and individuals, including Dominion and Millstone’s previous owner, Northeast Utilities, former Attorney General and current Sen. Richard Blumenthal, The Day, First Selectman Dan Steward and former First Selectman Paul Eccard, to name a few. Burton also took a shot at Waterford Patch, arguing it reads like the “Millstone Gazette.”

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What is it all about?

Closing Millstone Power Station, and saving the lives of thousands of people, Burton said in a Thursday interview with Patch.

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“This is a company that is causing havoc on thousands of people's lives,” Burton said bluntly. “They need to go.”

The Story

Burton lives on the other side of the state, but has a “summer cottage” in Mystic. A mother of three, in the late 1970s she would read things in the newspaper about problems in Millstone, but didn’t have time to get involved.

As time went by and her children went off to college, Burton’s time began to free up. So she began to research further into Connecticut’s only remaining active nuclear power station, eventually becoming the president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone.

Since then, she has filed a bevy of lawsuits against Northeast Utilities and Dominion, along with the Department of Environmental Protection, who she argued is in collusion with the nuclear industry. A disbarred lawyer, Burton has represented herself on every suit Patch could find records for.

The Allegations

In the interview with Patch, Burton made dozens and dozens of allegations against Dominion, Northeastern Utilities, the DEP, Blumenthal and the media. Some have been proven, others not.

Largely, Burton points to New London County having the highest cancer rate of any county in Connecticut, and argues Millstone is the cause. So far, no definitive medical evidence has ever linked a death to radiation at Millstone. Also, a 1991 study by the National Cancer Institute and a 2006 study by the Illinois Department of Public Health state there is no correlation between people who live near a nuclear power plant and higher cancer rates in those areas.

Burton remains dedicated to the “David vs. Goliath” cause, and plans to continue to fight until the plant closes. That should be soon, though, either by their own mistake forcing them to or the government finally coming to its senses and shutting it down, she said.

“Millstone will shut down,” Burton said, saying it could close down any day. 


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