Vermont Yankee owners discovered 150 gallons of radioactive water in a tunnel that connects a radioactive storage room to outside tanks. Both the water and the tritium are not supposed to be there. When officials tried removing the water about 100 gallons more came rushing back in. This water is highly contaminated, with nearly 2 million picocuries per liter of the isotope tritium. That’s about 100 times above acceptable levels according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
This is on top of the news that a second monitoring well has tested positive – 500 feet away from the first. The cause of the radioactive leak that has contaminated groundwater is still unknown. Test wells are being dug around the site in order to find the source of the radioactive leak. Current testes are being conducted by a contractor who is hired and paid by owners of Vermont Yankee Entergy.
Both Speaker Smith and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin called on the Vermont Department of Health to conduct onsite independent tests of the water at Vermont Yankee. In light of recent events where Entergy officials supplied both the Legislature’s Oversight Panel and the state regulators with inaccurate information about the existence of underground piping, the need for independent testing is more important than ever.
In case you missed it some recent news:
New York Times – New 2nd Vt. Yankee Well Tests Positive for Isotope – Click here to read
Times Argus – Radioactive water found in room at Vermont Yankee – Click here to read
Ruthalnd Herald – Search turns up storage room flood – Click here to read
Burlington Free Press – High levels of tritium found in Vermont Yankee trench – Click here to read
