Tritium Leak Found & Contained At Vermont Yankee

[Henry]

Very little publicity has been given to this, but:

Crews found a leak in underground piping at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant Friday with the help of a remote-operated vehicle.

Vermont Yankee officials described the leak as dime- or quarter-sized in an elbow of a pipe in the advanced off-gas drain line and said the liquid coming from it is being contained. Another leak in the same area was pinpointed and contained last month, but Vermont Yankee spokesman Larry Smith said crews continued to examine the network of pipes in an effort to stop all possible sources of a radioactive tritium leak discovered in January.

The state Health Department, which is monitoring the work, said the hole discovered Friday was likely responsible for a 100-gallon-a-day leak into the pipe tunnel.

Ultrasonic equipment will be used next week to test a storage tank for leaks. The equipment is also expected to be used on pipes in the area of the leaks.

The Health Department also reported that tests for other, harder-to-detect radioactive materials in the groundwater have come back negative.

Tritium levels in groundwater testing wells at the Vernon site have shown a steady decrease. The well with the highest rate showed 1.1 million picocuries per liter Friday, compared with 2.5 million last month.

[dw]

little things usually lead to big problems;  time to CLOSE VT Yankee before something catastrophic happens.  Let's hope there's enough in the decommissioning fund . . .

[special ED]

and say yes to higher electric rates

[dw]

pay me now or pay me later . . . we may pay for higher rates but at least Vermont will exist as we know it . . . or what will we have to pass on to our grandchildren?

I wouldn't have a problem if I trusted Entergy . . . what have they done to gain our confidence?  how reliable is the plant?  see anything that gives you confidence, warm fuzzies, reassurance that the place is safe? 

how confident are you in Entergy, the decommission fund, that VT Yankee is safe to operate another 20 years?  are you willing to bet your life on it?

[cedarman]

From what I hear, the people who live near VT yankee are willing to bet their lives on it.  I've only seen it presented in the news ONCE, that the majority of people who live around VT Yankee support the license extention.

I trust in the average person who works there every day.  I trust entergy management about as much as I trust the CEO's at the company where I work.  I trust that for every CEO or other executive who drops the ball, or makes bad decisions, there are 100 good people working hard to mitigate the bad decision and make everything work.  If there was a bunch of workers leaving VT yankee due to safety concerns, I'm sure it would be BLASTED in the news, but I haven't heard any stories about that.

I have training in handling radioactive material and dealing with radioactive equipment as part of my job (in Northern NY - just so you don't think I work at Yankee).  I understand the risk, just as I'm sure MOST people who live around VT Yankee do.

I trust in the common men and women running the controls at VT Yankee to continue to provide reliable, inexpensive, and clean power to VT and New England - especially at a time when so many people here are AGAINST wind power too!!!!

[Chris Santee]

Today's Burlington Free Press reports
the source has not been found yet !

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100309/NEWS02/100309007/-1/HEADLINES01/Anti-nuke-group-wants-Vermont-Yankee-closed-now

[j_gluck]

I would like to clarify something since this keeps coming up - despite the fact that that it has been covered in the papers.

The Purchase Power Agreement that Enexus (the leveraged spin-off that Entergy is trying to get approved) has put on the table is offering about a third of their current amount of power and 1.5 times the current price.

Also, at a shareholders meeting the CEO of Entergy was quoted as saying that Vermont Yankee's rates were too low and the company would need to increase rates to make money.

The bottom line is with or without (my preference) Vermont Yankee our electric rates will go up. Period.

[cedarman]

I agree and acknowledge that power rates WILL be going up.  Unfortunately, So will the cost of everything else in our lives.

Instead of saying they are offering electricy at 1.5 times their current rate, how about posting the following:  the rate power is being offered at, the current price, AND the Current Open market Price.

Then, we'll know how VT Yankee's price compares to prices from Hydro Quebec, wind and other power being purchased by utilities.  If the rates are bad, they will speak for themselves.