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MONTPELIER, Vt. — Two weeks after lawmakers voted to close Vermont Yankee in 2012, Vermont regulators are being pressed to act sooner — shutting it down immediately — because of leaking tritium that environmental groups say is polluting the environment.
On Wednesday, the state Public Service Board opens an investigation sought by the Conservation Law Foundation and the New England Coalition, which say the nuclear power plant in southeastern Vermont should stop operating until the source of the leak — first reported two months ago — is found and fixed.
via Anti-nuke groups want Vermont plant closed now – BostonHerald.com.
BRATTLEBORO — On Thursday, José Montero, New Hampshire’s public health director, told the Reformer that samples taken from the Connecticut River both north and south of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon have so far tested negative for tritium, which is leaking from an unknown source at the plant.
“These test results are very reassuring and indicate tritium is not posing a public health threat in the river,” said Montero.
via N.H.: Connecticut River samples test negative for tritium – Brattleboro Reformer.
Vermont would lose the source of one-third of its electricity, but residents say the move would forever change Vernon, the small town on the Connecticut River that has been the reactor’s home for 38 years.
via Vernon, Vt., Finds Good Neighbor in Vermont Yankee Reactor – NYTimes.com.
BRATTLEBORO — Tritium levels in a groundwater monitoring well located close to the suspected source of a leak at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant have been dropping, stated the Vermont Department of Health, in its daily Yankee update on Wednesday.
via Tritium levels drop at Yankee – Brattleboro Reformer.
Waterford — The Unit 2 reactor at Millstone Power Station had to be shut down today when cooling equipment malfunctioned.
via Millstone Unit 2 reactor shut down because of water pump malfunction | The Day.
VERNON – Entergy Nuclear has found traces of cesium-137, a radioisotope, about 15 feet underground in the excavation trench where it is searching for the leak that has contaminated groundwater at the Vermont Yankee reactor for the past two months.
via New radioisotope found at Yankee: Rutland Herald Online.
MONTPELIER – In a rare case of state involvement in nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 yesterday to block a license extension for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials, and other problems.
Unless the chamber reverses itself, it would be the first time in more than 20 years that the public or its representatives decided to close a reactor.
via Vt. Senate votes to close Yankee power plant – The Boston Globe.
Like a decayed flotilla of rickety steamers, at least 27 of America’s 104 aging atomic reactors are known to be leaking radioactive tritium, which is linked to cancer.
The fallout has been fiercest at Vermont Yankee, where a flood of cover-ups has infuriated and terrified near neighbors who say the reactor was never meant to operate more than 30 years, and must now shut.
Read more: A Quarter of U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Leaking a Radioactive Material Linked to Cancer | | AlterNet.
And, from the Brattleboro Reformer: What are the real dangers of tritium?
BRATTLEBORO — Since Entergy learned that a leak of tritiated water has been contaminating groundwater beneath the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, many people have been wondering just how dangerous tritium is.
Well, that all depends on who you talk to.
Barack Obama’s new dream of a nuclear renaissance faces a major reality check tomorrow when the state of Vermont is expected to shut down an ageing nuclear reactor with a history of leaks.
It would be the first time a state has moved to shut down such a reactor, and follows Obama’s announcement last week of $8.3 billion (£5.4 billion) in loan guarantees for the construction of two new reactors in Georgia. White House officials said the money would help spur a burst of new construction – the first since the Three Mile Island meltdown.
via Obama’s nuclear vision suffers setback as Vermont plant faces shutdown | Environment | guardian.co.uk.
It took an outrageously long time to come to a reasonable decision about how best to regulate the water sucked from and discharged into Niantic Bay by Millstone Power Station.
via Good Millstone permit longtime coming | The Day.
MONTPELIER — Two environmental groups asked the U.S. Justice Department on Friday to launch a criminal probe of Vermont Yankee nuclear plant officials, saying they had provided false information under oath and operated the plant with “careless disregard” of the potential for leaking radioactive substances.
via Environmental groups call for federal investigation of Vermont Yankee | The Burlington Free Press.
BRATTLEBORO — The Safe & Green Campaign is sponsoring a public forum to discuss several matters related to the operation of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon on Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., beginning at 2 p.m.
via Yankee forum set for Sunday – Bennington Banner.
President Obama announced Tuesday that the Department of Energy is awarding $8 billion in taxpayer dollars towards loan guarantees to build the United States’ first nuclear reactors in nearly thirty years. This move may be politically expedient, but for the public, it’s a raw deal.
As a candidate, Obama expressed openness to new reactors, but said, “Before an expansion… is considered, key issues must be addressed including: security of nuclear fuel and waste, waste storage, and proliferation.”
President Obama should heed candidate Obama’s advice. These issues have not been addressed. If anything, the challenges facing the nuclear industry have grown worse.
via Erich Pica: President Obama’s Nuclear Reversal | Huffington Post.
Waterford – Millstone Power Station should take steps over the next two years to substantially reduce the water it uses for cooling and help restore populations of winter flounder and other marine life in Niantic Bay, but for now it is allowed to continue discharging more than 2 billion gallons of water per day into Long Island Sound.
via DEP eyes Millstone water discharges | The Day.
BRATTLEBORO — An excavation being conducted at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon to help determine the source of a leak of tritiated water was halted Wednesday because “the original plan … is not working, and a new approach is set to begin as soon as materials and safety preparations are in order,” stated the Vermont Department of Health in its daily update on the leak investigation.
via Pipe excavation halted at Vermont Yankee – Brattleboro Reformer.
 Conditions include steps to protect aquatic life and study of cooling system
A Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hearing officer has recommended that the agency renew the water discharge permit for Millstone Power Station with requirements that the plant operator take steps to better protect aquatic life and conduct an assessment of alternatives to the current water cooling system.
Terms of the proposed permit are based on an agreement reached in September of 2008, between DEP staff, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., which operates the two Millstone units in Waterford, and two environmental organizations – Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Inc. (CFE) and Soundkeeper, Inc.
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Continue reading DEP Hearing Officer Recommends Approval of Water Discharge Permit Renewal for Millstone
Connecticut should focus on studying the pros and cons of nuclear power, developing a policy for renewable resources and targeting certain energy efficiency programs for funding, according to a report funded by the state’s two major utilities.
via Utilities’ proposed strategy includes look at nuclear power | Commentary: The Day.
MONTPELIER — Arnie and Maggie Gundersen came to the Statehouse last week hauling a poster-sized map that detailed the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and the monitoring wells that dot the grounds.
Although the Legislature — and by extension the public — has come to rely on Arnie Gundersen to help them understand what’s going on inside the Vernon nuclear power plant, Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien bristles at the very mention of Gundersen’s name. O’Brien contends Gundersen’s warnings have not been as on the mark as some would suggest, is eager for attention and barrages officials with accusatory questions.
via Blowing the whistle on Vermont Yankee | burlingtonfreepress.com.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama next week will announce a loan guarantee to build the first nuclear power plant in the United States in almost three decades, an administration official said Friday. The two new Southern Co. reactors to be built in Burke, Ga., are part of a White House energy plan administration officials hope will draw Republican support.
via Obama to announce nuke plant loan | The Associated Press.
Three Rivers Community College and Millstone Power Station are offering 16 full scholarships for students who enroll in the college’s nuclear engineering technology degree program.
Deadline Monday for Three Rivers nuclear tech scholarships | The Day.
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