From hattieshalom at verizon.net  Fri Sep  3 08:30:03 2010
From: hattieshalom at verizon.net (Hattie Nestel)
Date: Fri Sep  3 08:30:22 2010
Subject: [Sage] Fwd: tritium still rising near river
References: <003101cb4b61$b04ae3c0$10e0ab40$@lampert@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <0E5C1C98-5131-4779-B3A8-FD8B7A034E8D@verizon.net>


> Subject: FW: tritium still rising near river
>
>
> Another clear example of the need to upgrade regulations requiring  
> methods to prevent corrosion of buried components ( regular and  
> specified inspections, cathodic protection etc) and monitoring wells  
> of sufficient number placed according to standard design practices ?  
> the later requires recent subsurface hydrological-geological  
> studies. Pilgrim fails on each account ? obviously Vermont, too!
>
> From: Arnie Gundersen [mailto:sailchamplain@gmail.com] On Behalf Of  
> Arnie Gundersen
>
> Times Argus
> This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.timesargus.com
> To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
>
> Back
> Article published Sep 3, 2010
> Entergy drills more tritium monitoring wells at Vermont Yankee
> By Susan Smallheer
> Staff Writer
> VERNON ? Entergy Nuclear is drilling four additional monitoring  
> wells outside the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to better define the  
> plume of underground radioactive contamination, the company said  
> Thursday.
>
> Drilling of the wells is being delayed for about two weeks because  
> Entergy engineers need to review and sign off on the project, said  
> Larry Smith, spokesman for Entergy Nuclear.
>
> Levels of tritium continue to rise in the well closest to the  
> Connecticut River and within the mapped plume. Smith said that well,  
> GZ14-S, was shallow and about 60 feet from the river. Tritium was  
> measured at 370,000 picocuries per liter last week, up from 353,000  
> picocuries per liter on Aug. 16. That level of radioactivity is  
> similar to water inside the reactor.
>
> A new extraction well is being drilled near GZ14-S, according to the  
> Department of Health, and new equipment will allow Entergy to  
> withdraw higher concentration groundwater.
>
> So far, using three different extraction wells, Entergy has  
> withdrawn 245,000 gallons of radioactive water from the ground, with  
> the goal of extracting 300,000 gallons, according to the latest  
> report from the Department of Health.
>
> The company is also monitoring a former Vermont Yankee drinking  
> water well, located near the plume, for possible contamination.  
> Entergy stopped using the well in February since it was located  
> relatively close to the source of the radioactive leak. Unlike most  
> of the monitoring wells, which are relatively shallow, the Entergy  
> drinking water well is in excess of 350 feet deep.
>
> Smith said the company had several of its own drinking water wells  
> and was depending on those. The deep-water well being used to  
> monitor tritium has been discontinued for human use, he said. He  
> said the company's drinking water wells were being monitored monthly  
> for tritium and none have shown any elevated levels of tritium,  
> Smith said.
>
> Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which was in Vernon  
> two weeks ago conducting an inspection of Entergy's groundwater  
> protection efforts, said it is still waiting for additional  
> information from the company.
>
> Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC, said Entergy would be  
> providing the NRC with additional groundwater data about the  
> migration of the tritium plume through the ground. He said the new  
> data would focus on possible migration of the tritium contamination  
> into the bedrock aquifer.
>
> ?The information should be available in the next three weeks to  
> support more definitive NRC assessment of the site condition,?  
> Sheehan wrote in an e-mail Thursday. He said that the NRC had a  
> meeting scheduled with Entergy Nuclear on Sept. 16 to review the  
> information, and Vermont state officials are expected to attend.
>
> @Body tagline:susan.smallheer@rutland herald.com
>
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.gaiahost.coop/pipermail/sage/attachments/20100903/fe3b3ebb/attachment.html