The man brought back to help Vermont Yankee win a license extension has said he was at fault for letting regulators believe that underground pipes at the Vernon nuclear power plant did not carry radioactive material. Vice president for operations Jay Thayer said he told the Public Service Board last May that he believed the underground pipes did not carry radioactive material, but that he would check and get back to the PSB. He admits now that he neglected to follow up and that his statement was not correct.
Two weeks ago, Vermont Yankee discovered a radioactive isotope in one of its monitoring wells. Yankee now reports that the tritium could have come from an underground pipe. State officials say they were led to believe by Yankee representatives that there was no radioactive material in underground pipes. Thayer and site vice president Michael Colomb, who also testified last May, both said that an underground pipe had leaked before current-owner Entergy had bought the plant, but that that system had been shut down and underground pipes were no longer used for radioactive material. Those statements now appear to be inaccurate.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. While it can be naturally occurring, it is also found in association with nuclear power plants. Vermont Yankee inspectors are trying to determine the source of the tritium. They are also opening new monitoring wells. Yankee official Robert Williams stated last Friday that the tritium measured in the well is far below hazardous levels and that the isotope has not been found in other areas, such as drinking water or the adjacent Connecticut River.
The news that Vermont regulators had been misinformed about the piping system received harsh rebuke by Vermont Yankee friends and foes. Department of Public Service commissioner David O'Brien said Governor Douglas, one of Yankee's staunchest allies, said the governor felt the revelation about the pipes was "a breach of trust."
Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, another potential Yankee ally, said: “I have been briefed by the Public Service Commissioner on what we know now about the inaccurate and conflicting information provided by Entergy concerning underground pipes at the Vernon facility. I consequently call for a full and prompt investigation of Entergy management’s conflicting statements. Before considering any further action on Vermont Yankee, we need a factual accounting and resolution of this situation.”
Meanwhile, Vermont's congressional delegation called for a federal investigation in a joint statement. In their letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent last Friday, US Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and US Representative Peter Welch say: "This leak highlights our ongoing concerns about Entergy Vermont Yankee’s commitment to safety and to being forthright with the public and state and federal regulatory and safety agencies." The full text of the letter appears below.
Vermont Speaker of the House Shap Smith said, “The fact that the Department and the Legislature’s Public Oversight Panel have been given inaccurate information is disconcerting and frankly threatens the level of trust that Vermonters can have in Entergy Louisiana.”
The timing could hardly be worse for Yankee. Entergy is seeking approval from the state to relicense the plant another 20 years beyond 2012, when it is scheduled to be decommissioned. The Legislature must first approve the license extension before the Vermont Public Service Board ultimately rules on the case. The Democratic leadership was skeptical of Yankee’s plans even before the two issues came to light last week. Yankee owner Entergy Nuclear also wants to spin off the plant into a new company, which would require separate regulatory approval.
Jay Thayer was a former site vice president before moving on to work for the nuclear power industry. He was well regarded by most people on both sides of the Yankee issue for bringing a greater transparency to the operations of the plant. Entergy brought him back to help negotiate a new contract and win regulatory approval for the license extension. However, the contract proposal was about a year behind schedule. When it was made public in December, it was viewed negatively both by the Democratic leaders in the Legislature, who generally oppose the license renewal in any case, and by Vermont utilities.
Vermont Yankee is a 630-megawatt reactor that supplies about a third of Vermont’s electricity.
CONGRESSIONAL LETTER:
January 15, 2010
The Honorable Gregory B. Jaczko
ChairmanU.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionWashington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Chairman Jaczko:
We are writing in response to the alarming news that Entergy, owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, may have misled state officials regarding the safety of the plant.
Elevated levels of radioactive tritium have recently been found in a groundwater monitoring well on the plant site and we understand from recent news reports that Entergy has confirmed that underground piping is among the possible sources of the contamination. According to various reports in the media, this comes after Entergy Vermont Yankee officials had told state investigators, on a number of occasions, that there was no underground piping carrying water that could contain radioactivity. This leak highlights our ongoing concerns about Entergy Vermont Yankee’s commitment to safety and to being forthright with the public and state and federal regulatory and safety agencies.
We therefore request that you undertake an immediate and thorough investigation to determine if there was an attempt by Entergy Vermont Yankee to mislead state officials regarding the plant’s safety and underground piping. Please also determine whether information provided by Entergy to the NRC has been accurate, complete, and consistent with that provided to the State of Vermont. We hope you can pinpoint exactly what Entergy knew about the extent of their underground piping and this leak, and when they knew it. We would also like to know whether and why state regulatory agencies were not made aware of the extent of underground piping and the risk it posed prior to this incident, and whether communications to the NRC have been complete and timely. Finally, we would like the NRC to continue to work with the plant to determine the cause of the leak and resolve the situation as quickly as possible to avoid any further release of radioactive materials.
Please continue to keep us thoroughly informed as more information becomes available. We are committed to assisting Vermont and the NRC to ensure that the Entergy Vermont Yankee plant meets its safety obligations. We appreciate your timely attention to this issue.
Sincerely,
PATRICK LEAHYUnited States Senator
BERNARD SANDERSUnited States Senator
PETER WELCHUnited States Representative
Vermont Yankee official takes blame for inaccurate statements
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