Second radioactive material found at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant

[cali]

31 March 2010-- Vermont health officials said they have detected a second type of radioactive material in soil near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. This comes days after Vermont Yankee officials said they had stopped tritium leaks in monitoring wells at the plant that led to the state Senate rejecting a proposal to let the plant keep running beyond 2012.

Levels of cesium-137 (Cs-137) were between three and 12 times higher than would be expected. Cs-137 is not found in nature, but small amounts can be found due to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons and the accident at the Chernobyl reactor in the former Soviet Union in 1986.

Plant officials said the cesium might have come from leaking fuel rods that posed a problem decades ago at many nuclear plants.

http://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/articledisplay/9581514557/articles/powergenworldwide/nuclear/waste-and-decommissioning/2010/03/vermont-yankee-new-radioactive.html

[MadHound]

1. My guess is that it actually comes from a small atmospheric release of radioactive material.

One of those many incidents I keep telling people about, but far too many refuse to give credence despite my years in the nuclear industry.

[Vinca]

2. You might think that if the company running Vermont Yankee

could be trusted and you might actually believe what is told to you. In this instance the biggest problem is not the elderly plant, but the greedy thieves running it. I live 10 miles from the place and I'm not happy.

[cali]

4. Have you seen that ad that Entergy is running

with their CEO blathering about Vermont values and how they want to earn our trust back?

[Vinca]

7. I haven't seen it, but I hear their spokesman on the local radio station

on occasion. Vermont Yankee has hoodwinked this area from day one. I'm so old I remember when the place was getting permits with the promise of "cheap energy." So much for that.

[NotThisTime]

8. I've seen it, I'll believe it when they start telling the damn truth.

[cali]

3. I always pay attention when you speak up on this topic

why would an atmospheric release of cesium end up in a well?

[MadHound]

9. Probably happened years ago and it gradually settled and percolated through the soil to the water

It happens with depressing regularity. Got any cows in the area? It might be time to check their milk as well, at least the grass fed ones. I remember a big flap in Wisconsin in the late seventies, they were finding radioactive cesium in their cows' milk due to the fallout from the bomb tests over the past twenty plus years.

My guess, there was a small fire at the spent fuel rod pool that prompted the cesium release. One of the last reports I viewed where I used to word was about a transformer fire in 2004 at Vermont Yankee. The report just seemed a bit odd and fishy to me then, and now gets me to thinking that this is related.

[ThomWV]

5. Well, the good and the bad of it make this a controllable event

it is good that this has been detected, which is a testament to a good testing regime. but of course the stuff is still there. The good is that cesium has a short half life, something on the order of 30 years, so its not going to get very far in the water table. Its daughter element, a form of Barium, has a half life that is measured in minutes. After a radio active element, any of them, has gone through 10 half lives you can consider it gone for most purposes, it will be nearly undetectable. Also, in general ground water moves at a very slow rate, often an inch or less per year. The combined effect of a short half life and contaminated ground water is then, controllable. Generally speaking you just build a fence.

[madokie]

10. There's no good in there

bad yes, good no. These plants were sold to us as perfectly safe and with so many backups that nothing could possibly happen. I knew and many of us knew that was bullshit back then and we know its bullshit today.

[madokie]

6. To me the problem is

"Plant officials said the cesium might have come from leaking fuel rods that posed a problem decades ago at many nuclear plants." They don't know?

Will we ever learn that these nuclear power plants are killing us just as sure as the coal plants are but in a more hideous way. Cheap, clean and SAFE my ass

[bananas]

11. A good website for Vermont Yankee news

http://www.evacuationplans.org/