A Note from Rob Williams at Vermont Yankee
February 2, 2010
Vermont Yankee engineers working to identify the source of tritium in the plant’s groundwater received updated well sample analyses late today showing that the well that was the first to show tritium several weeks ago is now at 32,062 picocuries per liter. A newly drilled well, about 75 feet to the south of the original well, that had been reading 70,500 picocuries per liter now has a concentration of 80,458. These increased levels will be compared to the data to be gathered through the hydrology and monitoring studies already underway to further characterize the tritium concentration in the ground water near the plant. While our multi-disciplined technical team continues to investigate the source of the tritium, it is important to note that there has been no elevated tritium level found in any drinking water well samples or in Connecticut River water.
For more details on the tritium investigation, the Vermont Department of Health has a thorough status report on the investigation at this web link: http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/rad/yankee/tritium.aspx
Also helpful is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission web page on tritium monitoring: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/grndwtr-contam-tritium.html
- Rob Williams
Entergy Vermont Yankee
Rwill23@entergy.com
