Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, came to Brattleboro on Wednesday to talk with environmentalists and plant workers who are concerned about the condition of Vermont Yankee, a 38-year-old nuclear power plant on the banks of the Connecticut River. In the last six months, Entergy Corp. of Louisiana, the plant’s owner, has reported that four tritium leaks, and other radioactive isotopes, including Strontium-90, have contaminated soil at the plant.
Jaczko met with seven environmental groups Wednesday morning for 90 minutes, held a 20-minute press conference (which was available via conference call) and toured the plant with Vermont Yankee employees.
What follows are his opening remarks and statements to the press:
We had a good meeting this morning — a frank and open dialogue with members of the community here.
There are three reasons for me to be here today: It’s an opportunity to talk with folks here in Brattleboro and people who are here from around the state, to hear some of their concerns about the plant. It’s also an opportunity for me to visit and see firsthand the facility — I’ve not been to Vermont Yankee before. And finally, I have an opportunity to talk with members of the staff of Vermont Yankee, which is a practice I normally take when I visit.
Shut down is unnecessary
We look at any nuclear power plant in our process of oversight, and we’re always looking to ensure that they’re operating in a way that satisfies our requirements. Any plant, if they don’t satisfy our requirements, and those would require them to shut down, we would take that action. But as
of right now, we don’t see incidents at Vermont Yankee that would rise to the level right now that would require an immediate shut down.
Groundwater contamination at other plants
We have as part of a more aggressive program to monitor these tritium releases, we are starting to see more plants now including some … tritium on site. The agency is looking to see whether that’s a more generic trend or whether that’s just more of a statistical anomaly. That’s something we’re analyzing right now. I suspect as we continue to pursue the taskforce we created specifically to deal with these issues of groundwater contamination, perhaps we’ll have some additional approaches in dealing with them.
Will the NRC pre-empt the Legislature’s decision to deny approval for relicensure of the plant?
As I said earlier, the agency has been communicating with the state, and right now it’s nothing that would intrude on the agency’s purview (public health and safety). I don’t want to comment on what the decision of the Vermont Legislature would be.
Public doubts about the plant
I can’t speak to other people’s lack of confidence in Vermont Yankee. What I can speak to are what my responsibilities are. We focus on making sure the plant operates safely and that they take the actions we feel are appropriate.
The focus of my visit today is really to visit the plant and talk to members of the community.
Has NRC proven that it is doing all it can to protect public safety?
I’m proud of the people at the agency who work for the NRC. We have many very dedicated and talented people who work every day to make sure Vermont Yankee and all the other facilities that we regulate are operated safely.
As I look at the performance of the agency here, I think this was an issue we talked about a lot at the meeting this morning. We talked about the differences in perception, the trust gap that exists. That is certainly something I would like to improve, and hopefully the meeting we had this morning is a small step in moving us in that direction.
I certainly feel no pressure in any way shape or form to do anything that would be a violation of public trust; if there are any concerns I have on a daily basis, those are about safe operation of the plants we have and making sure the agency does it well and effectively.
Our focus is the same as it is every day, which is making sure the plant operates safely and making sure that our inspections are done well and effectively and that we continue to oversee the plant and make sure that it operates safely.
Obviously, as situations change, we’ll be responsive to any changes, and there will be changes in focus if we see any indication that all of these external decisions are having an impact on the overall safety of the plant.
License renewal
We as an agency a couple of years ago specifically split off the organization into two pieces — one that would deal with reactor licensing activity and one that would focus on operating the plant safety –precisely because we wanted to make sure there was no impact of one on the other. Those individuals who spend their day ensuring safe operation of plants around the country would be able to do that without the distractions of the new licensing.
I can’t really comment on what will happen with the NRC licensing process.
We’re in our formal hearing process right now, and I serve as a ultimate judge in that capacity, and I can’t comment on that.
But in terms of our relationship with the state, our staffs do work closely. The state and the NRC both have a good understanding of our respective roles. Our focus is on radiological health and safety. And around the country, states have authority in other areas. There are other federal agencies that may be involved in any kind of decision.
I don’t want to hypothesize too much about what happens with the license renewal proceedings. We do, as part of our license renewal program, conduct inspections, but before a plant were to enter a period of license retention, as well as after that, we would specifically look at those programs they have in place as part of the license renewal as well as some of their issue management programs. And then again, the way that our licensing program works, we’re reviewing our plant operations on an hour by hour basis to ensure that they are continuing to meet our safety requirements.
No press allowed on the tour
There are logistical problems with having a large group of people going with me on a plant tour.
(Afterward), I’ll be meeting with members of the Vermont Yankee staff. Fundamentally, my message will be the same in all of those (venues with stakeholders, the press and employees). I will be hearing about the actions that Vermont Yankee has taken to make sure the plant operates safely and (communicating) with employees about the role that they play in the safe operation.
