The tragedy in Japan brings some very real risks of nuclear power into focus.  The ”GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactors” in Japan are the same type as the ones used at Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim in Plymouth, MA.

Our colleagues, nuclear experts David Lochbaum and Edwin Lyman at the Union of Concerned Scientists, are providing helpful and detailed analysis and insights about the unfolding nuclear events in Japan at http://allthingsnuclear.org/

It is worth a look.

CLF submitted its proposal today to the Vermont Public Service Board recommending strong action in response to the ongoing leaks and contamination at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power facility.

“Entergy VY’s actions in response to the leaks have been and continue to be irresponsible and inadequate. ”
- CLF Proposal for Decision

CLF’s filing highlights the lackluster response of Vermont Yankee’s owners to the leaks.  With new contamination revealed only two weeks ago, it is long past time for Vermont regulators to take action.

Read CLF Recommendation

Read Entergy update – 2-11-2011

Just days after Vermont regulators concluded hearings on its investigation of leaks at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power facility, there are reports of more tritium pollution in the groundwater.

The Vermont Health Department reports that contamination was found in a new well.  The location is different from the site of the pollution from the previous leak.  It also reports that contamination has been “trending upward” at this well since late December.

The new findings belie the corporate claims during the hearings that the leaks are repaired and the site is cleaned up.   Could this be a new leak and a new lie from our “trusted” friends at Vermont Yankee?

UPDATE:  Entergy denies knowing about the new problem during the hearings.  It seems they were simply not paying close attention.  Read Entergy’s letter. 

The plant is too old and its owners can’t be trusted.

The Vermont Public Service Board began hearings this week on what to do about the leaks at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power facility in southern Vermont.  CLF is asking the Board to shut down the plant until all the leaks are repaired and the site is cleaned up.

During the hearings Tuesday, Vermont Yankee’s owners admitted underground pipes still remain inaccessible, leak prevention efforts are limited, and the failure to follow their own plans led to ongoing leaks for two years before they were discovered.

Leaks at the plant came to light a year ago.  Tritium and other radioactive materials continue to contaminate the soil, groundwater and the nearby Connecticut River.

The public has lost faith in Vermont Yankee and the ability of its owners, Entergy, to manage the plant responsibly.  Testimony of CLF’s groundwater expert explains Entergy’s lackluster response to leaks.  Full clean up is needed to prevent harm to the environment.

There is no surprise that tritum has reached the drinking water aquifer at Vermont Yankee.  The claimed surprise by both Vermont Yankee officials and state officials cannot be genuine.  

In June, CLF filed testimony stating:  “every indication is that the bedrock is, or soon will be, contaminated by tritium.”  CLF’s expert hydrogeologist reviewed Vermont Yankee’s groundwater data and analysis and concluded that the tritium is deep in the groundwater and has been there for months.  This  “represents clear evidence that radionuclides released from VY … have reached the bedrock surface, and threaten the water supply aquifer beneath it.”  (p. 19-20).

Water flows down and downstream.  Any grade schooler will tell you this.  Sadly, rather than step up to acknowledge and clean up the pollution, we are getting more lies about the leaks.  It is no surprise the aquifer is contaminated.  Vermont Yankee knew this in June.  Why are they lying now?

I was privileged to meet yesterday afternoon with a delegation of Russian leaders and activists to talk about decommissioning nuclear power plants.  They were mostly interested in how groups like CLF work within the system.  What are our strategies, tactics and funding to do the work we do? 

The idea that we are funded by members and bring lawsuits or intervene in proceedings seemed more foreign to them than just our different nationalities.

In a country still facing the effects of Chernobyl, it is inspiring that a group of dedicated persons – mostly volunteers – are working so hard internationally on decommissioning.  I am encouraged by their enthusiasm. 

They seemed encouraged by Vermont’s example of passing a law to allow the state legislature to vote on relicensing.  They were wondering if they could do the same in Russia.  CLF helped write and pass that law in Vermont.   Maybe it will help our planet, and not just Vermont, rely more on cleaner forms of energy in the future, and avoid any more nuclear disasters.

News of an “unusual event” at a nuclear power facility is not comforting.  It is particularly troubling when no details are given, and the source is the same entity that has provided false and incomplete information in the past.

What is clear is that there are continuing problems at the Vermont Yankee nuclear facility.

CLF has called for the plant to be shut down now.  Leaks since January are continuing to pollute our environment and harm our economy.

CLF recently submitted detailed legal analysis showing that Vermont regulators have the authority and the obligation to take action in response to the leaks. 

Let’s STOP the “unusual events.”  Enough is enough.

I was fortunate to join six activists in a meeting Wednesday morning with Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  We  delivered a clear message:

Lack of responsible regulatory oversight is unacceptable.  The public has lost faith in the NRC.

As James Moore with VPIRG stated regarding the repeated mishaps at Vermont Yankee:  “We need a cop on that beat and we don’t have one.”

Ray Shadis with the New England Coalition said:  “What we see is a system rotten one end to the other.  The NRC doesn’t see that.”

Chairman Jaczko claimed he shares our same concerns, stating he wished we could follow him around for a day and know that he hears these same concerns from his staff.     I said I look forward to taking him up on that invitation, as well as seeing more robust oversight and action — not just expressions of concern — in responding to mishaps.

Members of the public and the media attended our meeting.  After the meeting  Chairman Jaczko visited Vermont Yankee but declined to include media or the public during that portion of his visit.

Coverage on the meeting in the Times Argus, The Associated Press, and the Brattleboro Reformer. You can also listen to the radio coverage from WFCR out of Western Massachusetts.

Overwhelming support for SHUTTING DOWN VERMONT YANKEE NOW at the Vermont Public Service Board hearing last night in Brattlboro, Vermont. 

A BIG THANK YOU to all the folks who came to the hearing and told the Board ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  

The message from advocates was clear: Vermont Yankee must be shut down.  The continual failings and breakdowns are harming our environment and communities.  The pollution in the Connecticut River, groundwater and the soil must stop.  Great stories about the event in  Times Argus, the Brattleboro Reformer and the Keene Sentinel. 

The hearing was the Board’s chance to hear what the public thinks.  Many people from across Vermont, Massachusetts, and beyond, made the trip to Brattleboro.

If you couldn’t come to the hearing, you can submit comments on Yankee’s leaks electronically to the Public Service Board via:  psb.clerk@state.vt.us  or use CLF’s action alert.