Our committee continues to receive weekly updates from the radiologic health chief.  We will be scheduling a trip to Vernon in order to see the activities and speak with those on site in 2 weeks.

Dr. Irwin reported that a significant leakage source has been found in a flawed concrete joint in the AOG pipe tunnel.  VY and NRC concur that this is one clear source of groundwater contamination which probably occurred in the last 18-24 months.  While this is one leak, it may not be the only leak.  It could be that about 300,000 gallons of ground water are contaminated and could have been happening at a rate of about 100 gallons per day.

Dr. Irwin’s review of the documents indicated that the AOG system was modified in 1972, creating a very long pipe tunnel that was otherwise inaccessible to inspection.  Later modifications in 1978 were described as “a set of construction practices that are, frankly, totally alien to nuclear facility construction practices.”  He described one piece of form wood originally used to create a form around the impaired concrete duct that had been left there “by neglect.” Over the course of years, when the wood rotted, this created an open space or pathway for this water to leak out (especially when wet) of this otherwise sealed pipe tunnel.

When asked if he thought this could happen again, he state that these exact circumstances might not happen, however the evidence that the workmanship here was “so shoddy it would not likely pass the local town building inspector, let alone the nuclear facility inspector…This defies all basic engineering principles, in my opinion, to have so much important piping where it is physically uninspectable, let alone where you have to literally break thru 24 inch concrete flooring to get to it to affect any repairs.” It is possible that this kind of work may have occurred elsewhere.

In his discussion with the VY engineer, they acknowledged that “when this kind of work was done in 60-70′s for these nuclear power plants, people really thought that it was unlikely that these plants would have to run so long that corrosion problems such as this would occur…It was in an era when it was too cheap to meter and where multiple hundreds of nuclear power plants would exist and this one would simply be shut down after a certain period of time and a new one put up next to it to replace it.”

Dr. Irwin was also asked about the missing awareness of underground pipes, he said to his knowledge the documentation of these pipes has always been there.  He saw dates from the drawings from 60′s and 70′s.  He saw documents that list dates like 2007, so he didn’t know the basis for those opinions. “It seems pretty clear that people have known about all of these.”

When tritium first made itself known, they suspected this AOG pipe tunnel and drain line and had pulled drawings out to review at that time.  There are system engineers that were aware of and very well described all of these systems.  “Why you would think there weren’t any of these is hard to imagine.”

House Fish Wildlife and Water Resources Committee continues to follow the impact on water at the Vermont Yankee plant.  Health Commissioner Wendy Davis stated that the most striking development was the identification of tritium at much much higher levels.  She felt this really underscores their concern with the need to find the leak and take action.  Again, she reported no contaminated drinking water at this time.

Dr. William Irwin, radiological health chief, presented us with a map identifying various wells on the VY site.  The map identifies 4 contaminated GZ well sites with the G-7 site recently measuring at 775,000 picocuries (the limit for drinking water is 20,000).  Of the 7 sites tested for tritium leaks around the country, this is the second highest ever reported, with the highest being 800,000 (71,000  200,000  300,000  and 600,000 being other high levels for comparison purposes).  As this site is very close to the river, to active farms and a school, reports at this level of concentration raises this to a very serious public health issue.  The half-life of tritium is 12+ years.  It is not inconceivable that this could have happened long ago at much higher levels.

The G-7 site is in a courtyard of sorts between the reactor, turbine and the condensation storage tank.  The condensation storage tank is the largest container of radioactive water and is used by multiple systems.  It is the most densely piped and plumbed part of the site and is in the middle of all key structures for generating electrical energy, nuclear power radioactive waste and other processes.  Although there is some progress in narrowing down the geographic site, ruling out the condensation tank as a source means that now they need to look at the many individual pipes one by one.  This becomes even more challenging given that it is an active facility with electrical cables, ventilating systems, and dense piping of which some are radioactive and some not. This will require very deliberate planning in order to avoid a mistake to individuals that do the work as well as safe operation of plant.

Dr. Irwin reported that a radiological sampling team has been formed, made up of members of the Agency of Natural Resources, Agency of Agriculture and Department of Health.   Training and security screening are in process and they should be ready to go next week.  (Note: the screening is a bit beyond the visitors’ screening many of us underwent last year.  Visitor screening looks at what you’ve been up to recently, while this level reviews your life!)

Dr. Davis was asked what her authority was should the plant escalate to levels that put public health at risk. She stated that her authority lies in the allowable limits stated in radiologic health rules.  Depending on where she is in the investigation, depending on what other data are required, she has the authority to ask that the suite of steps be taken in order to take what is “prudent caution.”  She stays in constant contact with the town health officers of the 6 surrounding towns as well as her NH and MA partners.

While all eyes are on the multitude of issues and events arising from the Vermont Yankee plant, the Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources committee will begin to look at the impacts on water: drinking water, ground water, and the surface waters of our rivers and streams.  This week we heard testimony from Health Commissioner Wendy Davis who reported that no sampling external to the plant would cause her to conclude that there was an immediate health risk at this time.  No drinking water either on site or off site has shown any signs of tritium, however not knowing the source of the leak was extremely concerning.

We also heard from Dr. William Irwin, Radiological Health Chief at the Department of Health, who was on site at Vermont Yankee.  He reported that Normandeau Associates has been hired as an independent contractor to take water, sediment and fish samples.  Samples will be split, with one set going to the Department of Health and the other going to Vermont Yankee.  This week, DOH staff has been undergoing safety and security training.  Next week, they will be on site to witness the taking of samples.  This is not routinely done but is being implemented to insure the “chain of custody” throughout the process. The speed of this process will be determined by the pace and proximity of wells being drilled.

There are currently 30-32 existing wells (David – not sure what these wells are, but I think most of them don’t have anything to do with the current drilling) with an additional 15 scheduled for drilling.  A short conversation in the cafeteria with Commissioner Johnson, revealed that the Department of Environmental Conservation will be reviewing drilling plans for new wells to make sure aquifers do not cross-contaminate other aquifers.  The terrain of the land, soils and bedrock would not likely move any flow of groundwater west (toward the elementary school) but east toward the Connecticut River.  Hydrological science would suggest that contamination must be getting to the river but there is no evidence of this yet.  Given the shear volume of water in the river, the Commissioner indicated this may be very difficult to detect.

Our committee has requested detailed mapping information and will be tracking what happens in Vernon as it relates to water.