Vermont Power Plant Continues to Leak Radiation

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Technicians seeking the source of a leak of radioactive tritium at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have found concentrations in groundwater there that were three times higher than what was discovered last week, a plant spokesman said Monday.

Tritium was measured at 70,500 picocuries per liter, which the spokesman, Rob Williams, characterized as a low level. The highest level discovered so far “does not present a risk to public health or safety whatsoever,” he said in a statement.

But it does put Vermont Yankee over the threshold at which it is obligated to make a report to federal regulators within 30 days, and say what it will do about the problem. The limit, 30,000 picocuries, was crossed on Sunday.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already been at the site to study the problem, and Vermont Yankee is well into an attempt to find the leak and map the pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency standard for the allowable level of tritium in drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter, lower than the N.R.C. reporting threshold. But so far no contamination has been found in drinking water sources, plant officials and the Vermont health department said.

The new, higher level of 70,500 picocuries per liter of radioactive tritium was measured in a monitoring well, one of six that the owner, Entergy, is drilling to try to find the problem.

At a new well, the tritium concentration was 1,840 picocuries.

Vermont Yankee is seeking a 20-year extension of its operating license, which expires in 2012, from the regulatory commission. Renewal is also subject to state approval.

Last week, Gov. Jim Douglas said that recent events had cast “dark clouds of doubt” over the plant, and recommended that the Legislature delay a decision.