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Henry
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« : January 21, 2010, 09:06:32 AM » |
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Below is the actual Press Release To The Media Yesterday From Entergy - Considerably different than was reported on last nights news.
01/20/2010 – Vermont Yankee Update
January 20, 2010
Yesterday, I noted that the team investigating tritium in ground water received sampling results that showed an elevated level of 9,540 picocuries per liter in a second tritium monitoring well and that a confirmatory sample had been drawn from that well and was being analyzed. Since then, multiple confirmatory samples have been taken that indicate the second well does not contain tritium above minimum detectable amounts. Further investigation has revealed that the measuring equipment, called a scintillation detector, used for the counts produced a false positive for samples drawn from this well. Specifically, the scintillating fluid in the detector used in the measuring process was found to contain impurities that led to positive counts that did not exist. The fluid has been replaced and additional quality checks have been established to ensure additional confirmatory checks are done on future samples.
With the additional samples counted from the second well, yesterday and this morning, all are negative showing that the second well is essentially free of tritium. Yesterday’s sample results from the original well were lesser affected due to the same issue. Yesterday’s results were reported at 22,300 picocuries per liter; confirmatory results indicate a value of 19,500 pCi/l. No other sample results previously reported were affected.
Also of interest in the investigation, engineers and technicians are focusing on various buried pipes, plant pipe trenches and vaults made of concrete associated with the Radioactive Waste Processing building, the Condensate Storage Tank and the Advanced Off-Gas System and structures. The investigation of the concrete radwaste pipe trench, located approximately eight to ten feet below grade, found standing water and a relatively high tritium level in the range of 721,000 to 2.1 million picocuries per liter. The water and the tritium content found in the 40-foot long concrete pipe trench is an important finding in the investigation of the source of the tritium found in the monitoring well. Engineers and technicians have not identified signs of pipe leakage at this point but will be performing further investigation of the piping there which is used intermittently. Also, there are additional monitoring wells that will be drilled in the vicinity and in other areas around the plant which should give further useful information to the investigators. We have, on this investigation, expertise from our own staff and other Entergy plants and contracted vendors including hydrologists. It is a necessarily slow and methodical process and we’re keeping the state and regulators informed.
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