It happened again folks. Bob Audette of the Brattleboro Reformer reports another leak was discovered at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant yesterday. This time it’s in the condenser. Audette writes the following
“The miles and miles of pipes that are used to cool reactor steam produced by Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant sprang another leak Monday.
According to a press release from Yankee, the plant will be reducing power in “the next several weeks” to attempt to repair the condenser, stated Rob Williams, spokesman for Yankee, in a press release detailing the leak.
The condenser acts as a radiator, using water from the Connecticut River to cool steam from the reactor, turning it back into water before sending it back to the reactor.
The condenser is overpressurized to prevent reactor water from getting into the river.
The leak is allowing river water to enter the system and was discovered after plant technicians identified a slight increase in the chloride concentration in the reactor water.”
VY spokesman, Rob Williams.
“This condition has occurred at Vermont Yankee several times over the life of the plant including the last operating cycle,” stated Williams. “Planning is under way to temporarily reduce power to allow technicians to identify the precise location of the leak and to repair it.”
In April 2008, a similar leak forced the plant to power down to 45 percent of its 650-megawatt capacity. The leak was estimated to be about one quart a minute.
According to the recent audit of the power plant, “the condenser is near the end of its useful life and might not be able to operate reliably through 2012 without some remedial actions.”
Folks, this power plant is not reliable. If the state chooses to keep it, expect more problems like this in the future. Vermont Yankee is going to continue operating until it falls apart. That’s not a good business plan for Vermont’s energy needs.
To read the rest of the article click here.
i don’t think that this proves that “this plant is not reliable”. i think it proves that powerplants are run like a business, and a business that is under threat of closure isn’t going to be spending tons of money to make the systems state of the art.
also, “powerplant leak” seems to be a misnomer. it looks like the river was the one doing the leaking in this case.
Hmmm, maybe it is time to change name of VT Yankee to something along the lines of either VT Leakage or VT Nukage?
(re: nukage: i.e., as in radioactive waste; the former term loosely is used to define the latter and the latter term in this particular instance is intended in other ways than merely its obvious or typical usages: e.g., VT Yankee equals VT Radioactive Waste or, rather, that VT Radioactive Waste is a more proper name for VT Yankee, hence VT Nukage)
Either way, its your tax as well as energy dollars at work!
So when Entergy reduces the power flow at Yankee, who gets that power? Yankee sells Vermont only about a third of the power it produces at a price that was fixed by contract (reputedly $.04/kwh). The other two-thirds of the full-power output is sold on the market for the market rate (usually more than double the Vermont contract rate).
So does Vermont get first dibs on whatever power is produced? If not, are Vermont utilities making up for the shortfall with market-rate power purchases? And does that mean Vermont utilities are buying back Entergy-produced power at market rates?
NanuqFC
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
If they shutdown Vermont Yankee, Entergy is going to take a horrible hit on their reputation. It is going to hurt Entergy much worst Vermont.
a bad routine and that is no joke .It is a routine repeated so often that we all know the pattern and can almost recite Entergy and the NRC’s press releases from memory.This pattern of leaks and malfunctions should be broken,as each one is a warning signal sounded by an aging and dangerous nuclear power plant.Drip,drip,drip…
Without jumping all over me and making assumptions about where I stand on this issue, IF VT Yankee was shut down, where would we get our power and how much more would it cost? Also, what is the consensus here about the breeder reactors that can recycle the waste from the old style reactors?
Emphasis added:
Could be true … but pardon my skepticism when pushing the fenceline out (closer to the elementary school?) likely means lower radiation “dose assessments” — not because the plant is emitting less, but simply as a function of distance from the source.
NanuqFC
In a Time of Universal Deceit, TELLING the TRUTH Is a Revolutionary Act. – George Orwell