Here we go again…

Entergy’s Rob Williams just sent out the attached press release announcing that the recently labeled NRC workshop has been changed to an Entergy hosted tritium information night.

Brattleboro, Vt. —  Entergy Vermont Yankee will host a tritium information session for the local community at the Ramada Inn on Putney Road on Monday, April 12 from, 4 p.m., to 7:30 p.m.  Vermont Yankee engineers who conducted the investigation will be available on a one-on-one basis for discussion of all aspects of how the tritium leak at the plant site occurred as well as how it was identified and stopped.

Jim Matteau, Executive Director of the Windham Regional Commission said he was invited and does intend to attend.  Matteau said,  

It’s going to be Entergy telling its side of the story, and I want to hear it.

Some people have told me that they are confused since the NRC already canceled this April 12 meeting, but an NRC spokesperson informed me that this meeting

is something separate that they were already planning. We are still reviewing our public interactions and venue going forward.

Another public figure said,

I love the irony:  Learn more about the leak of radioactive material at WWW.safecleanreliable. com

For me, I guess it is a matter of framing.  At least that is what I call it.  How many ways does one spin the fact that the underground pipes that were not buried actually began leaking at least one year before the leak was discovered.  This information according to Dr. David Ahfeld, an expert in buried pipe and tank corrosion and leakage, who wrote to the state legislature just prior to the February Senate vote that the leak had been ongoing for at least one-year.

When Fairewinds Associates, Inc brought the matter of the allegedly non-existent buried underground pipes to the Legislature’s attention last fall, our report was hotly criticized by Entergy.  I guess it is a matter of framing because Rob Williams wrote,

While on the subject, we take issue with the entire tone of the consultant’s report which leaves the impression that plant reliability is lacking at VY. Issues cited as “significant” are really routine maintenance/repair issues that are routinely handled in the normal course of business in running a steam generating plant. One fact that didn’t appear at all in the reliability report was that Vermont Yankee’s three-year rolling average of plant reliability is now in the top nine percent among all nuclear plants in the world.

According to the press release,

state and federal agencies that oversaw the tritium investigation have been invited to participate. Refreshments and handouts will be available.

 Wow, it almost sounds like a party, except that I imagine the latest tritium science data will be missing, surely they could send some of the allegedly not unhealthful tritiated water home with guests.  “Dilution is the solution to pollution,” they say.

Entergy Vermont Yankee

News Release

April 6, 2010

Contact: Larry Smith

Entergy Vermont Yankee

802-258-4118

Lsmit14@entergy.com

Entergy Vermont Yankee to Host Community Information Session on Tritium on April 12.

Brattleboro, Vt. —  Entergy Vermont Yankee will host a tritium information session for the local community at the Ramada Inn on Putney Road on Monday, April 12 from, 4 p.m., to 7:30 p.m.  Vermont Yankee engineers who conducted the investigation will be available on a one-on-one basis for discussion of all aspects of how the tritium leak at the plant site occurred as well as how it was identified and stopped.

Other technical experts that will be available to answer questions will include hydrologists who studied the flow of groundwater and directed the drilling of monitoring wells to aid in the investigation.  Chemists that were involved in the investigation will be available to describe the process of the tritium sampling and how it contributed to the identification of the leak and how sampling is being used to support groundwater and soil remediation.

The engineers will also present the various charts and maps used over the course of the investigation including groundwater monitoring locations and 3D views of the underground structures where the leak occurred.

State and federal agencies that oversaw the tritium investigation have been invited to participate. Refreshments and handouts will be available.

More information on the tritium investigation and remediation is on line at: http://www.safecleanreliable.c…

See also: http://healthvermont.gov/envir…

For more information, contact Larry Smith at Vermont Yankee at 802-258-4118.

END