Today’s Reformer has a piece: Hole found in VY pipe could be source of leak.

A hole discovered in a pipe in Vermont Yankee’s off gas building could be partly to blame for the leakage of tritiated water into the ground beneath the nuclear power plant in Vernon, said Bill Irwin, Vermont’s chief of radiological health.

Now, as you may recall, this particular set of pipes, according to Yankee officials during their actual testimony to the public service board did not exist.

But… really… who are we to judge?  Who hasn’t, on occasion, lied to state regulators and accidentally released large amount of radiation into the surrounding environment?

And really– it’s not the pipes that are the problem.  It’s the hole.  What’s a hole?  It’s a part of something that does not exist.  And they did warn us, at least about the part of the pipes that don’t exist, by telling us it didn’t exist.

Honestly, we’ve just got ourselves to blame here.

I’m going to start by just saying, some days, I can be kind of awesome:

So… consider this an open “how awesome are you?” thread.  Talk about something cool, great or just plain funny you’ve done recently.  

A disclaimer: I’ve worked, rather closely, with the organizations that are affected by what I’m writing about, and I can not be fully objective about this.  The people I’m talking about are colleagues and friends.

There was a fairly important legislative session yesterday that included the passage of a bill dubbed “challenges for change” which is likely to have significant impact on our economy, and especially our most vulnerable citizens.

One very specific significant impact will affect child care, its overall quality and the access child care providers have to state resources.  As the report on which this legislation was built states:

State human service professionals struggle to create unified and integrated support to consumers and communities.  The existing operating environment is rigid and often hinders coordinated policy and practice, as well as inadvertently promotes redundancy and inefficiencies, while failing to address a person or family’s multiple, interrelated needs.  Federal funding is a primary – although not the only – contributor to this deficiency as it supports an array of public sector human services that operate in programmatic, fiscal and reporting silos.

This is not incorrect.  A single family can have multiple needs which intersect several different departments.  Child care, health care, unemployment… all these are handled separately and can easily ask for the same information multiple times through many interviews.

But here’s the thing– now that the legislature has approved this bill, it’s not looking as likely to manifest itself as providing stronger services.  It’s looking more likely to centralize the services in Waterbury, eliminating person-to-person contact.  There are good and bad things about this, but doing so will provide for collateral damage.  

Currently, the Child Development Division has partner organizations throughout the state that provide support for both families and child care providers.  Many of these organizations have existed for well over a decade.  

Centralizing human services in Waterbury will eliminate a chunk of the staff for many of these organizations and eliminate the option for local walk-in support for people seeking child care.  Furthermore, the other services that these organizations provide, such as training and support for child care providers will still need to continue.

But there’s a big difference between an agency that has 10-20 people working for it that provides a multitude of services, and one that’s had most of its staff reduced and has its services cut down to just a few specialized tasks.  Fund raising for these partner organizations could easily fall by the wayside and the organizations could end up disintegrating entirely, leaving a huge gap in their local communities.  

I’m all for better efficiency and I’m all for stronger sense of integrated service, but I’m not convinced that this is the way to do it, and I’m thinking the likely outcome isn’t better service due to removing barriers and complications.  I’m thinking the likely outcome is just less service due to the remoteness of the agencies and the lack of direct human contact.

I get that this is important, but I think the legislature moved fast enough on this to make my head spin and I think one of the reasons they did it now was because there was so much else going on that it could slide under the radar.

It’s up to us to see to it that that doesn’t happen.

For those of you unfamiliar with the short-lived Joss Whedon series “Firefly,” there is an episode in which the main character gets snagged in the middle of a burglary.  After some complicated maneuvering and attempts to present it as something other than it is, his partner in crime turns on him, and pulls a gun on both him and the victim of the burglary, at which point he owns up and tells the guy, actually we were trying to steal your priceless artifact.  At this point the victim responds.  “Well, I appreciate your honesty.  You know… not… a lot.”  

I think that’s a fairly good summary of my reaction to a story that popped up in papers throughout Vermont today.  Specifically that the NRC is now confirming that there was a 2005 tritium leak at Vermont Yankee.

So yes, NRC, I appreciate your honesty.  Just… not… a lot.

Quick update: most of the pieces on this are simple bullet point AP stories, but the Rutland Herald actually did some journalism with this.  I strongly recommend reading the entire piece.

It is a Spring ritual of mine to pay attention to the rivers as soon as they start to open up.  A lot of birds that have been gone for awhile tend to come back, and some that stick around, but hidden in small corners, tend to show up more openly.  In the past two days, I have seen five red-tailed hawks and three bald eagles in spots on or near the Connecticut River (in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire, on the border between the two states).

After the fold, you’ll see some photos of birds (most from this year; a few from last).  You’ll also hear a little bit about where I’ve been and why I haven’t been posting so much lately.

I’m going to start with an apology.  I’ve grown out of the habit of blogging as much as I used to; not as much photography either.  The reason is good, and valid, but I still feel like I’ve lost something.  Well, in the very specific sense I have.  Precisely, I’ve lost a bit of weight and finally started moving in the direction I need to for proper control of the diabetes.  Being a complete and total geek I, of course, have to create a tool to track things, so I built a simple php graphing tool that tracks my steps per day, looking at averages over the previous 1-week, 2-week, 4-week & 8-week periods.

Since I started tracking all this walking (mostly at home, on the treadmill, but a bit of it outdoors as well) 133 days ago, I’ve walked over 3 million steps and over 1,125 miles.  Considering that prior to doing this, I almost never walked more than 15,000 steps in a single day, and since I’ve started tracking, I’ve only gotten below 15,000 8% of the time, I think this is good progress.  

But it, combined with one full time job and a part-time job as well, makes it more difficult to blog and, more importantly, takes time away from birding (not to mention my other passion, which is music, and what apparently is the CD project that will not die, as I keep working on it and it keeps not being done).  

So I’m doing my best, blogging when I can, posting from time to time, but sometimes just feeling completely out of touch with what’s going on.  I stopped in the other day on Kos and noticed that my TU status was gone.  That’s only happened once before, so it was a bit of a surprise, but it makes sense that it would happen.

But tonight, I’m posting about birds.  And I’m really happy to be doing so.  

Below are some of the birds you can expect to find in New England as the waters open wide.  I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.  

A quick note: these are all smaller versions of the photos.  Full sized versions are available as click-through links on the photos shown here.

One more thing: it looks as though I may be doing an exhibit this summer at the the Parker River visitor’s center in Newburyport, MA.  I will post more if/when I have confirmation.

American Bald Eagles

Common Goldeneyes

Common Loon

Common Mergansers

Great Cormorant in flight

Oh, and this Northern Harrier can be seen all winter, but I’m including it just for the value of its awesomeness:

We’ll begin with the Herald, which has a fairly interesting story about one whistleblower contacting another.  It includes this bit:

The whistleblower told Gundersen that about two years ago the company experienced another tritium leak in the same general location that involved a drain pit in the advanced off-gas system, the same place Entergy Nuclear is now excavating in hopes of finding the problem.

“‘[the] Employee said that in addition to the current tritium leak, there have been other leaks in the advanced off-gas systems in previous years,'” Gundersen wrote to the state Department of Public Service.

[…]

…the employee told him the old leak could not be isolated and a shutdown would have been required to repair the leak, something the company didn’t do.

Instead, the company applied a leak sealant to plug the hole until the complete repair could be done during a refueling outage.

Read the whole piece.  It’s worth reading.

Let’s move on to The Reformer…

An excavation being conducted at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon to help determine the source of a leak of tritiated water was halted Wednesday because “the original plan … is not working, and a new approach is set to begin as soon as materials and safety preparations are in order,” stated the Vermont Department of Health in its daily update on the leak investigation.

A new plan to dig up piping related to the power plant’s advanced off-gas system may be put into action today, stated the DOH.

Shall I summarize?

We have one report that indicates that this has happened before (we, apparently just didn’t know about it) and another report that indicates that it’s not until now that we’re finding out that, yet again, their approach is not working.

I will say again: a lot of what I say about VY is political and I have no problem admitting that.  But in this particular case, it goes so far beyond politics and simply into the realm of human decency.  Shut the plant down until the source of the leak is found.  And then, when the license is up, just shut it down for good.

Take for example, the resume of Richard Heaps which references a research project he did:

The Economic Impact of the VY Station on Windham County and Vermont, February 15, 2008. Prepared for Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee for presentation to the Vermont Public Service Board.

Take, for example, a piece in today’s Brattleboro Reformer:

If Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon closes in 2012, nearly 1,300 jobs will be lost as will the $93 million in payroll income received by those workers.

That was the conclusion of Richard Heaps, of Northern Economic Consulting, Inc. in Westford, in a study commissioned by the International Brotherhood of Electronic Workers Local 300, which represents about 180 employees at Yankee.

So the IBEW did not hire an independent consultant to research this.  They hired someone who already had a prior working history with Vermont Yankee, someone who had recently worked directly for Vermont Yankee.  

To read the Reformer piece, you’d think that Heap’s company, Northern Economic Consulting, was doing a completely independent analysis.  

If, of course, you weren’t paying attention.

I’ve been thinking about immediacy and the nature of the term “no immediate threat,” since I’ve seen it pop about the news quite a bit lately.  Here is some sampling of the hits you get from google when you search for +”Vermont Yankee” +”Immediate Threat”:

#

SentinelSource.com |Douglas: Tritium is no threat

Feb 12, 2010 … Vermont Yankee will remain open during search for leak’s source … “Even finding it in drinking water would not be an immediate threat.” …

keenesentinel.com/articles/2010/02/12/news/local/…/id_390109.txt

[…]

Possible tritium leak at Vermont Yankee – NashuaTelegraph.com

Feb 6, 2010 … Vermont Yankee plant officials said they found levels of tritium in a sump pit at the … “There is no immediate threat to public health.” …

www.nashuatelegraph.com/…/possible-tritium-leak-at-vermont-yankee.html –

[…]

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Tritium leak tied to pipe – Berkshire …

Vermont Yankee plant officials said they found levels of tritium in a sump pit at … said on its Web site, “There is no immediate threat to public health. …

www.berkshireeagle.com/northeastnews/ci_14345760

[…]

SentinelSource.com |Vermont Yankee

Feb 13, 2010 … of a radioactive substance from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. … wells and poses no immediate threat to public health or safety. …

www.sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/02/13/…/id_390245.txt – 8 hours ago –

[…]

Lawmakers frustrated with feds over Vermont Yankee …

Feb 13, 2010 … Lawmakers frustrated with feds over Vermont Yankee … drinking-water wells and poses no immediate threat to public health or safety. […]

www.burlingtonfreepress.com/…/Lawmakers-frustrated-with-feds-over-Vermont-Yankee – 11 hours ago –

[…]

012910vy_tritium

Jan 29, 2010 … There is no immediate threat to public health, but this event is of high concern … Vermont Yankee, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, …

healthvermont.gov/advisory/2010/012910vy_tritium.aspx

[…]

Why do you think the phrase “immediate” is consistently preceding the word “threat” in the contexts above?  

“Immediate” is a fairly specific term.  It means instantaneous.  Evacuations take place immediately.   High and low tides, which work over a matter of hours are not immediate.  Immediate refers to floodgates opening.

To put it simply: the fact of VY’s tritium leak not being an “immediate” threat is less of a concern to me than that those defending VY seem to consistently want to emphasize the word “immediate.”  

The question we need to be asking is not whether or not this is an “immediate” threat, but whether we’re willing to wait until it becomes one to stop it.  

This is simple: if someone runs a nuclear power plant (or for that matter, any power plant) and discovers that the plant is leaking dangerous waste and weeks later can’t even figure out where that waste is coming from, that plant needs to be shut down until the source of the leak is contained.  Not tomorrow.  Not three days from now.

Now.

This isn’t something to be negotiated, politicized or teased out.  It’s just human decency at the most basic level.  

In today’s Rutland Herald there’s a piece called Bridge agreement concerns Vt. firms.  What’s the concern?

A labor agreement pending in New York would virtually exclude Vermont contractors from landing work on one of the biggest infrastructure projects in recent memory, according to a trade organization that represents more than 150 firms in the Vermont construction industry.

Adopting such an agreement for the $75 million Lake Champlain bridge replacement project, according to Cathy Voyer, executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of Vermont, would force contractors to play by union rules, and effectively preclude this state’s non-union shops from bidding on the work.

The piece goes on to note that:

Unionized companies represent about 5 percent of Vermont’s construction industry, Voyer said. “If you’re not a union contractor, then you have to agree to change your employment practices to either become a union contractor or allow the union to take control of your employees,” Voyer said. “It basically requires contractors to grant union officials monopoly bargaining power over all their employees.”

What’s at issue here?  Project Labor Agreements.

What does a PLA do?  It defines acceptable wages and benefits for a given job.  It’s a way of ensuring that when we put civic money into a big project that it provides real and meaningful benefit to the people who work on that project.  

See, if you read this piece, it looks as though the plan being discussed will exclude non-union shops from participating.

Here’s the thing, though: it doesn’t.  It merely requires them to hold their employment standards to a certain level.  This makes for a better bid process, because it prevents the contractors with good and solid labor practices from losing out to other companies which will just go for really low bids and pay their employees lower wages and benefits.

The most interesting thing, however, is the tacit admission here that union benefits and wages are better than non-union ones.  Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any fuss at all over this.

This is clearly a fairly busy week to be a PR person for Vermont Yankee.  A whole lot’s going on, starting with testimony from Arnie and Maggie Gundersen, representing Fairewinds Associates:

The Free Press summarizes the testimony thusly:

Vermont Yankee could stop adding to the tritium leaking into the groundwater around the Vernon plant if it were to shut the plant down while searching for the leak, Arnie Gundersen, a former nuclear engineer, told legislators Wednesday.

This is also covered in the Rutland Herald.  

While this is going on, we also now have pressure from New Hampshire and Massachusetts:

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch wrote the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking that the federal agency “thoroughly investigate the safety and management of the plant” before extending its license, which expires in 2012.

And Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick asked the NRC to increase testing for potential radioactive leaks at both Vermont Yankee and its sister plant, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Mass. Both plants are owned by Entergy Nuclear.

In the meantime, IBEW Local 300, is pushing for continued operation of the plant:

Those jobs equal about $93.3 million in annual wages for Vermonters and residents of other nearby states who work at the facility, according to George Clain, president of IBEW Local 300.

“I’ve yet to see a discussion started about the economic impact of Vermont Yankee,” Clain said during an afternoon press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier. “That needs to be brought to the forefront.”

That’s something I find kind of odd.  I just did a google search for the phrase “Vermont Yankee” “economic impact.”  

I got over 4,000 results.

But, hey, what the hell.  It’s not like I know anything about using Google to look things up or anything.