Tritium monitoring continues near Vermont school

The radiological health chief at the Vermont Health Department said tritium at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has been found at a depth of 25 to 30 feet, while the drinking water well is 12 times as deep.

VERNON, Vermont (Associated Press) September 2, 2010 -- Officials at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon, Vermont are checking a former drinking water well to make sure it hasn't been contaminated with radioactive tritium.

[School Safety Partners note: Vernon Elementary School is located across the street from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.]

The radiological health chief at the Vermont Health Department said the 360-foot-deep well that supplied the plant until the well was closed in February is the closest drinking water supply to where tritium has been found.

But the official said September 1 that the chances of tritium contamination are still slim. He said tritium at the site has been found at a depth of 25 to 30 feet, while the drinking water well is 12 times as deep.

The plant has been digging monitoring and extraction wells since January, when it was announced that tritium, a radioactive substance linked to cancer, had been found on the plant site.

Link: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view.bg?articleid=1278702&srvc=rss

Source: DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report