Legal news for Vermont personal injury attorneys–A nuclear power plant leaked amounts of radioactive tritium above EPA standards.
Vernon, VT (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) www.nrc.gov continues to investigate a plant that has been leaking tritium, which potentially could pose a health risk to the public if the source of the problem is not found, announced the New York Times, February 1, 2010.
A plant spokesperson reported that the technicians searching for the leak at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant stated that they found concentrations of the radiation three times higher than last week. The spokesman for the power plant also stated that the levels were not elevated enough to be a risk to public health yet.
The high levels of radiation and a solution to the problem needed to be reported to government regulators by the plant. Radioactive tritium was measured at 70,500 picocuries per liter, and it reached 30,000 picocuries Sunday. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) www.epa.gov states that the standard level for permitted amount of tritium is in 20,000 picocuries per liter of drinking water.
The Vermont health department reported that there has been no drinking water shown to be contaminated as of yet. They have begun to drill to locate the source of the leak and to determine the amount of tritium in the soil. At a new well, the tritium concentration was at 1,840 picocuries. According to Wikipedia, the health risks associated with high levels of tritium radiation are only dangerous if it is ingested in food or water, or absorbed through the skin.
Bridget Hom
www.NewYorkInjuryNews.com