Vt. nuke plant officials suspect underground sump pit pipe could be source of tritium leak

Vt. nuke plant: Tritium may be leaking from pipe

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Officials at a Vermont nuclear plant say they’re investigating the possibility that a leak in an underground pipe connected to a sump pit may be responsible for a radioactive substance turning up in groundwater samples at the plant.

Vermont Yankee plant officials said Friday they found tritium levels in the sump pit that are three times higher than those recently found in groundwater samples.

Officials say they’ve found 2.7 million picocuries per liter in the sump sample. They also say levels in a groundwater monitoring well have reached 834,000 picocuries — the highest reading yet for groundwater and more than 40 times higher than a federal safe drinking water limit.

The tritium leak was discovered last month. Tritium can cause cancer if it’s ingested in large amounts.