Health commissioner: Tritium from Vermont Yankee might have leaked into Connecticut River
By APTuesday, February 9, 2010
Vt. health chief: Tritium may in Connecticut River
MONTPELIER, Vt. — The state’s top health official says it’s reasonable to assume a radioactive substance leaking from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is getting into the Connecticut River.
Health officials previously have said measurable levels of tritium have not shown up in the river. But Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Wendy Davis told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the volume and direction of flow of tritium-tainted groundwater leads to the conclusion that it’s reaching the river.
A Vermont Yankee spokesman says the plant agrees.
She says she’s in regular contact with health officials in New Hampshire and Massachusetts about the situation at Vermont Yankee. Davis says she’s also briefing health commissioners from around New England on the situation in weekly conference calls.
