NRC UPDATES PUBLIC ON VERMONT YANKEE 

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION 

 BRATTLEBORO, VT – Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say that while the 

groundwater contamination at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon, Vt., has had 

no impact on public health and safety, the agency is working aggressively to address the issue. 

 “The NRC has significantly increased its inspection oversight at the site to ensure the 

plant owner, Entergy, identifies the source of contamination, stops the leak into the groundwater 

and takes aggressive steps to prevent recurrence,” said NRC Deputy Executive Director Bruce 

Mallett. “I want to assure the public that radioactive material in soil and groundwater wells at 

the Vermont Yankee site is unacceptable and we are taking action to see that the licensee 

promptly corrects this situation.” 

 “This is an important issue to residents around the plant and surrounding communities. It 

is important to the NRC as well,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins, in 

remarks prepared for an evening meeting at Brattleboro Union High School. “We have 

monitored the plant owner’s efforts to find and fix the problem,” he said, adding that the agency 

planned the Monday meeting to discuss its actions with members of the community surrounding 

Vermont Yankee. 

Agency officials scheduled an open house Monday afternoon to meet informally with 

members of the public and elected officials to discuss the groundwater contamination issue at 

Vermont Yankee. A more formal meeting with the public and elected officials was set for 

Monday evening in the school auditorium. 

 On Jan. 7, Entergy notified the NRC it had identified tritium in a groundwater monitoring 

well at Vermont Yankee. Entergy established an evaluation team to attempt to locate the source 

of the tritium and developed enhanced sampling plans. To date, only shallow groundwater 

monitoring wells have shown detectable levels of tritium. No detectable tritium levels were 

found in any drinking water well samples at the Vermont Yankee site or in the Connecticut 

River. 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region I 

475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 

E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov 

Site: http://www.nrc.gov

No. I-10-022 

Contact: Diane Screnci, 610/337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610/337-5331

 April 19, 2010

Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov
 Subsequently, in March, Entergy determined that the groundwater contamination was the 

result of leakage from an underground concrete pipe vault and a connected drain line associated 

with the Advanced Off-Gas (AOG) system, which enclosed some leaking piping containing 

radioactive materials. While Entergy has examined and evaluated other potential sources, the 

evidence to date indicates that the AOG pipe vault area is the source of the groundwater 

contamination. Entergy has stopped the leakage from this location and started repairing the 

degraded piping. Workers have also begun to remove contaminated soil in the immediate area of 

the leak, and to extract contaminated groundwater from the affected area. Entergy plans to 

process and recycle the extracted groundwater for use in the reactor facility. 

 The NRC continues to closely monitor and assess Entergy’s investigation, conclusions, 

and remedial actions to resolve this condition. The NRC will continue to verify that the plant 

meets the rigid standards set by federal authorities. 

 “We have been focusing our resources on following up on this issue since January. Both 

NRC Resident Inspectors and radiation specialists have been at the site monitoring and 

evaluating Entergy’s efforts to resolve this issue and take appropriate corrective measures,” said 

Collins. “NRC inspectors will also evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of Entergy’s 

long-term monitoring program for detecting, assessing and monitoring the contaminated 

groundwater.” 

 “We recognize that any discharge of radioactivity from a plant, regardless of the source 

and regardless of the level, can raise concerns. That’s why we wanted to talk with area residents 

to explain face-to-face what we are doing,” Collins added. 

 On a broader scale, the NRC has created a groundwater contamination task force to 

examine the work the NRC has done to date on this issue and determine if there are additional 

steps that can be taken. Mallett said, “The agency will host a public workshop tomorrow (April 

20) at the agency headquarters in Rockville, Md., to hear from a variety of government, industry, 

academic and public experts about whether NRC policies on groundwater contamination at 

nuclear plants need modification.” 

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