Letter: NorthStar's plans set dangerous precedent
December 28, 2017 Letter to the editor in the Brattleboro, Vermont Reformer:
Editor of the Reformer:
Regarding the article, Vermont Yankee cleanup: Big month on tap in Vermont Yankee case, that appeared in the Reformer on Dec. 27:
I quote: "There's also an ongoing debate about whether Entergy and NorthStar have done enough to locate and measure nonradiological contamination at Vermont Yankee. An Agency of Natural Resources engineer testified this month that the companies' efforts have been "inadequate" on that front..."
It is very typical of Energy/NRC's twisted logic that they would claim that "more testing actually might be dangerous." That is tantamount to their saying, 'we know there IS highly radioactive waste that leaked out of containment, and it is VERY, VERY DANGEROUS and we would rather not admit it is there and have to deal with it.' Actually, their claim that testing might be dangerous is really very funny: it is the contorted way Energy avoids admitting that their radioactive waste is dangerous. Anyone following the Reformer's reporting over the past several years knows that the soil and groundwater at the reactor site are contaminated, thanks to the leaking underground pipe debacle. The area around the pipe leak was tested and found positive for not just tritium, but also cobalt 60, Zinc 65, Strontium 90 and other long-lived and highly dangerous isotopes. We know that groundwater and at least one deep well into the Vernon aquifer are contaminated, thanks to the State's monitoring and the single publicized test of the COB office building drinking water well that found high levels of Tritium. That well was closed for drinking and true to form, Entergy refused to let the state of VT do further testing, using the same excuse: it might be dangerous. Oh yes. Radioactive waste in groundwater, the aquifer, the CT River, and the soil is quite dangerous to all biota that come in contact with it. It is not the testing that is dangerous, it is the waste. Who can believe the forked tongue of Entergy and the NRC? VT must demand cleanup to the highest possible standard. That cannot be done without thorough exploration, testing, measurement and analysis with independent confirmation. No more excuses.
Sally Shaw
Middletown Springs, Dec. 27