



(Media-Newswire.com) - Vermont Yankee notified the Health Department late afternoon on Dec. 3 about high concentrations of tritium detected in samples taken Nov. 29 from two of its nine newest groundwater monitoring wells.





Both are deeper wells, about 60 feet below ground level and just above bedrock:



 GZ-12D, located near the Containment Access Building ( CAB ), measured tritium concentration at 65,000 picocuries per liter ( pCi/L )



 GZ-22D, located near the Construction Office Building ( COB ), measured tritium concentration of 500,000 pCi/L





Split samples are being sent to the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory for independent analysis.





The finding of tritium in GZ-22D is of particular concern because it is near the former COB drinking water well. On Oct. 8 the COB well, about 360 feet deep, was found to be contaminated with tritium. Samples taken from a depth of 200 to 220 feet measured about 1,040 pCi/L. Independent testing by the Vermont Department of Health Lab confirmed tritium contamination at about 1,050 pCi/L, comparable to Vermont Yankees findings.





This was the first finding of tritium contamination in a drinking water well on site or off site. No other drinking water sources on site or off site have show tritium above the lower limit of detection, nor have they measured any other nuclear power plant-radioactive materials.





According to Vermont Yankee, the seven other new wells are located outside of the current plume area, and show no indication of tritium.











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