WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-State Official: Closer Inspections Needed at Yankee

State Official: Closer Inspections Needed at Yankee

Vernon, Vermont - August 24, 2007

Vermont's nuclear engineer says better inspections are needed at the state's only nuclear power plant. That statement comes after a water cooling tower collapsed at Vermont Yankee in Vernon earlier this week. The state says what happened is unacceptable, and the water cooling tower failure has raised questions about the safety of the aging facility.

Three days after a cooling tower collapsed, Yankee Nuclear is working to figure out what went wrong, causing the wooden beams to give way.

"We take this situation very seriously, and we will understand the cause," said John Dreyfuss with the Entergy Director of Nuclear Safety Assurance.

The towers reduce the temperature of water used to cool the plants condenser. Managers say the problem is not connected to safety at the plant. The shell of the building is fiberglass, and open to allow for air flow. It looks much worse than it actually is. "Most of this damage is cosmetic, the key thing is the structural members and that's where we're focusing the investigation," said Dreyfuss.

The investigation and repairs could take at least a week, in the meantime the plant is producing about half as much energy. Since the plant provides 1/3 of Vermont's power, electric companies are now forced to buy more expensive power on the market, it's not clear yet how much it will cost consumers.

"It's really not acceptable for anything like this to happen, said Uldis Vanags, Vermont's State Nuclear Engineer.

State Nuclear Engineer Uldis Vanags visited the plant after the accident. He confirmed what Entergy said, there is no immediate safety risk posed by the water cooling tower collapse. But added this is sure to erode public confidence. Vanags says a better inspection process is needed, since the apparent structural weakness was not detected.

"They probably have inaccurate inspection procedures that need to be improved considerably," said Vanags.

James Moore with VPIRG disagrees. "It's irresponsible and does put Vermonters at risk."

Even though the state does not think it is necessary, environmental groups want Yankee shut down until the investigation is over. They say the cooling tower collapse is evidence of an aging facility, with not enough safety procedures in place. 18 months ago the plant got the ok to boost how much power it makes by 20 percent.

"It makes you wonder how good their analysis is, or how much profit they're just trying to get out of the plant as possible, and pushing it until it breaks," said Moore.

People who live near the plant had mixed reactions about how safe they now feel.

"I don't think the water cooling tower is anything to worry about, I think they have it under control," said Vernon resident Sandra Shober.

Maureen Daylor of Guilford is concerned. "I live in Guilford, which is in the ground zero zone, and if it goes I'm going to be evaporated so yeah I have concerns."

The state is also concerned, they plan to hold a meeting of the State Nuclear Advisory Panel in the coming weeks. They will make it open to the public so people can directly hear from Entergy about what went wrong and what's being done to fix it.

Also, the Congressional delegation is calling for an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Kristin Carlson - Channel 3 News