Vermont Yankee (USA) Timeline: Incidents, Accidents & Incompetence (source: Greenpeace)
Vermont Yankee Timeline: Incidents, Accidents & Incompetence
JAN 06 Entergy submits license renewal application for Vermont Yankee
(VY) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (NRC PR)
FEB 06 NRC holds first meeting in Brattleboro VT on the Vermont Yankee
license renewal. (NRC PR)
MAR 06 NRC staff approves a 20% power uprate for VY, annnounces
opportunity for the public to request a hearing on VY license
renewal. (NRC PR)
MAR 06 NRC freezes VY uprate because vibrations in the main steam line
exceeded acceptabel levels. (VT Guardian)
APR 06 Vermont Yankee begins to boost power again on its way to 20%.
(Rutland Herald)
MAY 06 Four of the NRC’s five commissioners overruled a move to stay the
Vermont Yankee (VY) power boost until appeals about its safety
are resolved. (VT Guardian)
AUG 06 Vermont Yankee sent a radioactively contaminated control rod
crusher/shearer to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant radiation
levels were over 4 times the allowable limit. (NRC PR)
SEPT 06 More than six months after Vermont Yankee won permission to
boost its power output by 20 percent, regulators are set to hear
questions about how the change will affect its ability to shut down
suddenly. (Times Argus)
SEPT 06 Vermont Yankee declared of an unusual event (UE), and performed
a rapid power reduction due to an inadvertent initiation of the fire
suppression system. The cause was previously identified and went
uncorrected. (NRC Inspection)
NOV 06 State health officials report that VY released radiation in excess of
state limits. They said their instruments recorded a reading of 24.9
millirems; the state limit is 20 millirems and the federal limit is 25.
(Rutland Herald)
DEC 06 Vermont Yankee receives additional NRC oversight. (Reuters)
FEB 07 NRC gets earful from lawmakers and the public on Vermont
Yankee license renewal. (Boston Globe)
MAR 07 Vermont AG joins six other states, petitions NRC to assess the
vulnerability of spent nuclear fuel storage at reactors before they
are allowed to extend their operating licenses. (VT Guardian)
APR 07 The High Pressure Coolant Injection, a safety system need in an
accident, repeatedly failed to meet regulations. This same sytem
had failed 3 or 4 previous tests before Entergy took action to fix the
problem. (LER 2007-001)
MAY 07 Vermont Yankee shuts down for refueling and maintenance.
(Brattleboro Reformer)
JUN 07 With the reactor at 81% power, the High Pressure Coolant Injection
Isolation Valve failed to operate upon a manual signal from the
control room.The cause was inadeqaute preventative maintenance.
(LER 2007-002)
AUG 07 NRC finds no significant environmental impacts from extended
operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. (NRC PR)
AUG 07 The reactor scrams at 62% power because 3 of 4 turbine valves
failed to function properly due to “ a lack of preventative
maintenance”. (LER 2007 – 003)
AUG 07 A pipe six feet in diameter carrying water through the cooling tower
broke and the tower collapsed, dramatic photos showed thousands
of gallons of water spewing onto the ground. (AP)
AUG 07 Senator Sanders, Senator Leahy & Congressman Welch ask NRC
for a thorough and immediate investigation of the cooling tower
collapse. (NRC Commission Correspondence)
SEPT 07 Vermont Yankee is running at 50% as repairs continue on valve,
cooling tower problems. (Brattleboro Reformer)
NOV 07 Governor Douglas joins call for VY independent safety review.
(Burlington Free press)
DEC 07 NRC Assigns New Senior Resident Inspector to Vermont Yankee
Nuclear Plant (NRC PR)
FEB 08 NRC gives Entergy the Green Light for VY license renewal; staff
outlined 51 conditions that Entergy Nuclear must meet before 2012.
(Rutland Herald)
MAR 08 VY asks NRC to use $100 million of Decommissioning Fund for
nuclear waste storage; NRC says No. (WCAX)
APR 08 Entergy Nuclear gives up trying to find the leak in the condenser at
the Vermont Yankee and returns the reactor to full power. (Rutland
Herald)
MAY 08 Vermont Yankee recieves no penalty from NRC for the coolingtower
collapse. (Burlington Free Press & VPR)
MAY08 NRC cites VY for security violation; but wont tell the public why.
(Times Argus)
MAY 08 Vermont Yankee drops a fuel assembly during a move. (Brattleboro
Reformer)
JUL 08 Vermont Yankee is releasing 30 percent more radiation into the
environment since it boosted power by 20 percent two years ago,
according to a study from the Department of Health (Times Argus)
JUL 08 VY Cooling Towers Leaking Again as State begins hearings on
Reactor; NRC sends Special Inspection to review leak. (Burlington
Free Press)
AUG08 Twelve VY workers evacuated the reactor building due to a
doubling in the radiation levels caused by human error when a
worker replaced a radiation filter. (Times Argus)
SEPT 08 Vermont Yankee reports more problems in cooling tower. (Rutland
Herald)
OCT 08 25 Vermont Yankee workers were evacuated due to increased
radiation levels. (Vermont Public Radio)
NOV 08 Vermont Yankee again aants to dip into the decommissioning fund
to pay for nuclear waste storage. (WCAX)
NOV 08 Associated Press reports Vermont Yankee decommissioning fund
suffers large loss. (AP)
DEC 08 Vermont Yankee owners won't offer state's utilities new power deal.
(Vermont Public Radio)
JAN 09 Vermont Yankee drops power to 47% to fix a leak in the feed water
system. (Reuters)
FEB 09 Entergy replaces 3 VY managers after two reactors leaks in
January and the cooling tower collapse. (FOX44)
MAR 09 State Attorney General William Sorrell says Vermont Yankee's
zero-carbon emissions claim is inaccurate. (AP)
APR 09 NRC’s meets in Brattleboro to discuss Vermont Yankee’s Annual
Assessment. Despite another year of mishaps NRC sees nothing
but GREEN! (NRC PR)
MAY 09 For the second year in a row, Gov. Douglas vetoed legislation
calling on the Vermont Yankee’s owners to set aside more money
for the plant's decommissioning. (Nashua Telegraph)
JUN 09 For the second time in a year VY has leaks in the condenser.
Entergy postpones replacement of the $100 million dollar part, the
cost will be bourne by Entergy’s spin-off Enexus. (Rutland Herald)
JUN 09 NRC names new resident inspector to Vermont Yankee. (NRC PR)
AUG 09 Vermont Yankee says it was more than a year behind in conducting
additional radiation monitoring of spent fuel casks as required by
the state. (Times Argus)
SEPT 09 Vermont Yankee Superviser tests postiive for alcohol and is
releived of duties. (Brattleboro Refromer & Burlinton Free Press)
OCT 09 The Vermont Department of Public Service has reached an
agreement with the owners of the Vermont Yankee to spin off the
nuclear power plant to a new company called Enexus. (AP
Resume. Accidents and
Resume.
Accidents and Breakdowns at “Vermont Yankee”
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 22:40 — sgadmin
Accidents and Breakdowns at “Vermont Yankee”
There have been many “minor” accidents at the Entergy Corporation’s “Vermont Yankee” 37-year-old nuclear reactor due to age, a 20% power increase beyond its original design capacity, and cost-cutting measures resulting in deferred maintenance. A partial list since September of 2004 includes:
• radioactive fuel rods “lost” for 3 months (September ’04);
• transformer fire (June ’05); cracks discovered in the steam dryer (November ’05);
• “hot” shipment that left VY four times more radioactive than allowable federal limits (August ’06);
• cooling tower collapse and automatic shutdown of reactor due to stuck valve (August ’07);
• malfunctioning crane drops cask of high-level spent fuel four inches onto concrete floor of spent fuel area (May ’08);
• discovery of inadequate “fix” of previous year’s cooling tower collapse (July ’08); more cooling tower leaks discovered (September ’08);
• excess radiation exposure forces temporary evacuation of 12 workers (August ’08);
• excess radiation exposure forces temporary evacuation of 25 workers (October ’08);
• discovery of inadequate cooling tower support brackets (October ’08);
• new cracks found in reactor’s steam dryer (November ’08);
• Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) finding of inadequate testing of critical spray nozzles for metal fatigue (November ’08);
• temporary breakdown of emergency phone system (December ’08);
• temporary breakdown of emergency radio alert system (December ’08);
• two back-to-back leaks within two days of radioactive water inside the plant, with the latter occurring in a “safety-sensitive” area, causing emergency repairs and a 60% reduction of power (January ’09);
• another leak (not radioactive), this time in switchyard, resulting in 30% power reduction (January ’09);
• federal report says Entergy finds radioactive contamination of soil surrounding reactor requiring removal of 135,000 cubic feet at a cost of $9.1 million once reactor shuts down (February ’09);
• with apologies to VT legislators for recent leaks of radioactive water, Entergy says it has replaced its VY site vice-president, general manager, and site manager (February ’09);
• January ’09 radioactive “steam” leak continues after two unsuccessful repair attempts (February ’09);
• Entergy reports another radioactive leak, the third of 2009, and says one of the earlier leaks (after three months of spilling thousands of gallons of radioactive water) was finally fixed a week before this latest leak (April ’09).
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reports that technicians at Vermont Yankee mishandled a safety issue in the plant’s coolant injection system when, faced with a delay in getting replacement parts for electrical contacts, they failed to take timely, appropriate action (June ’09).
• Another leak is reported in the condenser that cools steam before returning it to the reactor as water (following a similar leak in April 2008 that technicians were unable to find), forcing a planned reduction of power “in the next several weeks” so that workers can attempt to locate and repair the leak until a new condenser (estimated to cost $100 million) can be installed in 2013 or 2014 (June ’09).
• Emergency radio, cell phones , and land lines belonging to Town of Brattleboro fail to work during federal disaster preparedness drill designed to determine whether residents of towns near reactor would need to evacuate in the event of a radiation emergency (June ’09).
Yeah, that plant is way old
Yeah, that plant is way old and falling apart. It needs to be shut down before something bad does happen.
My family lives in Vermont, and there are several groups and legislators trying everything to force its closure.
A big deal right now is that Entergy claims the NRC overrules all state mandates and that the state has no say in if the plant continues operation or not. This has become a legal battle that will go to the supreme court to determine a state's right to shut down problem plants.
What I want to know, is
What I want to know, is where is the Teaparty to stand up for "state's rights" here??? Hmm... oh right, the Tea party doesn't really care about an issue unless there's a corporation backing it.
This is absolutely absurd that NRC is FORCING the state of Vermont to keep this old, past-its-prime (if it ever had a prime) nuclear plant open.
Honestly, WHERE are the libertarians...???