Des centrales nucléaires qui fuient

J'ai déjà commenté sur la centrale nucléaire Vermont Yankee à Vernon qui s'est révélée échappant du tritium radioactif à 30 pieds de la rivière Connecticut. Elle n'est pas la seule. Une autre centrale nucléaire aussi âgée que celle à Vernon, la centrale nucléaire à Indian Point, dont on veut rallonger la vie utile d'un autre 20 ans, qui laisse du tritium, du strontium 90 et du cesium migrer dans le sous-sol vers la rivière Hudson.

D'autres centrales nucléaires qui ont des fuites sont la centrale Entergy Fitzpatrick qui fuit vers le lac Ontario, la centrale nucléaire Pilgrim, au Massachusetts qui fuit dans la baie de Cape Cod, la centrale nucléaire Pallisades, au Michigan, qui fuit dans le lac Michigan. Il y a eu aussi des fuites de tritium dans la centrale nucléaire Braidwood, en Illinois, qui est dans le bassin versant de la rivière Kankakee, la centrale nucléaire Oyster Creek, au New Jersey, qui a fuit dans la rivière Delaware, ainsi que la centrale Salem, qui a fuit aussi dans la baie de la rivière Delaware.

Le mois passé, un groupe d'une quelques centaines de personnes ont fait une marche symbolique pour protester contre la réfection de la centrale nucléaire: ils ont marché 127 milles jusqu'à la capitale, en souvenir de la marche qui s'était manifestée lors de la construction de la centrale.

Biens que plusieurs centrales nucléaires agées fuient du tritium aux États-Unis, 59 permis ont été alloués pour allonger leur vie utile, et les autorités prévoient en accorder 37 de plus dans les 7 prochaines années.

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"Radioactive Tritium Has Been Found At Other Nuclear Plants

Vermonters have been getting a lesson in radioactive tritium over the past two weeks because of the discovery of contamination at Vermont Yankee. Vermonters are not alone. Other Entergy reactors - including plants in Massachusetts and New York - also have similar leaks.The Indian Point nuclear plant is almost as old as Vermont Yankee. It sits on the Hudson River, about 35 miles north of New York City.

Like Vermont Yankee, Indian Point is owned by the Entergy Corporation. And, like the Vermont plant, at Indian Point a plume of radioactive tritium is migrating toward a nearby river.Phillip Musegaas is the Hudson River Program director for an environmental organization called Riverkeeper. The group is fighting Entergy's request to extend Indian Point's operating license for another 20 years.There's one large tritium plume coming from one spent fuel pool and there's a large plume of water contaminated with strontium 90 and cesium and some other things coming from a partially decommissioned reactor on the same site right next to it. And both of the pools were discovered over time to be moving through the ground water and leaching into the Hudson River.

Tritium was recently discovered in a monitoring well at Vermont Yankee, about 30 feet from the Connecticut River. High levels of the tritium were also found in a concrete vault containing pipes near the reactor building.tritium has leaked from more than two dozen nuclear plants around the country, including several owned by Entergy.

These include the Entergy Fitzpatrick plant in western New York, the Pilgrim plant in Massachusetts and the Pallisades plant in Michigan.There has been tritium leakage, for instance, at Braidwood in Illinois which is owned by Exelon, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, which is owned by Exelon, the Salem plant which is owned by a company called PSEG, Public Service Electric and Gas."

Excerpts of article written by John Dillon on vpr.net here: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/86968/

Also excerpts of another article written by Beth Daley published on boston.com here: http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2010/01/31/leaks_imperil_nuclear_industry/#

"More than 200 people, evoking the 1970s grass-roots efforts against the construction of nuclear plants in New England, took part in some portions of a 127-mile march from Brattleboro to the state capital, Montpelier, earlier this month.

Across the country, tritium leaks have not prevented re-licensing of the nation’s nuclear plants by the NRC, which has extended the operating life of 59 reactors and is considering or expected to consider 37 other applications in the next seven years."