Radioactive Isotope Discovered At Vermont Yankee

(Host) A problem cropping up at nuclear plants around the country has occurred at Vermont Yankee. Plant technicians have discovered a radioactive isotope called tritium in a monitoring well on the Vernon reactor site.

Yankee spokesman Robert Williams says the plant is taking part in an industry-wide program to check for the isotope of hydrogen.

Williams says the level is about half the amount that would be required to be reported to federal authorities. He says officials do not yet know where the radioactive isotope came from.

(Williams) This is an extremely low-level amount of tritium but since it's on our plant site we have established a technical team to identify the source of it. I don't have a timetable on that. But certainly the levels we're looking at are in no way a cause for concern for the health and safety of the public     

(Host) Yankee has also been monitoring a problem this week in a pump used to control the power level in the reactor.