Groups All For Criminal Investigation For Yankee Owners

(Host) Two environmental groups critical of Vermont Yankee are calling for a federal criminal investigation over what they say are false statements made by plant owners to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Conservation Law Foundation and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group say Entergy Vermont Yankee willfully violated federal law by misleading regulators.

Chris Kilian directs the Vermont office of CLF. He says he's searched through Yankee's application to the NRC for a license to operate after 2012.

(Kilian) "Based on our review we concluded that Entergy did not disclose to the NRC that it had buried pipes that carry radionuclides. And that from our perspective rises to the level that we concluded that crimes could have been committed and we've simply asked for an investigation into that."

(Host) Yankee says it did not deliberately try to mislead anyone about the pipes.

An underground pipe at Vermont Yankee has been leaking radioactive tritium into the groundwater. The Vermont Senate is expected to vote this week on whether Yankee should be allowed to operate for another 20 years after its 2012 shutdown date.