Tritium detected in deep drinking water aquifer at Vermont Yankee

The Brattleboro Reformer reports that radioactive tritium contamination has been detected at a depth of 200 to 220 feet below ground in an aquifer that was used up until Feb. 2010 for drinking water. The well was no longer used for drinking water once Vermont Yankee's tritium leaks to groundwater were discovered. While both Entergy Nuclear and NRC spokespeople denied this latest finding has any implications for human health or safety, Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates warns that Vermont Yankee must continue to extract tritium contaminated groundwater, lest tritium or even other radioactive isotopes such as Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 leak downward into the deep aquifers, threatening neighboring drinking water supplies.