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Yankee uprate effects at issue
By SUSAN SMALLHEER William Sherman, the
engineer with the Department of Public Service, admitted under questioning from
the New England Coalition that any increase in radiological releases would have
an environmental effect, and that there was no such thing as an increase with no
effect. The increased radioactivity,
about 28 percent above current levels, would still be within state limits of 20
millirems per year, Entergy Nuclear wants to
increase power production at Vermont Yankee by 20 percent, or 110 megawatts of
power at a plant that on average produces 510 megawatts of power. The Public Service Board
must grant Entergy Nuclear a certificate of public good for the construction
project, which is estimated to cost at least $60 million. Federal regulators
must also approve the project. The board also heard Tuesday
from an aesthetics consultant for Entergy Nuclear who said the steam plume
rising from the plant’s 22 cooling towers would be significantly bigger and
taller, 25 to 27 percent bigger, than current plumes that rise from the
plant’s 22 cooling towers. The proposed 20 percent
increase in power will general more power — and heat — that has to be
dissipated through a variety of ways. The internal core temperature of the
reactor core will not change, despite the additional fuel. The state has a higher
standard, but lower dose, for radiological releases from the plant than the
federal regulars have imposed. The federal standard is 25 millirems, while the
state standard is 20 millirems, something that was negotiated when the plant was
built more than 30 years ago. Last winter, Entergy had
considered asking the state to raise the standard, but it dropped the request
quickly. Yesterday, Entergy Nuclear
Vermont Yankee vice president Jay Thayer said the 20 percent power increase
would result in up to a 28 percent increase in radiation. But Raymond Shadis, staff
member of the New England Coalition, a Brattleboro-based anti-nuclear group,
pointed out inconsistencies in Thayer’s estimates. Citing different testimony,
Shadis noted that Thayer said 28 percent on Monday, but in written testimony in
April had estimated the increase at less than 20 percent, and at one point he
quoted 22 percent in internal office e-mails. The actual increase is estimated
between 3.6 to 4 millirems. “Entergy’s numbers are
all over the place,” Shadis said. Sherman and three
consultants hired by Entergy Nuclear to study the environmental effects of the
plan testified Tuesday. Consultant Eric Dodson said
that the maximum plume would come in the spring and fall, with the plume
reaching lengths of 500 meters and heights of 100 to 110 meters. Dodson said he had to redo
his earlier report because Entergy Nuclear had changed the size of the fans it
would use to dispel the steam, from 200 horsepower to 125 horsepower. Dodson downplayed the impact
of the large white cloud that would rise from the plant’s cooling towers,
comparing it at one point to Under questioning from
Chairman Michael Dworkin, Dodson admitted that Entergy had abandoned the most
powerful mitigating factor — the larger fans — to keep the steam plume
smaller. And Dodson admitted he hadn’t determined the full aesthetic impacts
with the smaller fans. Testimony in the case will
resume Thursday. Contact Susan Smallheer at
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. |