(Host) The Douglas administration is pleased that Vermont Yankee has found fuel rod pieces that were missing for three months. But officials remain concerned about poor record-keeping at the plant.
Vermont Yankee officials announced Tuesday that they had discovered the pieces inside a special container stored deep in the spent fuel pool. Officials searched the container after finding records at a lab in California that showed it was shipped to Vermont in the early 1980s.
Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien, whose department represents ratepayers, says the central question remains how plant operators lost track of the radioactive material in the first place.
(O’Brien) “That never changes the fact that the records were not sufficient and that there wasn’t good tracking and control over where exactly these segments were located in the pool. That’s been a concern from day one.”
(Host) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating whether Vermont Yankee has followed regulations that require accurate record keeping of radioactive fuel.