Authored by: Rolf on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 10:31 AM GMT+4

Given that I type more misspellings than anyone else on ibrattleboro,

shouldn't I take a new year's resolution to not post anything until I read it for typos?

Maybe from now on, I can donate a dollar for every typo to the ibrattleboro kitty.

Rolf

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: spinoza on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 12:18 PM GMT+4

I don't mind the typos one bit.

You seem to be brushing against the dark side of your radical dualism. Kesey called that ruthless ravager ' the Combine'. Even as it purports to do good, it has the appetite of Moloch. As I read your post before falling asleep last night I heard Cat Stevens singing:
"Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die"

Authored by: Rolf on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 07:05 PM GMT+4

I feel like I stubbed my toe actually.

Meanwhile I am writing to all my legislators and senators, State and Fed, asking that the plant be shut down immediately until they identify the location and size of the leak, and someone that an engineer who doea not work at Yankee ascertains that running the plant is not pumping more tritium into the groundwater.

I urge others to do likewise.

Posting here does little to stop corporate "Ahriman" from pissing in my drinking water. Sure, it might be dilute piss, but who knows how long it will remain dilute.

Rolf

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: Ken Brace on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 10:34 AM GMT+4

Whenever people discus closing down VY someone will usually point out that the community will lose jobs and revenue, and that as a result property values will decrease. But wouldn’t decommissioning VY necessitate the employment of many workers? And wouldn’t spending all that money in the decommissioning fund stimulate the economy?

The whole thing confuses me. As I understand it, we could buy cheaper power from other sources and VY wants to raise rates by about 50% (per kilowatt hour). We’re accumulating nuclear waste and we have no idea how we’re ever going to get ride of it. The plant is old, has safety issues, and is currently being run at a rate beyond what it was originally designed for. Now we have radioactive material in the ground water. Can someone please tell me what we’re getting out of all this?

Authored by: SJD on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 01:11 PM GMT+4

Building a new plant would really stimulate the economy, or at least stimulate this site.

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Don't tell Obama What Comes After a Trillion.

Authored by: NorahCook on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 02:29 PM GMT+4

Surely you meant to say that "decommissioning the plant" would need
a large, capable staff and that workers would have
plenty of employment even as they transitioned into new jobs. Of
course, there is the issue of the size/worthiness of the
decommissioning fund, which is yet another reason to "shut VY down."

Radioactive material stored in cement casks alongside a major New
England river... the effects of depleted uranium through their use in
warfare and the ghastly birth defects caused thereby... contamination
of groundwater supplies... we keep asking, what more reasons could
any reasonable person want???

Authored by: Rolf on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 08:18 PM GMT+4

Dear Representatives and Senators for Windham County,

My name is Rolf Parker - Houghton. I currently reside in Putney and own a house in Brattleboro, that my wife and son will be moving back into in June,

My friends and I are wondering why Vermont Yankee is being allowed to continue to use the undergrond pipes that may be leaking tritium into the ground water.

It seems minimally prudent to insist that they stop transporting any water in said pipes, as a precaution. Whether or not the plume of tritium reaches and / or contaminates Vernon's water supply, or eventually contaminates the entire water supply, depends on part on the total quantity of radioactive water that leaks out.

Since we do not know where the leak is, nor its size, public health and financial heatlh of the region should take precedence, and would seem to dictate shutting down the plant until all underground piping is removed, inspected and replaced as a minimal safety precaution

The level of tritium in the water supply need not reach the level of 20,000 units (the federal safety level) in order to have potentially negative economic impacts for Windham County and for the State.. For example in Brattleboro we have just recently suceeded in getting a yogurt facctory to agree to set up shop here. How much yogurt will they be likely to sell, if we as a town cannot provide them with Tritium free water??? . This is but one example of how our local economy will be effected if elevated levels of tritium get in our water.


Please let us know why Vermont Yankee should be allowed to continue to use pipes that might be leaking.


Sincerely,

my name

my address

my phone number

Please feel free to use any element of this letter or the whole thing if you are so inclined.

Here are the addresses that I used.

jwhite@leg.state.vt.us,
obie@leg.state.vt.us,
deenhome@sover.net,
cpartridge@leg.state.vt.us,
huberick@sover.net,
sedwards@leg.state.vt.us,
vmilkey@leg.state.vt.us,
rmarek@leg.state.vt.us,
dpillsbury@leg.state.vt.us,
sandbox@sover.net,
jmoran@leg.state.vt.us,
mmrowicki@leg.state.vt.us,
senprespt@leg.state.vt.us




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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: Rolf on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 09:54 PM GMT+4

Basically, the marketability of any food stuff made in Windham County might be negatively impacted if the water supply has even minorly increased levels of tritium.

If the levels get too high, it might even impact the ability to get an organic certification.

Hopefully, none of the wells outside the plant will have elevated levels of tritium. Hoprefully the amount of tritium released into the groundwater is not currently sufficient to seep past the limits of the plant. Ever.

The only action that seems within our toolbox to decreasing this possibility is to deny Yankee the right to pipe radioactive water through any pipes that might be leaking.

Of course at this point, I would never trust Yankee representatives or employees to make the determination if any pipes might be leaking, as previously they denied that the pipes existed.

Rolf

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: SpudHill on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 10:50 PM GMT+4

Rolf
Thanks for the sample letter. I will use it as a template and send something also. I totally agree with you about this. There shouldn't be any more hearings, they should be shut down.

Authored by: mr.mike on Sunday, January 17 2010 @ 11:46 PM GMT+4

I would hope that the yogurt plant would not use Brattleboro town water for it's yogurt. Yuck. Imagine a nice blueberry yogurt with the aftertaste of Chlorine.

I wonder how much arsenic there is in neighboring water supplies? Now I'm not saying that the Tritium issue shouldn't be addressed but let's not overreact. These wells are groundwater wells. Shallow wells that collect stuff from under ground piping and run off. There are many people in windham county that are still using dug wells for drinking water. They should be upgrading to artesian wells to keep contaminants to a minimum. A drilled well is much less susceptible to ground water contamination. The well casing is actually sealed to the bedrock.

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The four boxes that ensure liberty.
Soap Box
Ballot Box
Jury Box
Ammo Box

Authored by: Rolf on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 12:38 AM GMT+4

Your right Mike, sloppy writing on my part.

Cows however do often drink surface water in the form of farm ponds. Not all farms have them.

Furthermore, the town's municipal water supply is now being tested more frequently.

Any baking concern, bread factory, bakery, bottling plant, you name it, that were to use town water, would be likely to be negatively impacted if the water had any elevation. It doesn't have to exceed the federal standards to be devestating to Vermonts brand of healthy pure food.

Never mind the fact that we are talking a municipal drinking supply after all. You know that the state is testing the town's water more frequently now because of the potential for contamination?

Thus, I still think we are talking about prudence, not hysteria.

Like I say, whatever tool in our box do we have other than demanding that VY prove that they have removed all pipes that might be leaking ?


No, I don't give a darn at this point if this leads to immediately shutting down of the plant, if that is necessary for the economic health of the county.

And no, I cannot imagine asking the Entergy employees at this point, if taking the plant off line is necessary in order to cease the leak.

I mean, the leak from the underground pipes that "don't exist" of course.


They might say no, it's not necessary even if it was the only way to stop the leak.


These are the same people who either lied about the very existence of the pipes or don't have or don't read manifests and blueprints. Which is scarier?

How could one ask them that question without
bursting into laughter?

Can you imagine ?

"Excuse me, um about those pipes that don[t exist, (hee hee hee) the ones that don't carry any tritium and are leaking tritium, umm well, (with tears rolling down one's eyes, haaaa heeee heee) we were wondering whether the reactor needs to be shut down in order to remove them, (Hee heee hee) whether the non existent pipes can be repaired and if necessary removed and replaced with other non existent pipes ?

No, we can't ask them. We need to tell them, through our legislators, and congresman, that the plant needs to be shut down because there is a risk that the pipes are leaking into our water supply.

So they go offline and we buy lenergy that imay not only less expensive energy on the spot market but also doesn't run the risk of expensively ruining our water supply.

After the plant is shut down and all the pipes are dug up and physically inspcted and replaced, then maybe we can talk.

We of course want a manifest and blueprint of every pipe, but, whether we will ever trust the prints they give us, (which they must have. these are engineers after all, or if they don't have them , well what is there to say ? !)

Rolf




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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: annikee on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 12:53 AM GMT+4

Just a note that Rick Hube passed away.

Thanks, Rolf, for providing a template for a letter. I'm following your example. Enough is too much.

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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.

Authored by: annikee on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 12:59 AM GMT+4

Also, Daryl Pillsbury is not a legislator at this time.

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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.

Authored by: Rolf on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 01:07 AM GMT+4

Aieee.

That I knew, and should have caught.

Well, at least I new not to bother withh Vernon's rep.

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: Rolf on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 01:05 AM GMT+4

Oh, I didn't know he had passed away. How sad.

I just read the story that he died on Dec 21.

Thanks for letting me know.

The directory hasn't been updated.

Rolf

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: annikee on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 02:32 AM GMT+4

Dear Laura, thank you for your e-mail. I share your concerns and the concerns of all in Brattleboro District -3 and of all citizens of Vermont who think we need some answers or the plant should cease operation as quickly as possible, especially with tritium leaks. It is no secret that I do not trust Entergy. I am doing everything I can to get an answer as to the relationship of the pipes to current generation; if generation is exacerbating the situation.
Again, I would like to thank you for your input and the expression of your position.
In solidarity,
Sarah Edwards


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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.

Authored by: Rolf on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 06:36 PM GMT+4

I got the same reply.

The thing that puzzles me is the following

". . .we need some answers or the plant should cease operation as quickly as possible, especially with tritium leaks."


AND

" I am doing everything I can to get an answer as to the relationship of the pipes to current generation; if generation is exacerbating the situation."

The thing that puzzles me is that what she is suggesting is that we can get answers from Entergy employees that we can trust,

It seems very possible that even if keeping the reactor online was indeed exacerbating the situation, that Entergy could say, no, keeping the plant running is not inherently causing more leaks.
One possible motivation for doing so is that every day they are off line is loss of a lot of income for the plant. What we do know is they have provided false information about the pipes in the past.

I know that Sarah Edwards cannot shut off the plant on her own, she doesn't have the power to do so.

But Spudhill is right. We don't need more hearings.


Barring the closure of the plant, the plant needs to STOP USING ANY UNDERGROUND PIPES that might be leaking.

"Might be leaking" is a bad enough charecteristic, and provides ample cause to stop their use.

Asking questions and getting answers is actually secondary to the primary action of stopping using the damn things. We don't need to know definitely that the pipes are leaking before we stop their use since we do know that a plume of tritium has been released and might escape the confines of their property.


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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: Rolf on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 06:43 PM GMT+4

Here is Michael Obuchowski's reply to my questioning as to why Vermont Yankee is being allowed to continue using pipes that might be leaking tritium.

Michael Obuchowski to David.OBrien, me
show details 9:33 AM (5 hours ago)


Thank you for your question, forwarded it to the Public Service Department.

I thanked him for forwarding it to David Obrien.

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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: NorahCook on Monday, January 18 2010 @ 06:50 PM GMT+4

Just a thought on what it means when groundwater becomes
contaminated, in any way: The plumes of polluted/contaminated
water are incredibly difficult to trace. Does anyone remember how the
town of Easthampton in Western MA suddenly started discovering
contaminated water, in wells, in the town water, everywhere? It took
years to trace to an employee in Holyoke who was taking home
barrels of contaminated materials and emptying them in his backyard.
The underground water flowed to Easthampton.

Even if it's not people immediately in this area who are not affected
by the level of tritium (oh, thank goodness for US!!), what about
neighboring towns? And what about other living creatures?

Authored by: annikee on Tuesday, January 19 2010 @ 11:54 PM GMT+4

Laura -- Thanks for your email. I will check with the Public Service Department regarding an immediate shutdown now that the level is over 20,000. Thanks for taking the time to contact me. Carolyn


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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.

Authored by: pjmelton on Wednesday, January 20 2010 @ 10:03 AM GMT+4

Just read in the Reformer that a second sample showed elevated tritium levels. The spokesman's response?

"The half-life of tritium is 12.3 years," he said. "If the plant is relicensed, the tritium would have decayed away by the end of the license."

That made me laugh out loud. Sometimes life is just too absurd. The rest of the story here: http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14226798

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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR

Authored by: Rolf on Wednesday, January 20 2010 @ 10:55 AM GMT+4

If the plume moves off site and is taken up in maple sugar trees in even small amounts, the possibly negative impacts on Vermont's image of "pure" maple syrup could be really devastating.

Currently VY is using pipes they know might be leaking, and they admit they do not know the size of the leak whatever its source.





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Dreams Trump Video

Authored by: annikee on Wednesday, January 20 2010 @ 06:22 PM GMT+4

whoops, sorry pj. I didn't look before posting- just saw it there & posted here.

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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.

Authored by: annikee on Wednesday, January 20 2010 @ 06:19 PM GMT+4

A second well is showing tritium. The first, 30 ft west of the Connecticut, is about 100 ft south of the second well showing tritium. This second well is about 100 ft west of the river.
From the Reformer article today:

"The state was informed about the second well early Tuesday morning, said Irwin, the state's chief of radiological health, who said Yankee has accelerated its plan to drill seven new sampling wells on site.

"If need be, he said, Yankee will keep on drilling wells until the footprint of the plume has been determined.

"The public can expect to hear that those new wells will test positive for tritium.

"With each well sampled, we're going to have a number of positive results that are going to encircle the plume to help us get a better idea of the dimensions of the plume," said Irwin.

"Once the extent of the plume has been determined by the wells, Entergy can concentrate on finding the source of the leak, if it hasn't been found sooner."

Read it and seep:

http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14226798

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Freedom and fear are natural enemies.

If you've a bed, closet & fridge, you're richer than 75% of the people alive.