Vt. nuke planned sited for toxic shipment

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. regulators have given a final ruling on violations by a Vermont nuclear plant for shipping overly radioactive shipments to a Pennsylvania nuclear plant.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a statement Wednesday that the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant in Vernon, Vt., was flagged with a "white" violation for the shipment of a control rod crusher/shearer that was radioactive.

The NRC has a four-tiered, color-coded system to rank the significance of security findings. White is a "low to moderate safety significance."

The violation occurred on Aug. 31 when a shipment from the Entergy-operated plant reached the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Salem Township, Pa., with more than four times the radiation levels permitted by the U.S Department of Transportation.

"It was later determined that during transit, discrete highly radioactive particles shifted to the bottom of the package, resulting in the radiation levels in excess of the DOT limits," the NRC statement said.

"The actual condition did not involve an exposure or hazard to the public, but it had the potential to adversely affect personnel who would normally receive the package or respond to an incident involving the package since responders could have a reasonable expectation that the package conformed with DOT radiation limits," NRC Region I Administrator Samuel Collins wrote in a letter to Entergy.