RE “LEAKS imperil nuclear industry’’ (Page A1, Jan. 31): In response to radioactive tritium leaks from buried piping at the Vermont Yankee atomic reactor on the
The problem is, the tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee, like those at dozens of other atomic reactors across the country, are unmonitored and uncontrolled, in violation of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidance, regulation, and licensing criteria. But the NRC, which has been cited by its own inspector general for placing industry profit above public safety, is doing little to nothing about the buried pipes leaking tritium.
Downplaying tritium’s health hazard is also a deceptive disservice to concerned citizens. The National Academy of Sciences has reported consistently, most recently in in 2006, “that any radiation exposure, no matter how small, still carries a health risk. Thus, even low-dose tritium exposure cannot be dismissed as harmless. On the contrary, tritium is a scientifically proven cause of cancer and genetic damage.’’
Decrepit, leaking atomic reactors such as Vermont Yankee should be replaced with energy efficiency upgrades and renewable sources of electricity such as wind, solar, geothermal, and micro-hydro power, none of which generate or leak harmful radioactivity into the environment.
Kevin Kamps
Takoma Park, Md.
The writer is a radioactive waste watchdog with the group Beyond Nuclear. 
