VERNON, Vt.—The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says problems in a cooling tower at Vermont Yankee don't appear to be safety-related.
"It's too soon to draw any conclusions, without knowing what the cause of this is," said Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the NRC in King of Prussia, Pa. "We don't believe there's any impact on the safety-related cells, but we'll conduct an investigation to make sure of that," she said Saturday.
On Friday, a leak was discovered in a cooling tower during a routine inspection by plant owner
The discoveries prompted Vermont Yankee operators to cut power production to 47 percent. It wasn't clear whether the plant was still operating at that level Saturday. Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams did not respond to several requests for comment.
Last August, the collapse of one cell in a cooling tower shook public confidence in the 36-year-old power plant.
"This is a huge disappointment," said Steve Wark, spokesman for the state Department of Public Service. "We were told the system was analyzed and this would not happen again. It calls into question their system maintenance program."
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
