Free Talk Live

VERNON, Vt. - The latest news to come out of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is that a soil sample from the shore of the Connecticut River has tested positive for a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, health officials in that state said Wednesday.

The samples, reportedly taken on two dates in July, tested positive for small amounts of tritium, according to Dr. Harry Chen, the commissioner of Vermont's Health Department.

In a statement, Chen said that the samples revealed tritium at 534 and 611 picocuries per liter, which is slightly higher than the base level at which instruments can detect the isotope.