BRATTLEBORO – Entergy Nuclear's problem-plagued cooling towers have again been cited by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this time for a low-level safety violation of the towers' inspection program.

A recent federal inspection of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor revealed the low-level safety violation, which involves the inspection procedure at the cooling towers, Entergy Nuclear announced late Monday.

The problem earned Entergy Nuclear a "green" finding from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the lowest level of safety problems. The highest is red.

Vermont Yankee's cooling towers have been the source of numerous problems at the Vernon reactor during the past two years, including the partial collapse of a portion of one of the towers in August 2007, and repeated problems in the summer of 2008.

According to a press release from Entergy, the violation dealt with "procedure compliance" and the company was found in violation for not entering cooling tower inspection results into the corrective action program in a timely manner, according to Entergy spokesman Robert Williams.

Entergy Nuclear has been replacing portions of the wooden cooling towers, and according to Williams, the upgrade is now two-thirds complete.

— Staff reports