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Exelon: No public threat from Ill. tritium leak
[June 09, 2009] CHICAGO (AP) -- A tritium leak was found during routine monitoring of Exelon Corp.'s nuclear power plant, but contaminated water was contained to the property and did not pose a public health threat, company officials said Monday.
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Testing at the Dresden plant, near the town of Morris about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, found tritium levels of 3.2 million picocuries per liter of water in a monitoring well, storm drains and concrete vault. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter. But there was no public safety threat because the contaminated water did not appear to have left the plant, officials said in a written statement. "While this is not a public or employee safety issue, we're committed to being forthright, clear and concise with our neighbors about the status of our plant operations," said Tim Hanley, Dresden's site vice president. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen found in groundwater, but it is more concentrated in water used in nuclear reactors. The EPA says exposure to tritium can increase the risk of developing cancer. Hanley said experts at the Dresden Generating Station are working to determine the source of the leak. He said the contaminated water had been pumped from the storage containers and was being processed through the plant's waste-processing system. A similar leak reported in 2006 also was contained to the property. A leaky pipe at the source of that contamination was replaced, officials said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says this leak is much different from a series of leaks dating to 1996 at Exelon's Braidwood nuclear power plant. That situation prompted a $5 million environmental study and led to stricter guidelines. |
