PORTFOLIO
Illinois Nuclear Power Plants Leak Radioactive Water
Mat Tuck
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The Better Government Association (BGA) released an article concerning the spillages of radioactive waste pouring from the seven Exelon nuclear powerplants in Illinois.
According to the BGA’s article, There have been 35 reported spills, leaks or other accidental releases of contaminated water in the past 10 years. “No fines were issued for the accidents, all of which were self-reported” by Exelon.
(Image courtesy of S1.ibtimes.com)
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According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the water was contaminated with tritium, which is a form of hydrogen. The NRC says that the water is contaminated with tritium during a cooling processes and that “like normal hydrogen, tritium can bond with oxygen to form water.” This causes the water to become radioactive “tritiated” water which cannot be filtered back into normal water.
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According to the NRC, tritium emits a weak form of radiation that causes an increased risk of cancer to anyone exposed to it. Fortunately, it does not travel very far in the air and cannot penetrate human skin.
The nuclear power plants routinely release dilute concentrations of tritiated water safely. The NRC says that the nuclear plants closely monitor the releases and report the releases to the NRC. These authorized releases are closely monitored by the utility, reported to the NRC, and made available to the public on the NRC's Web site. The information about the releases are then made public on the NRC website.
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However, while there are purposeful releases that are carefully watched by the company, spills and leaks have still been occurring.
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BGA’s article mentions a situation from 2014 where Exelon’s Dresden facility in Grundy County accidentally released 500,000 gallons of highly radioactive water. Contamination was later found in both the plant’s sewer lines and in Morris’ city sewage treatment plant.
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Even so, a statement from Exelon that the BGA published says that "no Exelon generation water release, planned or unplanned, has ever caused residential drinking water to be unsafe."
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However, the BGA does offer up one critic who is worried about the accidental leaks from Exelon. Lochbaum Union of Concerned Scientists says that “there should be some sanctions.” He adds that “one of these days, you’re going to have a leak that kills people. Then it’s going to be a little late to write a ticket.”
