State agencies in Minnesota are keeping an eye on Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear plant leak remediation at the Monticello nuclear power station.
400,000 gallons of tritium-tainted water, according to state officials, seeped from a water line connecting two buildings at the complex. Xcel Energy acknowledged the leak and informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and state authorities about it in late November.
How dangerous is the Monticello nuclear plant leak?
Xcel notified state and federal officials of the tritium water leak in late November, but the spill was not made public until Thursday. State officials claimed they held off on making the material public until they had additional information.
According to state officials, the leak has been stopped and is now restricted to the facility.
“This is a very localized leak, it is not migrated off-site, there has been no risk to public health or public safety,” Dan Huff, Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health explained. “Our number one action was to stop the leak and excel did that the number two action is make sure that Xcel reclaims the water and they’re working on that.”
The Mississippi River and the neighboring drinking water supply are not in danger, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, but the groundwater beneath the facility does flow toward the river.
“There is no evidence at this time to indicate a risk to any drinking water wells in the vicinity of the plant,” the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said.
According to Xcel Energy, recovery work will continue, and this spring a long-lasting fix will be installed after it has recovered around 25% of the tritium that was discharged.
“Our top priority is protecting residents and the environment, and the MPCA is working closely with other state agencies to oversee Xcel Energy’s monitoring data and cleanup activities,” said Kirk Koudelka, MPCA assistant commissioner for land and strategic initiatives. “We are working to ensure this cleanup is concluded as thoroughly as possible with minimal or no risk to drinking water supplies.”
According to Xcel, the plant will be shut down the next month so the damaged pipe can be removed and fixed. They believe that looking at it will reveal the reasons why it malfunctioned.
A byproduct of the electricity generated in nuclear power plants is tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen.
When the words leak and nuclear plant come together, locals and people all around get instantly worrisome. And it is probably rightly so. However, officials are very clear that the Monticello nuclear plant leak is not a dangerous and spread nuclear plant leak. Therefore, while keeping in mind to keep up following the news, it probably is for the best to remain calm about it. If you would like to check out other news to distract yourself from the Monticello nuclear plant leak, take a look at the articles below to see if we can interest you with anything else.
