Anthony Pietrangelo, chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute, reports that Entergy and NRC experts are continuing to monitor and analyze the cause of a leak of low-level radioactive tritium into the subsurface at the Indian Point Energy Center. Entergy communicated the event as part of the industry groundwater initiative, which was established in 2006 to communicate such releases to federal and state government officials and other stakeholders. Given that the levels of tritium will change with the migration of the groundwater below the facility, it is appropriate that Entergy and NRC officials continue to monitor the site as remediation activities get underway. There is no impact on public safety, given that tritium levels to date at the facility are less than one one-thousandth (nowhere close) to the federal reporting guidelines for groundwater. Moreover, water from the site is nowhere close to any water wells used as drinking water or any other public water sources.
Tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is produced in the atmosphere. It also is a byproduct of electricity production at nuclear power plants. Tritium emits a very weak form of radiation, a low-energy particle similar to an electron, and cannot penetrate the skin. This is in accordance with the industry voluntary groundwater protection program involving all nuclear power plant operators to improve the management of situations involving radiological releases to groundwater, even at very low levels. Every company that operates a U.S. nuclear power plant has committed to inform local, state and federal authorities of any unintended releases even if it is below the threshold for reporting to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission(and is another case excessive reporting required by the NRC which feeds into the hysteria encouraged by commercial adversaries of nuclear power (Greenpeace, and other groups who also often support agenda to expand wind and solar).
Original URL: http://www.nei.org/News-Media/Media-Room/News-Releases/New-York-Tritium-Leak-No-Public-Health-Risk;-Indus
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