We've been paying attention the large number of problems with a near-by nuclear reactor (or nucular reactor, if you are the Resident), apparently there is a deeper issue here. Namely, the power companies are privately pushing, via their lobbyists, and in-pocket legislatures, for massive public subsidies to build a new round of nuclear plants. Small problem with PR, especially if the energy companies have been mismanaging the plants they already own.
I'm sure the nuclear power apologists have an answer to why all of the spills were covered up.
Nuclear Reactors Found to Be Leaking Radioactive Water - New York Times
With power cleaner than coal and cheaper than natural gas, the nuclear industry, 20 years past its last meltdown, thinks it is ready for its second act: its first new reactor orders since the 1970'sBut there is a catch. The public's acceptance of new reactors depends in part on the performance of the old ones, and lately several of those have been discovered to be leaking radioactive water into the ground.
Near Braceville, Ill., the Braidwood Generating Station, owned by the Exelon Corporation, has leaked tritium into underground water that has shown up in the well of a family nearby. The company, which has bought out one property owner and is negotiating with others, has offered to help pay for a municipal water system for houses near the plant that have private wells.
In a survey of all 10 of its nuclear plants, Exelon found tritium in the ground at two others. On Tuesday, it said it had had another spill at Braidwood, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, and on Thursday, the attorney general of Illinois announced she was filing a lawsuit against the company over that leak and five earlier ones, dating to 1996. The suit demands among other things that the utility provide substitute water supplies to residents.
After years of flat employment levels, the industry is preparing to hire hundreds of new engineers. Luis A. Reyes, the executive director for operations at the regulatory commission, told the industry gathering last week, “We'll take your résumé in hard copy, online, whatever you can do,” eliciting laughter from an audience heavy with executives of reactor operators and companies that want to build new ones. The Times lists several other incidents around the country, read for yourself, if interested.
from the Tribune:
Chicago Tribune | Radioactive water leaks from power plant storage
About 200 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium escaped from a lined berm at Braidwood Generating Station in far southwestern Will County, Exelon Nuclear officials disclosed Tuesday. The level of tritium in the escaped water was about nine times higher than federal ground- and drinking-water limits, but less than one-fifth of the surface-water limit. None of the water, which was quickly returned to the bermed area, left the site, plant spokesman Neal Miller said. Heavy winds apparently caused the berm's wall to collapse, allowing what was thought to be rainwater outside the berm. As a precaution, the water was tested, revealing the tritium, Miller said.
and
Chicago Tribune | Exelon sued over leaks
Radioactive tritium was released from a Will County nuclear power plant at least eight times, three more occasions than Exelon Corp. officials disclosed in recent weeks, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday. The most recent release, which occurred Monday and was disclosed the next day, pointed to the potential for a “mind-boggling” environmental disaster if a tornado hit Braidwood Generating Station, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow said.
and
Chicago Tribune | New suit hits Exelon over reactor leak
Radioactive tritium was released from a Will County nuclear power plant at least eight times, three more occasions than Exelon Corp. officials disclosed in recent weeks, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.The most recent release, which occurred Monday and was disclosed the next day, pointed to the potential for a “mind-boggling” environmental disaster if a tornado hit Braidwood Generating Station, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow said.
Glasgow and Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan filed suit in Will County Circuit Court against Exelon Corp., Commonwealth Edison and Exelon Generation Co., LLC, which comprises Exelon Nuclear. ComEd built and ran the Braidwood plant until late 2000.
“Exelon has polluted the groundwater under and around the Braidwood facility in Will County,” Madigan said. “Faulty maintenance led to this situation and this lawsuit. ... Exelon has not been maintaining and operating this nuclear plant as it should be.
”Like exposure to any radioactive material, exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer and increases the risk of birth defects,“ she said....
The suit seeks fines that could reach $36.5 million for a 1996 spill alone, Glasgow said. If fines are collected, they could be used for the very expensive process of removing water with tritium from the ground, Madigan said...Madigan and Glasgow tried to negotiate a settlement before the suit was filed, Glasgow said. ”What I've encountered, basically, is a culture of greed and deception in my dealings with them,“ he said.
Glasgow noted the lack of disclosures until late last year for all of the releases, except one in 2000. The recent disclosures came after the detection of groundwater contamination, after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told Exelon to look for it, Glasgow said.
He said Exelon thus far has failed to provide bottled water to nearby residents as promised more than two weeks ago.
”It looks like until we put them against a wall in a courtroom, we are not going to get to the truth, and we are not going to get the things done necessary for remediation that are going to protect the people in that area,“ he said.
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Tags: Chicago, /Energy, /environment
