nuclear-news

Oyster Creek nuclear plant ordered to clean up radioactive water leak

N.J. orders Oyster Creek nuclear plant to beef up water monitoring after leak, NJ.com, By Brian T. Murray/The Star-LedgerJune 03, 2010, he state Department of Environmental Protection invoked the state’s “Spill Act” today, ordering the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to drill new test wells, increase monitoring on existing wells and review its data on tritium contamination around the Lacey Township plant. The tests are part of a new monitoring plan ordered by DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, who has been pushing Exelon Generation Co., the Illinois-based owner of the electrical generating facility, to expedite a cleanup of the tritium pollution discovered more than a year ago…….Tritium is a by-product of nuclear generation, and the groundwater contamination at Oyster Creek was first detected on April 9, 2009. At least 180,000 gallons of tainted water were released through two small holes in separate, underground pipes, and some of contamination is 50 times higher than permitted under federal health standards.

Last fall, authorities said it reached the Cohansey aquifer, a drinking water source for much of South Jersey. That threat enabled Martin today to invoke a state-statute called the “Spill Act” to make demands on Exelon, which is generally regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

N.J. orders Oyster Creek nuclear plant to beef up water monitoring after leak | – NJ.com

June 5, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA