The Mississippi River was not affected by the leak.
A nuclear power plant in Minnesota released at least 400,000 gallons of radioactive water in November, but the spill was finally made public on Thursday. Minnesota regulators informed the public about the development and stated that they had been monitoring the cleanup of the Monticello nuclear facility, according to a report in the BBC.
Tritium, a typical by-product of nuclear reactor activities, is present in the water. According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of hydrogen that produces a weak type of beta radiation that does not penetrate human skin and does not travel far in the air (NRC). Tritium leaks occasionally occur at nuclear power plants, though they are typically contained locally and rarely endanger public safety or health, according to the NRC. Xcel Energy first noticed the leak in a pipe between two structures on November 21.
The outlet quoted the Minnesota Department of Health as stating that Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, is approximately 35 miles (56 km) upstream along the Mississippi River from the plan and that the Mississippi River was not affected by the leak.
“Xcel Energy took prompt action to plug the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment,” the Minnesota-based utility said in a statement Thursday.
“While the Xcel plant is located within our community, the City of Monticello does not have the authority to operate the nuclear power plant. If state or federal regulatory agencies determine that there is any potential or actual impact on the city’s drinking water supply or infrastructure, it will The city will immediately notify the public with assistance from these agencies,” Mayor Lloyd Hilgart said in a statement.
Crews checked the plant for all possible leak points, according to Xcel Energy, and a lab will look at the pipe that leaked. About 25 percent of the spilled tritium has been recovered so far, and the company has indicated it may build above-ground storage tanks to contain the toxic water.
