Minnesota-based nuclear facility operator Xcel Energy recently revealed that water contaminated with radioactive tritium leaked from the plant in November, almost three months after the incident.
Radioactive Leak
Xcel Energy, a utility company operating in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, has reported on its measures to manage a water leak detected at its Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in late 2022.
The leak was discovered during routine groundwater monitoring, prompting the company to take swift action to contain it within the plant site.
The company immediately notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the state of the leak on November 22, 2022, the day it was confirmed.
Xcel Energy has been working closely with state and federal regulators and local officials to coordinate its response.
Since then, the company has been pumping, storing, and processing the leaked water for reuse, and it has been confirmed that levels of tritium, a naturally occurring compound commonly found in nuclear power plants, are below the NRC safety thresholds.
Xcel Energy claims it has taken comprehensive measures to ensure that the leaked water does not pose any health or safety risks to the local community or the environment.
Over two dozen on-site monitoring wells have confirmed that the leaked water has been fully contained on-site and has not been detected beyond the facility or in any local drinking water.
State agencies are also closely monitoring the company's remediation work to ensure the continued safety of the local community and surrounding environment.
"We have taken comprehensive measures to address this situation on-site at the plant. While this leak does not pose a risk to the public or the environment, we take this very seriously and are working to safely address the situation," Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, said in a press release statement.
"We continue to gather and treat all potentially affected water while regularly monitoring nearby groundwater sources. We will continue to partner with local groundwater specialists, and we remain in close cooperation with state and federal regulators and our local community throughout the remediation effort."
Long-Term Fix Coming Up
About 25% of the tritium discharged has been retrieved by Xcel Energy, and recovery attempts will continue in 2023. The company has discovered the leak in a water pipe that connects two buildings, and it is now working to stop more water from escaping the plant.
The water is being diverted to an in-plant water treatment system. The installation of a long-term fix will happen in the spring of 2023.
In response to the leak, Xcel Energy has constructed new monitoring and recovery wells and has increased the frequency of measurements from its network of over two-dozen groundwater monitoring wells.
Large storage tanks will also be constructed on-site to store recovered water until it can be treated and reused.
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