The Minnesota nuclear power plant is closed to repair a water leak with radioactive compound

() — About four months after a nuclear power plant in central Minnesota experienced a leak of water containing a radioactive compound, the operator said it will shut down the facility starting this Friday to carry out repairs to a new leak.” immediately”.

The plant’s operator, Xcel Energy, said in a news release Thursday that the leak — near the Mississippi River — is limited to the facility.

The monitoring team determined earlier this week that a small amount of water from the leak began reaching groundwater at the site, the operator said, coming a few months after about 400,000 gallons were released in an initial leak. .

“While the leak continues to pose no risk to the public or the environment, we decided it is best to shut down the plant and proceed immediately with permanent repairs,” said Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and Dakota from the south.

According to the company, the shutdown is not expected to affect power service in the area.

The previous leak of radioactive compound was confirmed and reported to state and federal authorities in late November 2022, according to a mid-March press release from the operating company. The leak was “fully contained in situ,” according to the statement.

The initial leak consisted of about 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Tritium is a chemical compound that emits low levels of radiation and decays faster than many other radioactive materials.

On Thursday, Xcel Energy notified the state Pollution Control Agency of a new water leak near the same location as the previous leak, which the agency says is a much smaller amount, hundreds of gallons.

“State agencies have no evidence at this time to indicate a current or imminent risk to the public and will continue to monitor groundwater samples. If an imminent risk arises, we will inform the public promptly,” the state agency stated.

The plant closure comes about three months after Xcel Energy filed an application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew its license to operate the Monticello facility.

Valerie Myers, a senior health physicist at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and part of the federal team overseeing the cleanup, attended a public hearing held for residents to weigh in on the license renewal, the WCCO reported Wednesday. , a affiliate.

Myers explained that there is three times more tritium in a hallway exit sign than in the water under the Xcel Energy nuclear power plant.

“If you look at the dose impact of something like this, it would be a fraction of a milligram. I’m talking 0.00-odd milligrams. The average person will get 300 milligrams in a year just from the sun, the soil, everything.” Myers told WCCO.

However, Myers said the groundwater is being monitored due to the plant’s proximity to the Mississippi River.

“There are wells between those that show elevated tritium levels and the Mississippi that don’t show elevated levels. We’re monitoring this because groundwater flow is heading toward the Mississippi,” Myers said.

Tritium occurs naturally in the environment in extremely low concentrations, and people are often exposed to it in small amounts on a daily basis, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. It can enter the body when people swallow water containing the isotope, “inhale tritium as a gas in the air, or absorb it through the skin,” the agency states in an online explanation.