Leak contained by safety measures; no hazard to the public
- By Stephen Heiser -
Exelon officials have confirmed that a tritium leak discovered at the Dresden Nuclear Power was never a hazard to the general public. The leak was discovered by workers last week during routine monitoring. Contaminated water was found in one monitoring well and in nearby drains in a concrete containment structure. "While this is not a public or employee safety issue, we are committed to being forthright, clear and concise with our neighbors about the status of our plant operations," said Tim Hanley, Dresden site vice president.
Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope that is a by product of nuclear reactors producing electricity. Trtium is also a naturally occurring element and is used for nuclear fusion. Station experts are still working to determine the source of the trtium. The plant has a monitoring system in place which includes 71 on-site wells that never contained a high amount of tritium until last week.
"Our monitoring program functioned as designed alerting us to the presence of tritium early so that we can address this issue quickly and effectively," Hanley said.
Exelon officials said that state and federal authorities were notified of the tritium leak over the weekend.
Dresden station is located in rural Grundy County in Northern Illinois, and is home to the nation's first full-scale, privately financed nuclear power plant, which began operation in 1960. Capable of generating 210 megawatts of electricity before its retirement in 1978, Dresden Unit 1 is designated a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society.
Dresden Units 2 and 3 began commercial operation in June 1970 and November 1971, respectively. In October of 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating licenses for both units for an additional 20 years, extending them to 2029 and 2031. Both units contain boiling water reactors designed by General Electric. Unit 2 is capable of generating 869 megawatts of electricity, while Unit 3 is capable of generating 871 megawatts. Together, the units can produce enough power to support the electricity needs of more than 1 million average American homes.
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