EXCELON CONTINUES ITS STELLAR PERFORMANCE OPERATING NUCLEAR PLANTS
In April 2006, radioactive tritium escaped from a valve at an Exelon Nuclear power plant in Will County Ilinois. At the time, the company was explaining to residents how it planned to start cleaning up tritium from previous spills. The steam escaped from the notorious Braidwood Generating plant, which has a history of problems. About 500 gallons of water pooled on the ground and flowed into a ditch between the plant and the village of Godley. That's nothin. In 1998, about three million gallons of water containing tritium leaked from an underground pipe inside Braidwood Station’s northern boundary.
In recent months, Exelon has disclosed that water containing tritium spilled four times from the underground pipe between 1996 and 2003. Those spills contaminated groundwater outside the plant and led to four recent lawsuits, one filed by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and State's Atty. James Glasgow.
Tritium is a form of hyrogen found in "heavy water", a byproduct of nuclear generation. It enter the body through ingestion, absorption or inhalation. Chronic exposure can increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and genetic damage. County, state and federal officials have said the levels of tritium in groundwater outside the Braidwood plant are not a public health threat. So, not to worry.
