Another Radioactive Tritium leak at Indian Point Nuclear Powerplant, New York

[Ian David]

GLIDE Number: NC-20070424-10983-USA
Date / time: 24/04/2007 03:23:23
Event: Nuclear Event
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of New York
City: New York
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:
A new leak of the radioactive isotope tritium has been discovered at Indian Point, coming from an underground steam pipe near the northwest corner of the Indian Point 3 turbine building, company officials and federal regulators confirmed today. The amount of water carrying tritium and its radioactive concentration is small, according to Don Mayer, who has been working on radiological leaks at the plant since they were first discovered nearly two years ago.

Tritium was first discovered to be leaking beneath Indian Point 2 in August 2005 and an investigation of that leak led to the discovery of a strontium 90 leak near the defunct Indian Point 1 reactor.

The latest leak is unconnected to the earlier leak, Mayer said this afternoon. The new leak's concentration is between 2,000 and 3,000 pico-curies/liter, about a seventh of the allowable concentrations for drinking water, according to Mayer.

The amount of tritium is low as well because the pipe is used for steam, and any moisture that shows up would come from condensation during the steam's release. Mayer said there was no threat to worker or public safety and he expected the area to be excavated later today to allow workers to repair or close off the broken part of the pipe.

More:
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?lang=eng&cid=10983