Clean-up of radioactive water leak ongoing in Minnesota

• The leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water is being closely watched by authorities.
• But there is no imminent public health concern.
• There is no imminent public health concern, according to state officials.

A leak of 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of radioactive water from a nearby nuclear power plant in Minnesota is being closely watched by authorities.

Xcel Energy, the utility company that runs the plant, said the spillage was “fully contained on-site and has not been detected beyond the facility”.

There is no imminent public health concern, according to state officials.

State officials found the breach in late November, but they did not alert the public until Thursday.

Tritium, a typical byproduct of nuclear plant operations, is present in the water.

According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of hydrogen that produces a weak kind of beta radiation that does not penetrate human skin and does not travel very far in air (NRC).

Tritium spills occasionally happen at nuclear power facilities, although they are normally localized locally and infrequently endanger public safety or health, according to the NRC.

At its Monticello plant, Xcel first noticed the leak on November 21 from a conduit between two structures.

Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, is located roughly 35 miles (56 km) upstream along the Mississippi River from the plant.

The business said that the next day, it had informed the NRC and the state.

“Xcel Energy took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment,” the Minnesota-based utility said in a statement on Thursday.

State officials verified that the water is contained on Xcel’s property and does not currently pose a risk to the public’s health but said they waited to make the leak public in order to gather more information.

The Mississippi River was not affected by the leak, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Approximately 25 percent of the tritium that was spilled has been recovered so far, and Xcel has indicated that it might construct above-ground storage tanks to house the tainted water.

The treatment, reuse, or disposal of the tritium and water collected is also being considered.

The company’s Monticello plant had experienced a minor leak in 2009.

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