19 juin 2015
Alors que le niveau naturel de tritium des nappes phréatiques est de zéro selon des documents anciens du CEA, les "responsables" essayent d’expliquer que les niveaux retrouvés dans la nappe phréatique sont insignifiants ! Il s’agirait pourtant de 37 nanocuries mesurés par litre d’eau, soit 1 395 Bq/l. A noter que la NRC ne mentionne pas ce problème sur son site.
Type : Fukushima I (BWR Mark I) - Puissance : 3 514 MWth - Première divergence : n° 2 : 09/1973 ; n° 3 : 08/1974
Available in english only.
Radiation detected in groundwater at Peach Bottom nuclear plant
Officials say no danger, but they are monitoring situation By Brett Sholtis
bsholtis@ydr.com @BrettSholtis on Twitter
Updated : 06/19/2015 01:54:01 PM EDT# Comments
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, shown here in this 2003 file photo, reported that on April 17, a groundwater monitoring well detected tritium — a radioactive isotope. Officials say they are monitoring the situation. (FILE PHOTO)Radiation at levels above industry safety thresholds was detected in groundwater at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, according to an Exelon report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Exelon, the company that owns and operates the power plant, reported that on April 17, a groundwater monitoring well detected tritium — a radioactive isotope — at 37,700 picocuries per liter.
Neil Sheehan, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman, said Exelon has to report any level of tritium in excess of 20,000 picocuries per liter, the EPA-endorsed threshold for safe levels in drinking water.
Sheehan said the tritium posed no public health or environmental concern.
"It is possible that the water could eventually migrate into the plant’s outlet canal, and from there it could make its way into the river," Sheehan said in an interview. "If so, the potential dose would be negligible. If the amount were to make its way into the Susquehanna, the dilution effect would be so great that, even if you were to take multiple water samples, it would not be detectable."
Bemnet Alemayehu, project scientist at Natural Resources Defense Council, said 37,700 picocuries of tritium is too low to cause "any significant health effect."
"The dose is much lower than natural background radiation exposure," Alemayehu said.
But Paul Gunter, a director at public interest group Beyond Nuclear, said the tritium points to a larger problem of recurring leaks, which the industry doesn’t take seriously.
"This is a one-off measurement in one well," Gunter said. "It doesn’t say how much got out. This is what they detected at that one point."
Gunter pointed to past incidents at Peach Bottom, such as in 2009 when 123,000 picocuries per liter were detected at a well.
Peach Bottom spokeswoman Krista Connelly said increased public awareness of tritium levels is actually in part due to industrywide improvements in regulatory standards put in place in 2006. Connelly also said radiation detected in groundwater wells "specifically designed to allow for early detection and prompt mitigation" didn’t necessarily mean tritium would reach drinking water.
"The affected groundwater is monitored, has not affected drinking water or the river, and results of more recent tests have shown tritium levels have returned to previous values," Connelly said in an email. "Both state and federal regulatory officials were notified and are periodically updated on the monitoring program."
At time of publication, Connelly said she was working with Exelon engineers to provide the public with an understanding of how the tritium got into the groundwater and what steps, if any, have been taken to solve the problem.
https://www.ydr.com/local/ci_28341942/minor-leak-detected-at-peach-bottom-atomic-power
La boutique
Informez vous