| Radioactive tritium has leaked from three-quarters of United States commercial nuclear power sites, often into groundwater from corroded, buried piping, an Associated Press investigation shows. And the number and severity of the leaks has been escalating, even as federal regulators extend the licences of more reactors across the US. Tritium, which is a radioactive form of hydrogen, has leaked from at least 48 of 65 sites, according to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission records reviewed as part of AP's year-long examination of safety issues at ageing nuclear power plants. Leaks from at least 37 of those facilities contained concentrations exceeding the federal drinking water standard - sometimes at hundreds of times the limit. While most leaks have been found within plant boundaries, some have migrated offsite, but none is known to have reached public water supplies. At three sites - two in Illinois and one in Minnesota - leaks have contaminated drinking wells of nearby homes but not at levels violating the drinking water standard. At a fourth site, in New Jersey, tritium has leaked into an aquifer and a discharge canal feeding a bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The US Environmental Protection Agency says tritium should measure no more than 20000 picocuries per litre in drinking water. It also estimates seven of 200000 people who drink such water for decades will develop cancer. The tritium leaks have also spurred doubts among independent engineers about the reliability of ... |
