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Apr 5 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Hal Dardick
Chicago Tribune
In the wake of disclosures of tritium spills at Exelon Nuclear-owned plants, the Illinois House on Tuesday approved a bill requiring any radioactive leak at a nuclear power plant to be reported to state oversight authorities within 24 hours. "The governor intends to sign it," said Abby Ottenhoff, a spokeswoman for the governor. "It gives our state regulators the kind of authority they need to find out about these leaks and respond quickly to protect the communities." Exelon Nuclear spokesman Craig Nesbit said of the bill, "Anything that clarifies the reporting requirements is a good thing." Exelon has taken heat for not disclosing until this year the spills at Braidwood. Those disclosures came after elevated levels of tritium were found in groundwater outside the plant. It also has reported tritium leaks at two other power plants. Tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, is a byproduct of nuclear generation. It can enter the body through ingestion, absorption and inhalation. Chronic exposure can increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and genetic damage, but federal and state regulators say the levels of tritium near the Braidwood plant pose no threat to public safety. Under the bill, any unpermitted release of radioactive materials would have to be reported within 24 hours to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. The agencies also would be required to conduct quarterly inspections of each nuclear power plant to ensure they are compliant with rules and standards that would be established within a year of the bill's signing. The rules could be written to allow for "self-inspection by the owner or operator of the nuclear power plant," according to the bill.
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