Durbin: Study health near nuclear plant
• In wake of tritium leaks: Senator echoes concerns of the Braidwood area
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is urging an independent health study be done to determine the potential health hazards of the contaminated water found in and around the Braidwood Power Plant. "Recent (tritium) spills at the Braidwood plant, along with contamination problems in local wells, have raised serious concerns in the community," Durbin said. "Braidwood-area residents must be given a full and accurate account of how safe their drinking water is. The Braidwood community needs a comprehensive and long-term solution that will keep them safe and informed." This comes as good news for a group known as the Concerned Citizens Awareness Group. Recently they revealed 111 cases of cancer over a 20-year span in areas surrounding the nuclear power plant. They asked Durbin for the study at a meeting in Godley. |
The group mapped out cancer cases, noting type and home location.
| On one
three-mile stretch along West River Road and Illinois 113 there were 11
homes with at least one cancer case over the past 20 years.
Shirley Cavanaugh, one of the group's founders, said one of the problems she discovered is the fact that most doctors do not list cancer on death certificates. Usually the cause of death is listed as things such as renal failure due to complications of cancer. "I am so pleased that something is being done," Cavanaugh said. Cindy Sauer, a former Minooka resident whose daughter has brain cancer, has been saying something is wrong here for the past two years. She points to the high rates of leukemia and childhood cancer in areas near nuclear power plants. She called Durbin's request for the study a beginning. "Hopefully, a long-term health monitoring system will be put in place, especially in areas that are high-risk corridors such as Will and Grundy County," Sauer said. Earlier this year, Exelon Corp. informed local residents that their nuclear power plant in Braceville leaked tritium 22 times since 1996 with significant spills reported in 1996, 1998 and 2000. More than 6 million gallons of tritiated water have leaked from the power plant facility. Tritium is a radioactive substance commonly found in small concentrations in most surface water. It is produced in high concentrations in commercial nuclear reactors. Long-term exposure, through drinking or bathing, can increase risk of cancer and birth defects. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines allow 20,000 picocuries of tritium per liter of drinking water. Exelon has always maintained that the amounts found in the releases were safe, acceptable and well within the federal guidelines. None of the cancer cases has been directly linked to the tritium spills. Recent testing of local wells by Exelon and the Will County Health Department revealed no unsafe amounts of tritium. However, county tests revealed unsafe levels of coliform, E. coli and nitrates. The type of wells used to supply water in the rural areas surrounding the power plant could be part of the problem. Custer Park, Braidwood, Braceville, Wilmington, Godley, Essex and Reed Township are near the power plant. Water customers within the limits of Braidwood, Braceville and Wilmington are not included because they have their own municipal water supplies. Exelon officials have often said they plan to put "substantial resources" toward finding a good water supply for the residents living in the areas with the bad wells. The nuclear power operators have said they take full responsibility for the unplanned releases. Durbin made the request in the form of a letter to Dr. Howard Frumkin, director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He also sent letters urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to work together to prevent any future contamination of the groundwater supply in Godley and seeking plans for long-term monitoring of the wells.
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