Mississippi River Gets Radioactive Water Dumped into It from Nuclear Plant
May 9th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan
That’s not the kind of thing you want to hear, especially not with the flooding going on. But, reportedly, Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant workers in Mississippi “accidentally released water from an abandoned unit into the river.” A large amount of tritium, a cancer-causing radionuclide, was in the water according to sensors.
Of course, with all things nuclear these days, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has announced that there’s nothing to worry about: “although the concentration of tritium exceeded EPA drinking water limits, the release should not represent a hazard to public health because of its dilution in the river,” Lisa Uselding, public affairs officer with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV, said.
Experts are trying to figure out why tritium was in standing water in an abandoned unit of the nuclear plant. They are also trying to figure out exactly how much tritium ended up in the Mississippi. (Funny that despite not knowing how much made it into the river, the NRC is stating it doesn’t represent a public health hazard.)
“A beta radioactive substance, tritium bombards cells and damages DNA when inhaled or swallowed, and can persist in the body for more than ten years upon exposure,” Ethan A. Huff of Natural News reports. “Its perpetual effect on cells can lead to all sorts of serious diseases, including, but not limited to, gene mutations, birth defects, and cancer.”
Even if it is considerably diluted in the Mississippi River, it can potentially cause harm to people.
If you have any more news on this story, drop it in the comments below.
Related Stories:
- Canadian Nuclear Plant Leaks Radioactive Water Into Lake Ontario
- My Thoughts on Nuclear
- Germany Abandons Nuclear Power
Photo of Mississippi River via Thomas Hawk
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009. Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he's the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity. To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.
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