• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Spent Nuclear Fuel Pool Leaked

Posted on: Thursday, 3 November 2005, 18:00 CST

By Gary Libow, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Nov. 3--HADDAM -- Radioactive water from the decommissioned Connecticut Yankee nuclear plant's spent fuel pool once leaked into the surrounding soil, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported Wednesday.

The contamination appears to have remained on-site, and public health and safety is not endangered, both the NRC and Connecticut Yankee stress.

Workers decommissioning the plant Monday discovered hairline cracks in the 6-foot thick concrete walls containing the spent fuel pool, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

But those cracks may not have been the reason for the contamination. Instead, it appears an unknown quantity of contaminated water seeped through seams in the concrete into a small area of soil, according to Connecticut Yankee officials.

"[Contamination] is confined to a very small area on-site," Connecticut Yankee spokeswoman Kelley Smith said. "We are still investigating."

The spent fuel pool housed the nuclear plant's highly radioactive uranium pellets for decades. The rods and radioactive metals have been removed from the pool, but the water remains.

The Haddam Neck plant, which permanently shut down in 1996, produced 110 billion kilowatt hours of electricity over 28 years.

In reporting the discovery to the NRC, Connecticut Yankee stated that while the quantity of water leaked is unknown, a review of historic data indicates the it was "on the order of a few gallons per day."

Connecticut Yankee informed the NRC the leakage was discovered when workers removed soil east of the spent fuel building.

Based on readings from monitoring wells, there was no travel of tainted water beyond the plant's property line, the company told the federal agency. Connecticut Yankee also notified the state Department of Environmental Protection there appeared to be no contamination beyond the company's property line.

The NRC's Sheehan said evidence of the leakage consisted of the hairline cracks and the accumulation of a white powder around the cracks.

Sheehan said the spent fuel pool contains a stainless steel liner with a leak-detection system, and Connecticut Yankee has stated that the system has detected no significant leaks during the plant's operation or since.

Smith said the company, in the midst of decommissioning, does not think the hairline cracks traverse through the thick concrete walls.

"It does not appear that any water seeped through the hairline cracks. It may possibly have seeped through the concrete construction seams," Smith said.

"[Contamination] is confined to a very small area on-site," Smith said, noting it may be impossible to determine when the leak occurred.

Connecticut Yankee's investigation, to date, includes excavation of a 10- by 30-foot area as part of its investigation.

Smith states that cesium, a by-product of nuclear plant operation, has been found underground in a 4- by 4-foot area of soil east of the spent fuel pool building. That localized contamination has been remediated, she said.

First Selectman Tony Bondi said neither Connecticut Yankee nor the NRC had informed him of the discovery.

"My God, it really surprises me something this egregious can happen," Bondi said. "We need to determine the extent of the leakage and the consequences of it."

Local resident Sal Mangiagli, an anti-nuclear activist, also wants assurances Connecticut Yankee will test extensively to determine the scope of contamination.

"It's really disheartening to think they had a leaking spent fuel pool," said Mangiagli, a member of Citizens Awareness Network.

"A couple of gallons, if it was really radioactive, is a lot. And if it was going on day after day, it's disturbing," he said.

-----

To see more of The Hartford Courant, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.courant.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Hartford Courant, Connecticut

More News in this Category