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Officials Hid a Big Leak of Radioactive Water from a MN Nuclear Plant

The recent train disaster in Ohio was followed by a number of other incidents endangering health and the environment. But before the chemical disaster of Ohio, 400 thousand gallons of radioactive leak from a Minnesota nuclear power plant was reported last year. However, state officials kept the news from the public until now.

The Nature of Radioactive Water Leak

As reported in media over the weekend, at least 400, 000 gallons of radioactive water leaked from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear plant in Minnesota in November last year. Xcel Energy had reported the leak to both state and federal officials back then. However, officials kept the information from the public and revealed it the past Thursday (March 16, 2019).

nuclear plant radioactive water leak
Screenshot @ BitChute

According to Xcel Energy, the leak came from a pipe between two buildings. The leaked water contained tritium, the radioactive isotope of Hydrogen. Tritium water emits beta radiation and in very small amounts exists in nature. Beta radiation from naturally occurring amount of tritium water is not considered a health risk to humans unless large-scale exposure is involved.

The Officials Knew

The four-month delay in informing the public of the leak, however, has led to questions over transparency on behalf of the officials responsible for regulating the safety of the power plant. The Omaha World-Herald reported that industry experts insist that the leak from the nuclear plant has not posed any public health threat. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesperson Michael Rafferty was cited as he tried to explain the reason for the delay in making the information of the leak public.

“We knew there was a presence of tritium in one monitoring well, however Xcel had not yet identified the source of the leak and its location.”

Video reports show that the citizens of the affected area expressed concern over the leak and the fact that they were kept in the dark about the incident.

https://twitter.com/lonestarherd/status/1636794127718154246

The media reports stated that the radioactive water is slowly flowing toward the Mississippi River. But readers were skeptical of these claims too.

Cleanup Still in Progress

Meanwhile, Xcel stated that it has recovered about 25% of the tritium water so far.

Ernest Dempsey
Ernest Dempseyhttp://www.ernestdempsey.com/

Ernest Dempsey is a writer, editor, blogger, and journalist based in Orlando, FL. He runs a popular blog Word Matters! and edits the journal and its blog Recovering the Self. Dempsey is a skeptic, vegetarian, and advocate for animal and human rights.

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