It took a nuclear power plant in the US four months to report a toxic spill, what happened in Monticello, Minnesota?

Minnesota authorities are overseeing the cleanup of a leak over 1.5 million liters of contaminated water from a nuclear power plant in the city of Monticello operated by energy giant Xcel Energy.

The leak was discovered nearly four months ago. Indeed, the US Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a warning at the time, but the company and state agencies did not inform the public until last week.

“Xcel Energy acted quickly to contain the leak at the plant site, which it poses no risk to the health and safety of the local community or to the environment“, the company announced in a statement.

The spill at the Monticello nuclear power plant

Ongoing checks confirmed the leak “is fully contained in situ and has not been detected outside the facility or in local drinking water,” the company said.

Authorities attributed the leak to a water pipe running between two buildings at the plant.. The amount of contaminated water leaked is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool by 60%.

Xcel is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and operates in eight US states.. Its two nuclear power plants are located in Minnesota. Monticello is located approximately 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis and has a population of approximately 15,000.

Because it took four months to report on the chemical disaster

“We are focused on investigating the situation and containing the affected water in accordance with our regulatory agencies,” Xcel spokeswoman Lacey Nygard told NPR.

When asked why there was a nearly four-month delay in notifying the public, Nygard explained that “now we are able to share with the public not only what has already been done, but what are we going to do next. This program allows us to provide the most accurate and complete understanding of the situation.”

In 2009, the same Xcel Monticello plant had a small tritium leak, which Nygard says was smaller than the 2022 leak and came from a well rather than a pipeline.

“Many operating nuclear plants have had some level of tritium leakage at some point in their operations”said Nygard.

Could the tritium leak in the United States be a new Chernobyl?

This tritium leak brings back the memory of Chernobyl or what happened to the train that derailed and spilled chemicals in Ohio, USA.

But how risky is escaping to Monticello? According to the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), during and after this spill of water contaminated with radioactive material, the incident does not pose a health risk to the residents of this facility.

What is Tritium, what was spilled in the Monticello plant?

Tritium is a naturally occurring form of hydrogen that emits a weak form of radiationwhich can’t travel far in the air or penetrate the skin, according to the NRC.

Tritium is also a byproduct of electricity generation in nuclear power plants, and the dose of tritium from there is much lower than the radiation exposure found in the natural environment, according to the NRC.

Xcel said the tritium levels in the filtered water were below NRC safe thresholds.

“Everyone is exposed to small amounts of tritium every day, because it occurs naturally in the environment and in the food we eat.”according to an NRC fact sheet.

Any exposure to radiation can pose certain health risks, including an increased incidence of cancer. Exposure risks are linear, meaning that lower levels of radiation carry fewer risks.

Eating or drinking food or water with tritium is the most common way it enters the body. It can also be absorbed through the skin. About half leave the body within 10 days of exposure.