Regina Birchem, Ph. D.
St. Joseph
Two years ago on Nov. 22, the Monticello nuclear plant staff notified the Nuclear Regulatory Operations Center of an unintended release of radioactive water from the Monticello nuclear reactor. I write “unintended” because there are routine gas releases from this type of nuclear plant.
Radioactive waste leaking from a pipe into groundwater was downplayed. We were told it was contained, did not reach the Mississippi River and that it was no risk to health. Months later it was noted the leak was larger than first thought and had begun earlier: 829,000 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium.
The “Monticello Times” reported on June 6, 2024, that the NRC admitted to the Monticello community that tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, did reach the Mississippi River.
Tritium cannot be filtered from water and becomes incorporated in molecules of biological systems.
The Monticello reactor is a 53-year-old General Electric boiling-water plant, the same type that exploded in 2011 in Fukushima, Japan – an area that is still toxic and uninhabitable for 100 years.
The Monticello plant began operation in 1970 and the license was extended in 2006. Extending the life of the aging plant another 20 years is being decided now. One of the oldest in the country, it likely has structural weaknesses and corrosion.
Radioactive waste in casks at the site must be protected for centuries, a huge burden and economic drain for future generations. Instead of 20 more years of potential for accidents, we could have 20 years of responsible management, and clean-up done by the seasoned Monticello workforce with their institutional knowledge. For a just transition for workers, Xcel can make the choice to stabilize the local property-tax base.
We have dismantled nuclear stations. We can do this. The Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Mississippi River is a place to start: savethemississippi.com.