MONTICELLO, Minn. – The massive leak of radioactive water at the Xcel nuclear-power station has reached into ground water, the company said. In a news release, Xcel said the plant has been shut down. Although the radioactive element tritium is in groundwater, none has been found in drinking water, Xcel said. The company repeated its assurances that the tritium content in the water is minute and no health hazard. The company said the shutdown of the 50-year-old would be temporary but offered no timetable.
Earlier: Regulators: Let’s not cry over spilt milk — err, tritium
Earlier: Xcel, government agencies assure new openness
Public relations turn-around
The shutdown came a day after a public meeting at which Xcel and gernment regulators assured townspeople that the 400,000-gallon leak had been contained and that 130,000 gallons already had been recovered. The cleanup, Xcel said, probably would take a year, but not to worry, the tainted water contained mere traces of tritium had not reached groundwater or the nearby Mississippi River. The announcement of groundwater contamination was a mid-course reversal of Xcel’s secrecy about the leak since November. The secrecy turned out to be a public nightmare for Xcel and complicit government agencies when news media belatedly learned about the leak this month. In response, Xcel on Wednesday pledged itself o transparency in the future. Now, with the groundwater development, the company has scheduled a public meeting Friday for an update and another meeting Monday.