Beyond Nuclear report reveals Peach Bottom leak is part of pattern
A groundwater monitoring well at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that tested positive in April 2015 for significant levels of tritium contamination is just the latest example of a decades-long pattern of leaking nuclear reactors and a weak regulatory system that fails to openly address and fix the problem as required in licensing agreements.
These were the conclusions of a Beyond Nuclear investigative report – Leak First, Fix Later: Uncontrolled and Unmonitored Radioactive Releases from Nuclear Power Plants – released today. The 2015 version of the report updates the findings of the first edition, published in 2010.
“Nuclear plant operators and their regulator consistently fail to address and enforce reactor performance requirements to protect the environment and public health,” said Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear and the author of the report. “Our research found that U.S. nuclear power plants continue to experience uncontrolled leaks and spills of radioactive water because the buried pipes and tanks that transport and store it remain inaccessible,” Gunter said.
June 18, 2015