Discover Top American-Made Products!
Support local craftsmanship with these high-quality, American-made items—shop now on Amazon!
Shop NowMinnesota authorities are finally coming clean. Officials explained in a statement that a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis had suffered a radioactive water spill. Over 1.5 million liters of radioactive water leaked from the power plant.
Xcel Energy, the company that owns the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, is working to clean up the spill. The company spokesperson insists there is no danger to the general public.
🤬Minnesota: Xcel Energy's Monticello in Nuclear Generating Plant leaked about 400,000 gallons of water containing radioactive tritium… pic.twitter.com/tZsX70JKah
— Truthseeker (@Xx17965797N) March 17, 2023
State officials apparently agree as they also have made statements indicating there is no immediate public health risk.
It was in November of 2022 that the leak was originally discovered. However, state officials did not notify the public about the situation until last week.
The water that leaked out of the power plant contained tritium. Tritium is a common by-product of operations at a nuclear facility.
Tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It emits a weak form of beta radiation that does not travel very far in the air. According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), this element is too weak to penetrate human skin.
🚨#BREAKING: Over 400,000 gallons of radioactive water has leaked from a nuclear plant
📌#Monticello | #Minnesota⁰
The Minnesota Department of Health and other state agencies are currently monitoring the Xcel Energy Monticello Nuclear plant after over 400,000 gallons of water… pic.twitter.com/ZCeyH37plz— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 17, 2023
Tritium spills are not uncommon at nuclear plants but are typically contained on-site and rarely affect public health or safety.
Xcel discovered the leak on 21 November. The leak was due to damage to a pipe between two buildings at the Monticello plant. The plant is located near the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Health made it clear that the leak did not reach the river.
The company notified the state and the NRC the day after discovering the leak.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of radioactive water leaked from Minnesota nuclear power plant | Just The News https://t.co/Mq5FMzYB2J
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) March 18, 2023
“If at any point there had been a concern for the public safety, we would of course, immediately have provided more information. But we also wanted to make sure we fully understood what was going on before we started raising any concerns with the public around us,” Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, told CBS News.
“Xcel Energy took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment,” the Company’s statement explained.
