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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is eying Braidwood Gen-erating Station in the wake of a valve failure last summer in Unit 2. The June 24 failure involves a valve located outside the containment area. It controls the sump pump that drains water from the reactor, should it be necessary. The valve in question, and others on the two units, are located on the nuclear side of the station. NRC spokesman Viktoria Mitlyng said today the valve has since been repaired, and there is no longer any kind of safety concern to the station and the public. The NRC is now looking at what happened in the incident and why. "At what kind of weaknesses in the station's programs would have caused such a situation," she said. The NRC's report was issued Nov. 30, and received at Braidwood Station on Wednesday of this week, spokesman Neal Miller said today.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is eying Braidwood Gen-erating Station in the wake of a valve failure last summer in Unit 2. The June 24 failure involves a valve located outside the containment area. It controls the sump pump that drains water from the reactor, should it be necessary. The valve in question, and others on the two units, are located on the nuclear side of the station. NRC spokesman Viktoria Mitlyng said today the valve has since been repaired, and there is no longer any kind of safety concern to the station and the public. The NRC is now looking at what happened in the incident and why. "At what kind of weaknesses in the station's programs would have caused such a situation," she said. The NRC's report was issued Nov. 30, and received at Braidwood Station on Wednesday of this week, spokesman Neal Miller said today.

Exelon's Braidwood Station is waiting patiently for the United States Deptartment of Energy (DOE) to open a permanent storage facility for spent fuel. But in the meantime, the nuclear power plant has now reached a point where an alternative storage solution has to be found. Braidwood Station site communications manager Paul Dempsey and Public Affairs Manager Stephen Tribuzzi gave a presentation at the Jan. 27 regular meeting of the Braidwood City Council.

"Exelon plans to end its distribution of bottled water July 30 to some residents of Godley and others affected by radioactive tritium found in 2005 in groundwater wells near the Braidwood Nuclear Plant. Exelon has been providing up to 20 gallons of bottled water per week to some households for the past four years, according to a press statement released Friday. "Only about 150 of the more than 400 eligible participants are currently taking advantage of the bottled water program," said Exelon spokesman Neal Miller. "

"A $1 million agreement between Exelon, the Illinois Attorney General and the State's Attorneys of Will, Ogle and Grundy Counties has officially resolved the environmental consequences of radioactive tritium leaks into the groundwater beneath the Braidwood, Byron and Dresden nuclear power plants. Just about half of that is already earmarked for environmental projects in and around the areas of the affected plants. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan made the announcement late last week, stating that Exelon will pay more than $1 million to resolve three separate civil complaints that she and the State's Attorneys filed jointly, including civil penalties totaling $628,000 and $548,000 to fund several Supplemental Environmental Projects in and around the communities where the power plants are located."

Officials with Exelon Corp's Dresden nuclear plant near Morris, Ill., have identified an aluminum pipe as the likely source of a tritium leak reported this month. Officials said the leak posed no health threat. Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. Testing at the plant, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, found tritium levels of 3.2 million picocuries per liter of water in a monitoring well, storm drains and concrete vault. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter. Repairs are in progress, said Tim Hanley, the plant's vice president. The 24-inch pipe carries water between storage tanks. Records show Exelon took steps to hide tritium spills at its Braidwood Generation Station in Will County between 1996 and 2003. It agreed to pay $11.5 million toward a new water supply for the nearby village of Godley and is now required to inform state and federal officials of tritium spills as soon as they are discovered.

State Sen. Christopher Connors, R-Ocean, recently asked the state Department of Environmental Protection to answer tough questions about tritium leaks at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey that occurred about two weeks after the plant was relicensed for another 20 years. Advertisement Such action by an elected official is commendable. Now, Connors' efforts must be directed toward the federal agency ultimately responsible for this problem. By failing to ensure that a proper aging management program was in place at Oyster Creek, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again shirked its responsibilities. Corroding pipes leaking radioactive water into the surrounding environment is taking the NRC by surprise. This situation has been replicated at aging nuclear plants nationwide, including the Indian Point Nuclear Plant in Westchester County, N.Y., the Byron, Braidwood and Dresden reactors in Illinois and the Palo Verde plant in Arizona.

"Exelon will pay more than $1 million to resolve three civil complaints stemming from radioactive tritium leaks at the Braidwood, Bryon and Dresden nuclear power plants. The fine was announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the state's attorneys for Will, Grundy and Ogle counties. Madigan said the fine includes civil penalties totaling $628,000 and $548,000 to fund several supplemental environmental projects in and around the communities where the power plants are located. "It is imperative that Illinois' nuclear power plants are operated in a manner that does not endanger public health or the environment," Madigan said in a news release. "I appreciate the involvement and assistance of State's Attorneys (James) Glasgow, (John) Roe and (Sheldon) Sobol in reaching these successful settlements." "