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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.

Exelon working to determine source of leak A radioactive leak at Exelon's Dresden nuclear power plant has been contained and isn't a risk to public health, authorities said Tuesday. Leaked tritium -- a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reaction that can cause cancer and birth defects -- was found Saturday during routine tests at the Grundy County plant, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The leak is not believed to have left the 1,700-acre plant site, which is not far from the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers. Exelon officials said leaked tritium has not entered the public water supply. But the company hasn't found the cause or source of the leak.

Chicago area nuclear critics say recurring tritium leaks like the one at the Dresden Nuclear facility near Morris last month muddy the picture of nuclear plants as a clean energy source. "Is a June 2009 tritium leak at the Dresden NPP 150 times higher than the EPA water standard henceforth to be considered "clean"?" David Kraft, with the Nuclear Energy Information Service asks in a detailed critique the "Sense of Congress Regarding the Strategic Role of Nuclear Energy (and Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing)" approved in June by the Senate Energy Committee. But local critics of nuclear power say it is more non-sense than sense; and it could lay the groundwork to turn Illinois into the "de facto Yucca Mt. of the Great Lakes."

A tritium leak was found during routine monitoring of Exelon Corp.'s nuclear power plant, but contaminated water was contained to the property and did not pose a public health threat, company officials said Monday. Testing at the Dresden plant, near the town of Morris 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.

"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."

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." "