By William Opalka
A special inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to arrive at the Indian Point station Thursday to conduct an inquiry into why elevated levels of tritium were found in groundwater under the plant.
Plant owner Entergy reported the finding to New York state officials after routine monitoring found elevated levels in three out of 40 wells at the site in the Hudson Valley, about 40 miles north of New York City.
“Although we don’t have an exact cause, we believe its likely cause is activities done in preparation for an upcoming refueling operation,” Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi said Monday.
Early indications point to a sump pump failure that allowed contaminated water to leach into the holding wells, according to an NRC spokesman.
The latest incident provides more ammunition for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has sought the plant’s shutdown and who ordered state regulators to investigate its operations after two unplanned outages in December. (See NYPSC Denies Entergy Arbiter in Indian Point Investigation.)
Cuomo ordered the state departments of Health and Environmental Conservation to begin investigations of the incident.
“This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable,” Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday.
“This failure continues to demonstrate that Indian Point cannot continue to operate in a manner that is protective of public health and the environment,” the governor said in the letter he wrote to the state commissioners.
Entergy said there is no danger to the public or its workers.
“While elevated tritium in the ground on-site is not in accordance with our standards, there is no health or safety consequence to the public, and releases are more than a thousand times below federal permissible limits,” the company said in a statement.
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan repeated that ground water contamination offers no threat to the public or workers on the site.
The groundwater will eventually leach into the Hudson “where it will barely be detectable and will pose no threat to the public water supply,” Sheehan said.
Three permanent inspectors are stationed at the plant and they will offer support to the special investigation. If additional action is warranted, NRC will expand the investigation.
“I am urging NRC to fully investigate all the wells surrounding Indian Point and determine why the pump was not working, how far the contamination spread, how to prevent future spills and more importantly determine if local residents’ health and safety are at risk.” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said in a statement.