On Saturday, it was reported that Buchanan New York’s Indian Point Energy Center, a nuclear power plant that began operations in 1962, was leaking, but Governor Andrew Cuomo was quick to release a statement saying the leak poses no threat to the public.
“Our first concern is for the health and safety of the residents close to the facility and ensuring the groundwater leak does not pose a threat,” Cuomo wrote. “This latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable and I have directed Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos and Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to fully investigate this incident and employ all available measures, including working with Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to determine the extent of the release, its likely duration, cause and potential impacts to the environment and public health.”
The leak is said to be far from drinking water systems, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released its own statement saying, “tritium emits a weak form of radiation, a low-energy beta particle similar to an electron. The tritium radiation does not travel very far in air and cannot penetrate the skin.”
Even though tritium cannot travel far, only about 6 millimeters, it does pose a serious radiation hazard if it is inhaled or ingested.
As natural gas prices continue to fall, and other energy sources gain popularity, nuclear power plants are becoming less profitable to maintain. For this reason, Cuomo called for this particular power plant to be closed by the end of last year.
The levels of tritium found remain below federal safety limits, but an investigation has been launched into the source of the leaks.
