Exelon pays for one of three leaking plants (Braidwood, Byron and Dresden plants)

[kristopher]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0312-exelon-leak-settlement-20100312,0,5583245.story

Exelon to pay $1 million to settle suits over leaks at power plants
Tritium-contaminated water seeped into ground around the company’s Braidwood, Byron and Dresden plants

By Michael Hawthorne, Tribune reporter

March 12, 2010

Exelon agreed Thursday to pay more than $1 million to settle lawsuits filed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan after the company allowed radioactive tritium to leak outside three of its nuclear power plants.

The legal settlement involves leaks of tritium-contaminated water that seeped into the ground around the company's Braidwood, Byron and Dresden plants. The penalty includes $628,000 in fines and $548,000 to fund environmental projects in Will, Ogle and Grundy counties.

"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 statement.

Tritium, the radioactive form of hydrogen, is found naturally in groundwater but is also one of the byproducts of nuclear energy production. Exposure can increase the risk of cancer, though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers it one of the least dangerous radioactive substances, in part because it leaves the body quickly.

Among the problems at issue were leak...