400,000 gallons of radioactive water leaked from a nuclear plant in Minnesota
Associated PressMar 16, 2023
Xcel Energy is cleaning up a leak of 400K gallons of water contaminated with radioactive tritium from the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in Minnesota after a leak occurred.
According to a statement from the utility company, the leaked water "is fully contained on-site" and has not been detected in any local drinking water supplies.
While the leak does not pose a risk to the public or the environment, authorities are still taking this situation seriously and working very hard to address the situation. This incident — including its health and environmental consequences — is being carefully monitored and all potential risks are being evaluated.
Although this leak is not dangerous, and tritium spills happen from time to time, any nuclear leak is still worrying. The nuclear plant is not far from a major city and it could have been a lot worse. Any time a nuclear leak occurs, there is cause for concern — and it took authorities a while to make this information public.