Tritium vented from Illinois power plant

Published: Aug. 4, 2009 at 11:45 AM

Small quantities of the low-level radioactive isotope tritium were vented into the air in Illinois last week, electric utility officials say.

A spokesman for Exelon said the incident at the Braidwood Generating Station in Braceville, Ill., came as part of the "normal" procedures used to re-start the plant after a power outage, The Chicago Sun-Times News Group reported Tuesday.

"We are still looking into the cause of the outage," Exelon spokesman Paul Dempsey told the news agency, adding that such releases of radioactive steam are allowed under Braidwood's operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Neighbors told the news agency they heard a sound resembling the take-off of a jet airplane for about an hour emanating from the plant.

"We appreciate the patience of our neighbors during the initial outage in which plant noises may have been loud and startling," added Bryan Hanson, Braidwood's vice president. "It is also important people realize that this kind of steam venting is part of the plant design and poses no environmental health or safety issues to workers or to the public."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/08/04/Tritium-vented-from-Illinois-power-plant/UPI-41351249400715/