A Quarter of U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Leaking a Radioactive Material Linked to Cancer

www.alternet.org...

Quote from source:
At least 27 of America's 104 aging atomic reactors are known to be leaking radioactive tritium, which is linked to cancer if inhaled or ingested through the throat or skin.

Like a decayed flotilla of rickety steamers, at least 27 of America's 104 aging atomic reactors are known to be leaking radioactive tritium, which is linked to cancer if inhaled or ingested through the throat or skin.

The fallout has been fiercest at Vermont Yankee, where a flood of cover-ups has infuriated and terrified near neighbors who say the reactor was never meant to operate more than 30 years, and must now shut.

In 2007 one of Yankee's 22 cooling towers simply collapsed due to rot.

Now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has confirmed tritium levels in a monitoring well at Vernon to be 3.5 times the federal safety standard. The leaks apparently came from underground pipes whose very existence was recently denied by VY officials in under-oath testimony at a public hearing. Vermont's pro-nuclear Republican Governor Jim Douglas has termed the event "a breach of trust that cannot be tolerated."

Yankee is owned by Entergy, a Mississippi-based consortium that also owns New York's Indian Point reactor, which suffered an internal gusher of radioactive water in May, 2009. Another leak has just been found at Oconee in South Carolina. Illinois' Braidwood leaked so many millions of gallons of tritium-laced water that its owner, Exelon, was forced to buy a new municipal water system for a nearby town.

I thought I would post this because will all this "green" craze going around people are talking about going Nuclear. I personally do not think that would be the answer to the "problem" as it produces so much radioactive waste.

Will the possible health links that are associated to this type of nuclear energy I do not understand how this could possibly be the answer to any question.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

reply to post by predator0187


Great post -- probably the best source keeping up on the nuclear fuel rod decay and tritium leaks is the quarterly journal Nukewatch -- freely readable online:

www.nukewatch.com...

I feel that the solution is not just nuclear, but could very well incorporate it.

Nuclear power plants in my opinion do not need to be situated near large populaces. No matter "how safe" they are claimed to be.

If possible/feasible, putting one in the Nevada desert then linking it over to L.A would be my idea of how they could implement nuclear power. Toss one up in a proximity near a big city yet far enough away that if an error would occur the damage would be minimal.

Then again...solar sounds a lot safer.