ML101270439

Y020100187 - List of Historical Leaks and Spills at U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants

ML101270439
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Salem, Oconee, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Kewaunee, Catawba, Saint Lucie, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Ginna, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, San Onofre, Quad Cities, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick
Issue date:	05/05/2010
From:	Conatser R NRC/NRR/DIRS/IHPHPB
To:
Conatser, Richard 415-4039
References
FOIA/PA-2011-0115, Y020100187
Download: ML101270439 (4)

Text

Rev 12, 4-Dec-13 List of Historical Leaks and Spills At U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants Introduction This is a list of reactor sites that experienced a leak or spill to the environment at some time since initial startup. The list only includes those leaks or spills where tritium in the leak source or the groundwater sample was greater than 20,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The term leaks and spills includes all types of non-routine releases in which tritium from reactor operation contacted the soil in an unintended fashion.

Source of Information This information was compiled by NRC staff and is based on available records including Annual Effluent Reports, Annual Environmental Reports, Groundwater Questionnaires, Preliminary Notifications, Event Notifications, Licensee Event Reports, NRC Inspection Reports, Special Reports, and other documents submitted by the licensees to the NRC. Although the records search was extensive, extending back to the 1970s, the search was not all inclusive.

Purpose The NRC has received many questions from the public, the news media, and politicians concerning spills and leaks at power reactor sites. Although most of these questions were similarly focused on groundwater contamination, the questions were different enough to produce significant variations in the responses. This list is intended to be the best single response to those questions involving numbers such as:

• How many sites have had leaks or spills of radioactive material?

• What concentrations of tritium were involved?

• What are the current tritium concentrations at each of the sites?

Contents The tritium concentrations listed include (1) the approximate historical maximums and (2) the current concentrations. The values shown provide a reasonable indication of the magnitude and extent of the historical leaks and spills as well at the current conditions at these sites.

The approximate historical maximum concentration reflects the result of a single leak or spill at a site. In this way, it is a snapshot of the maximum concentration on the date listed. Although a particular value may remain on this list, in reality it is not stagnant. The maximum concentration begins to decrease immediately, and continues to decrease over time. Additionally, the maximum concentration decreases as the material travels through the soil due to dilution and dispersion. As a result, this report also includes the current concentration of tritium to provide some perspective on how the tritium concentrations decrease over time.

The value listed as the current concentration lists the highest tritium concentration found in the environment, on facility property, at the current time or within approximately the last year. The values listed do not necessarily credit any remediation - such as soil removal - that may have occurred following a leak or spill. This is because the analysis results prior to remediation are typically broadly communicated, whereas the analysis results after remediation may not be

readily available or as broadly communicated. As a result, for some sites the actual current tritium concentration will be less than the value indicated. Even so, the current concentration listed below provides a reasonable approximation of the plume concentration currently on each site. If a value has not been updated within the past year, it indicates the value listed is a good approximation of the current site conditions. The current status of these sites reflects the most recently available information as of the date shown at the top of this page. This list will be revised as new information becomes available.

Samples are collected from onsite and offsite locations. Samples are collected from both drinking water wells and non-drinking water sample points (e.g., storm drains, man holes, bore holes, piezometer tubes, monitoring wells, surface water, puddles, and rain water). All of these samples are evaluated for inclusion in this list. Although some values in the list exceed 20,000 pCi/L, none of those samples were from a drinking water well or from a municipal drinking water system. In fact, although samples are collected from drinking water wells and municipal drinking water systems, none of those samples have ever exceeded 20,000 pCi/L. As a result, a value of 20,000 pCi/L in this list does not imply the drinking water standard in EPAs Safe Drinking Water Act has been exceeded.

After a radioactive spill or leak, tritium is generally the first radionuclide to be identified in groundwater. This is because tritium travels through the soil faster than other radionuclides.

Leaks and spills at some sites (e.g., Indian Point, Braidwood) involved nuclides other than tritium (e.g., Cobalt-60, Cobalt-58, Cesium-134, Cesium-137, Strontium-90, Nickel-63), but those radionuclides are not included in this list.

Significant Changes in this Version

• The current status of several sites were reviewed and updated accordingly.

Summary There are 65 locations in the United States where commercial nuclear power plants are operating. Records indicate 45 of these sites have had leaks or spills that involved tritium in excess of 20,000 pCi/L at some time during their operating history. Eighteen sites are currently reporting tritium, from a leak or spill, in excess of 20,000 pCi/L. Although many sites have had leaks or spills involving tritium, no site is currently detecting tritium in the offsite environment, or in drinking water, in excess of 20,000 pCi/L.

Tritium rapidly disperses and dissipates in the environment, and as a result, tritium from leaks and spills is typically not detected outside the facility boundary. The historical data indicates in only one instance, at Braidwood, was tritium from a leak or spill found in the offsite environment in excess of 20,000 pCi/L. All samples from Braidwood since 2008 indicate tritium is no longer present in excess of 20,000 pCi/L in either the onsite or the offsite environment.

Conclusion The existing complement of 104 power reactors, each operating for approximately 20-40 years, represents approximately 3,000 reactor years of operation. During that time, leaks and spills involving tritium have occurred at many commercial power reactors in the United States. This list demonstrates that in all of that time, and with all the leaks and spills that have occurred, no drinking water supply has exceeded the allowable level for tritium specified in EPAs Safe Drinking Water Act.

Rev 12, 4-Dec-13

List of Historical Leaks and Spills At U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants It is imperative that the preceding paragraphs accompany any reproduction of this list so that the information is communicated in the proper context.

Approximate Historical Approx Plant Date of Status Maximum Date of Current Concentration of Update Tritium Historical Tritium (or highest concentration Concentration, Maximum in approximately the last year),

1. pCi/l Tritium pCi/l 1 Beaver Valley 25,583 30-Sep-10 19,200 30-Sep-12 2 Braidwood 247,000 1998 3,800 11-Jun-12 3 Browns Ferry 2,050,000 7-Apr-10 1,013 31-Dec-11 4 Brunswick 19,000,000 Dec-2010 3,539,000 17-May-11 5 Byron 82,000 13-Feb-06 1,150 July-2011 6 Callaway 200,000 June 2006 9,654 18-Mar-11 7 Catawba 47,500 8-Oct-07 11,300 20-Mar-12 8 Columbia 270,000 13-Mar-93 1,300 7-Nov-12 9 Crystal River 360,000 21-Apr-98 50,000 Jan-11 10 Davis-Besse 37,500 23-Oct-08 707 31-Dec-12 11 Dresden 10,312,000 31-Jul-04 85,000 28-Nov-11 12 Duane Arnold 2,150,000 12-Oct-12 2,150,000 12-Oct-12 13 Fitzpatrick, J.A. 105,000 Apr-2011 34,000 Jun-2011 14 Ginna, R.E. 20,000 1995 Not detectable from 1995 event 31-Dec-11 15 Hatch, E.I. 6,840,000 29-Sep-11 5,000,000 31-Dec-12 16 Indian Point 600,000 2005 137,000 31-Dec-11 17 Kewaunee >20,000 2006 1,257 24-Oct-11 18 Limerick 3,950,000 13-Feb-09 345 Oct-2012 19 LaSalle 715,000 30-Jun-10 290,000 16-Nov-11 20 Millstone 4,000,000 28-Nov-07 10,600 5-Dec-11 21 Monticello 21,300 12-Sep-09 2,317 31-Dec-11 22 Nine Mile Point 44,000 14-Aug-12 Not detectable Nov-2012 23 North Anna 53,300 22-Dec-11 53,300 22-Dec-11 24 Oconee 35,600 Feb-10 45,000 31-Dec-11 25 Oyster Creek 10,800,000 24-Aug-09 218,000 11-Oct-11 26 Palisades 217,351 31-Dec-09 8,952 28-Feb-12 27 Palo Verde 4,200,000 19-Mar-93 None detectable 31-Dec-12 28 Peach Bottom 196,000 8-Mar-10 31,900 21-Nov-11 29 Perry 59,900 2006 200 31-Dec-12 Approximate Approx Current Concentration of Date of Status Historical Date of Tritium (or highest concentration

1. Plant Update Maximum Historical in approximately the last year),

Tritium Maximum pCi/l Concentration, Tritium pCi/l 30 Pilgrim 25,552 7-Jul-10 1,290 1-Nov-11 31 Quad Cities 7,500,000 2008 375,000 1-Jan-11 32 River Bend 1,135,000 25-Feb-13 1,135,000 25-Feb-13 33 Salem 15,000,000 Apr-2003 36,200 Sep-2012 34 San Onofre 330,000 7-Aug-06 3,700 19-Dec-12 35 Seabrook 750,000 1999 2,051 16-Nov-11 36 St. Lucie 161,000 2000 6,270 31-Jan-10 37 Summer 23,000 7-Jul-11 23,000 7-Jul-11 38 Surry 31,900 2007 13,400 15-Feb-11 39 Susquehanna >20,000 1995 Not detected 31-Dec-10 40 Three Mile 900,000 1981 5,400 22-Nov-12 Island 41 Turkey Point >20,000 1979 5,320 31-Dec-10 42 Vermont 2,500,000 8-Feb-10 76,200 30-Apr-12 Yankee 43 Vogtle >20,000 1990s 1,100 31-Dec-11 44 Waterford >20,000 1997 Not detected 31-Dec-11 45 Watts Bar 550,000 8-Feb-05 13,363 9-Nov-11