Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station Releases Radioactive Tritium into Mississippi River

Image Source: Bionerd

Not only is there a record flooding along many parts of the Mississippi River in Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee, there is an additional concern of dealing with a radiation release into the mighty Mississippi - specifically tritium (the radioactive isotope of hydrogen). The Grand Gulf Nuclear Station is responsible for the release.

An unknown amount of radioactive water was released accidentally into the Mississippi River late last week at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station...

...An alarm apparently alerted workers to the presence of tritium, a byproduct of the nuclear reactor processes. The pumps were turned off stopping the flow.