FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 2, 2007
Well testing analysis at Catawba nuclear plant complete
COLUMBIA – Testing of well water surrounding the Catawba Nuclear Station, operated by Duke Energy, showed no public health risk to local residents, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported today.
“Tests show the majority of the wells DHEC tested had no detectable levels of tritium,” said Patrick Walker, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Land and Waste Management. “This tells us that people living near the plant have not been drinking water contaminated with unsafe levels of tritium. We hope these test results will help answer concerns residents might have about tritium in their well water.”
Walker said DHEC staff tested 25 off-site wells surrounding the York County facility; 24 of those wells showed no tritium at all. The other off-site, private well registered 348 picocuries of tritium, well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water standard of 20,000 picocuries per liter of water. That well will be retested. Two on-site wells at the Catawba Nuclear Station were also checked. One of those wells registered 319 picocuries of tritium per liter of water.
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen. Tritium can bond with oxygen to form water and can move in groundwater. The radiation from tritium is considered weak and cannot penetrate human skin. It can enter the body through the mouth and nose. Tritium exists naturally in small amounts in the upper atmosphere and groundwater and can come from man-made sources.
The test samples were analyzed at DHEC’s laboratory in Columbia.
DHEC conducted the tests last month after Duke Energy reported results from a monitoring well located one-half mile inside the facility’s property. Tritium found in that monitoring well was 42,335 picocuries per liter of water. That well is used for environmental monitoring only and not for human consumption. DHEC will continue work with Duke Energy to investigate the cause of the finding.
DHEC will hold a community meeting to discuss the results with residents on December 6th at Crowders Creek Middle School at 7p.m.
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For more information:
Mary Nguyen Bright – (803) 896-4099
E-mail – brightmn@dhec.sc.gov
Thom Berry – (803) 898-3885
E-mail – berrytw@dhec.sc.gov
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