Members of the public are calling on the state to release results of April water testing at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
The testing is designed to inform future decision making about whether Pilgrim owner Holtec will be allowed to discharge more than a million gallons of water from the Pilgrim nuclear plant into Cape Cod Bay.
Jim Lampert, a member of the state panel on Pilgrim, said he has asked for a copy of the test results from the Department of Public Health and others.
“More than a little frustrating,” he said. “Everybody who knows anything is stonewalling.”
The water will be treated but is expected to contain tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that cannot be filtered out.
Duplicate tests were conducted by Holtec and by state agencies.
Holtec says its water results are consistent with past testing and will be released soon. But concerned residents want to see data directly from the state.
Longtime activist Mary Lampert, also a member of the state’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel, said whatever the results, opponents hope the Healey administration will block Holtec from discharging the water.
“The agencies have not been directed to prioritize the environment over industries’ wishes since Dukakis,” she said. “That's a long time.”
Opponents assert that state law makes dumping of industrial waste into the bay illegal, regardless of specific contaminants.
Lampert said the state will likely unveil the water data May 22, at the panel’s next meeting.
“That way, they can control the spin,” she said. “If it dribbles from one person to the other, then there will be commentary, depending on who makes the comment. And I think they probably are trying to avoid that.”
CAI has filed public information requests for the test results.
