The state has issued a written request to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for information about possible air pollution stemming from evaporation of contaminated water at the plant.
Seth Pickering, a deputy regional director at the Department of Environmental Protection, put the request in writing Feb. 21 after first discussing it last month. The agency is giving the owner of Pilgrim, Holtec International, three weeks to calculate how much pollution the public could be breathing.
Over a nine-month period last year, 150,000 gallons of water evaporated from Pilgrim. The water in the reactor system contains radioactive elements and other contaminants.
If emissions are high enough, it could trigger a state application process.
Patrick O’Brien, a spokesman for Holtec, said evaporation has been happening at Pilgrim since the plant opened in 1972. Holtec filters the water and monitors emissions continuously, he said.
But scientists have said water treatment can’t remove every contaminant, including tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
State testing in April showed the water at Pilgrim contains tritium and four “principle” gamma radiation emitters: manganese-54, cobalt-60, zinc-65, and cesium-137. Also detected were metals, volatile organic compounds, and PFAS chemicals.
Preliminary testing of the pre-treated water did not look for strontium-90, a radionuclide of particular health concern, because it requires more in-depth testing.
