BRACEVILLE - Wednesday's high winds caused contaminated water to lap over the sides of a concrete lined retention basin at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Plant.

Exelon spokeswoman Krista Lopykinski said about 1,500 gallons of tritiated water were blown out of a retention basin. The water tested at about 75,000 picocuries. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency says 20,000 picocuries per liter of drinking water is considered safe.

Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactors producing electricity. Elevated levels of tritium are believed to cause cancer.

"All the water was kept on our property," Lopykinski said. "No workers were exposed. We put sandbags around the area to contain the water."

This is the third problem this month reported from area nuclear power plants.

On May 4, about 5 gallons of tritium-laced water leaked out of a crack in a steel storage container at the Braidwood Plant.

The same day, a malfunctioning valve was discovered during a routine maintenance check at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant. Unit 2 was taken off-line for repairs that were fixed in less than a week.

There are three units at the Dresden facility. Dresden's Unit 1 has been dormant for many years. Unit 3 operated at full power while the repairs were being made.

Exelon spokesman Bob Osgood said there was no risk to the public and no release of radiation caused by the problems earlier this month.

Reporter Kim Smith can be reached at (815) 729-6067 or ksmith@scn1.com ksmith@scn1.com

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