By Peggi Sturmfels, Program Organizer, New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010

Tritium (or radioactive hydrogen) contamination of ground water was discovered at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station (OCNGS) in Lacey Township, New Jersey on Friday May, 14, 2010. According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) it was attributed to an airborne release of tritiated water from OCNGS' isolation condenser system following a reactor shutdown on July 17, 2007.

Tritiated water also leaked from two underground pipes at the plant in April 2009. The tritium released from the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant has infiltrated 2 aquifers, the Cape May and now the Cohansey which is the drinking water supply for most of South Jersey.

This has caused the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to issue a Spill Act directive requiring plant owner, Exelon, to clean up the tritium and investigate the cause. Reported measurement of one well on March 16th 2010, showed the tritium at 50 times the accepted government standards. Failure to comply with the directive will trigger a cleanup by the NJDEP with treble damages accessed to Exelon--i.e. charge Exelon 3 times the cost of the cleanup because they failed to voluntarily do it themselves.

Exelon is making misleading claims of safety and no cause for alarm by stating that tritium is not a threat because it is a naturally occurring substance. According to the NJDEP, naturally occurring tritium is at levels so low that it is barely detectable. Further, Exelon claims that NJDEP has no authority over them and is dismissive of their action.

Tritium is a hydrogen isotope (3H) that emits ionizing radiation in the form of beta particles. Tritium is released into the air and water as byproducts of nuclear power plants and weapon systems. As reactors and their components age and degrade, more and more tritium is released into the environment. Tritium remains dangerous for at least 120 years, 10 to 20 times it's "half-life" of 12 years in order to decay away.

At this time, there is no economically feasible technology to remove tritium released into a reactor's waste water or into the air. As a result, tritium releases are a part of the routine operation of a reactor and not just "an accident." Because there is no monitor that can detect or record true amounts of tritium, no one really knows how much tritium is released every year.

Why Tritium is a Health Hazard?

Although the NRC continues to refer to 1979 safety data regarding tritium, more recent studies, particularly from France and Canada have shown that tritium can have many health implications that include: developmental abnormalities, genetic and reproductive effects, cancer and cell death.

Other research indicates that Tritium can cross the placenta and remain in fetal tissue. Tritium in water can break complex double strand DNA molecules and render then irreparable. This DNA sensitivity can alter the heredity and life of future organisms, posing higher risks for birth defects and miscarriage.

Lower doses of tritium have shown more cell death, mutations and chromosome damage than higher doses. Beta emitters, like tritium are 2 times more damaging than x-rays or gamma rays in causing damage to human cell tissue.

So the question remains, what is tritium doing in our aquifer?

For more information and take action steps, contact NJ Environmental Federation's Program Organizer Peggi Sturmfels at 732-280-8988, psturmfels@cleanwater.org, or visit http://cleanwateraction.org/feature/nuclear-water-leaks-new-jersey-aquifer