Durbin Addresses Braidwood Community Concerns with Safety of Water Supply
DURBIN ADDRESSES BRAIDWOOD COMMUNITY CONCERNS WITH SAFETY OF WATER SUPPLY
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent letters to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Stephen Johnson, and the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), Doug Scott, requesting that the agencies work together to prevent any future contamination of the groundwater supply in Godley. Durbin also sent a letter to the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASTDR), Dr. Howard Frumkin, requesting an independent health study of the water system to determine the potential health impacts of tritium-contaminated water, and other contaminants in the area.
"Recent spills at the Braidwood plant, along with contamination problems in local wells, have raised serious concerns in the community," said Durbin. "Braidwood area residents must be given a full and accurate account of how safe their drinking water is and what will be done to both monitor the current situation and prevent future contamination. The Braidwood community needs a comprehensive and long term solution that will keep them safe and informed.
The Braidwood Nuclear Generating facility recently informed local residents that their plant leaked tritium 22 times since 1996, with significant spills in 1996, 1998 and 2000, totaling over 6 million gallons of tritiated water. Exelon, the owner and operator of the Braidwood facility, is currently providing bottled water to many of the residents of Godley and monitoring drinking water wells. While the quality of the water supply has not been directly linked to recent tritium spills, these incidences have highlighted the need to conduct a thorough study of the level of contaminants in the drinking water supply and closely monitor local wells.
In today's letter to IEPA, Durbin acknowledged recent efforts by the agency to monitor both private and public wells but expresses concern "that once the current round of monitoring of private drinking water wells is complete, area residents may remain concerned about potential subsurface tritium migration." Durbin asks both EPA and IEPA to invest in longer term monitoring in order to provide the community with a consistent and reliable source of information regarding water safety levels. A longer term monitoring system will also help detect future contamination, in the case of another unexpected tritium release.
At a Godley community meeting in April, Durbin met with local residents who expressed concerned with a recent report citing a high number of cancer incidences within a three-mile area of an outlet pipe originating at the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station. The study, done by a local community organization, the Concerned Citizens Awareness Group, documented the occurrence of more than 60 cancer cases over a 20-year span in a specific area outside of Braidwood.
In today's letter to ASTDR, Durbin stressed the need for an accurate account of the situation, noting that "It is critical that these residents receive an unbiased, independent review and analysis of the water system upon which they rely and the potential health implication of tritium and other hazardous contaminants in their groundwater supply."
After a series of reports that the Braidwood plant failed to disclose that radioactive substances had leaked into the groundwater, Durbin introduced legislation with Senator Obama (D-IL) and Congressman Jerry Weller (R-11th) that would require all nuclear companies to inform state and local officials if there is an accidental or unintentional leak of a radioactive substance. The Nuclear Release Notice Act would require that when a radioactive leak occurs that exceeds limits set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Environmental Protection Agency or other federal agencies, state and local officials are notified simultaneously with NRC.
The text of the letters is below:
May 23, 2006
The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
Dear Administrator Johnson:
I would like to request the involvement of the Environmental Protection Agency in monitoring the impact on the residents of Godley, IL of the accidental releases of tritium from the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Facility located just north of the city.
In the past few months, the residents of Godley were informed that tritium at the Braidwood Nuclear Generating facility has reported 22 leaks of tritium since 1996; with significant spills in 1996, 1998 and 2000 totaling over 6 million gallons of tritiated water. While Exelon, the owner and operator of the Braidwood facility, is currently providing bottled water to many of the residents of Godley and monitoring drinking water wells, residents remain concerned about the potential for long-term exposure to tritium.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) has been working diligently since late November 2005 to uncover the extent of the contamination in this area. The agency has issued two violation notices to Exelon and has referred this case to the Illinois Attorney General's Office for enforcement. IL EPA has requested that Exelon conduct significant testing of groundwater near the plant in areas of previous leaks of water that contained tritium. Discussions between the IL EPA, IL AG and Exelon are underway.
While current sampling results indicate no significant elevated levels of tritium in private drinking water wells, residents need the certainty that their drinking water is safe, not only today but in the long-term. When the current monitoring of the wells ceases, residents are concerned that any migration that may occur in the future will go undetected. Additionally, long-term monitoring could provide a means to detect whether there are any additional releases of tritium that may go undetected.
Therefore I am requesting the that the EPA work with the IL EPA, Exelon and the residents to provide long-term monitoring of area wells to ensure there is no migration of tritium or other radionuclides impacting the drinking water wells used by the residents. I look forward to hearing from you on this matter.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
May 23, 2006
Mr. Douglas P. Scott
Director
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
1021 North Grand Avenue East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
Dear Mr. Scott:
I am writing to you about the concerns of the residents of Godley, IL, and the ongoing activity related to the tritium contaminated water released from the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station located just north of the city.
I appreciate the IL EPA's diligent attention to this issue, including the two notices of violation, the decision to involve the IL Attorney General in the matter, and your continued efforts to require Exelon to deal with the contaminated areas. It is imperative that every effort be made to assure residents that their water is safe and that they are not adversely affected by the previous releases from the Braidwood facility. Additionally, I believe that we must take every step available to prevent any future contamination of the groundwater supply in Godley.
A few weeks ago, I visited with residents of Godley. Understandably, area residents remain concerned about potential exposure to tritium as well as the potential health impacts of any possible exposure they received over the past ten years as these releases occurred. I know that IL EPA has directed ongoing monitoring of both private drinking water wells and monitoring wells. I also understand that no tests of private drinking water wells have shown tritium levels greater than the maximum permissible level that has been established by U.S. EPA for safe drinking water. However, I am concerned that once the current round of monitoring of private drinking water wells is complete, area residents may remain concerned about potential subsurface tritium migration. At this time, does the IL EPA have any intention of providing long-term monitoring of private wells in the area to ensure that there is no migration of tritium in the Godley groundwater supply? Longer term monitoring can provide at least some certainty to area residents that their water will remain safe, and may provide the opportunity to detect future contamination should an unexpected release occur again.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to discussing this possibility with you.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
May 23, 2006
Dr. Howard Frumkin, MD, DrPH
Office of the Director
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
1600 Clifton Road, Mail Stop E-2A
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Dear Dr. Frumkin:
I am writing to you today concerning the town of Godley, Illinois. A citizen group has brought to my attention a cancer cluster within a three-mile area of an outlet pipe originating at the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.
Godley residents have recently been informed that tritium at the Braidwood Nuclear Generating facility leaked 22 times since 1996, with significant spills in 1996, 1998 and 2000 totaling over 6 million gallons of tritiated water. Exelon, the owner and operator of the Braidwood facility, is currently providing bottled water to many of the residents of Godley and monitoring drinking water wells.
In late April I visited with residents of Godley, who presented me with information related to cancer cases in the area. The Concerned Citizens Awareness Group has reported more than 60 cancer cases over a 20-year span in a specific area outside of Braidwood. This area is also in close proximity to the former Joliet Arsenal. The residents claim a high incidence of cancer near a release line coming from the Braidwood Nuclear facility to the Kankakee River. These cases include brain, colon, lung, cervical, and other cancers. Additionally, statistical information provided by the Will County Health Department shows significant increases in low birth-rate babies born in the years 1997 through 1999, 2001, and 2002.
While Exelon maintains that there is no indication of alarming levels of tritium in the drinking water wells being monitored, the residents are concerned about the long term exposure that they may have experienced over the past ten years. It is also important to note that elevated levels of heavy metals and arsenic, not originating from the Braidwood facility, have been identified in the Godley water supply.
It is critical that these residents receive an unbiased, independent review and analysis of the water system upon which they rely and the potential health implication of tritium and other hazardous contaminants in their groundwater supply. Many questions plague Godley's residents and while the nuclear facility operator is taking responsibility for its unplanned releases and attempting to address their concerns, the residents of Godley need an independent analysis of any potential threat to their well-being.
I am therefore requesting the assistance of the ASTDR in completing a health assessment of the area in order to determine the impacts of the releases of tritiated water, the elevated levels of heavy metals and arsenic and any other potentially harmful exposure uncovered during the course of ATSDR's analysis.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to working with you and the ATSDR to ensure that a thorough health assessment is completed.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
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