Durbin Secures ATSDR Safety Study of Godley Water Supply

DURBIN SECURES ATSDR SAFETY STUDY OF GODLEY WATER SUPPLY

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has agreed to conduct an independent health study of the Godley water system to determine the potential health impacts of tritium-contaminated water, and other contaminants in the area. Today's announcement comes one month after Durbin sent a letter to ATSDR requesting that they conduct an independent health study of the water system.

"The decision to conduct a study of Godley's water system is a positive development in our efforts to ensure the safety of Braidwood area residents," said Durbin. "One month ago, I asked for a full and accurate account of how safe the local drinking water supply was and what will be done to both monitor the current situation and prevent future contamination. Today, we received assurances that Braidwood area residents will have an objective scientific review of the safety of their water supply."

At a Godley community meeting in April, Durbin met with local residents who expressed concerned with a recent report citing a high incidence of cancer 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 an area outside of Braidwood.

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 incidents 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 Durbin's letter to ATSDR, he stressed the need for an accurate account of the situation, noting that "It is critical that these residents receive an independent analysis of the water system which they can trust and the potential health implications 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.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=257565&&