Environmental groups alarmed by plan to dump Indian Point's radioactive wastewater into Hudson River
NEW YORK -- Environmental groups are alarmed by a plan to dump wastewater from Indian Point into the Hudson River.
The former nuclear power plant is being dismantled and the wastewater contains traces of radioactive tritium, but the company in charge is trying to ease the worries.
A discharge into the Hudson of water containing trace amounts of tritium would be nothing new for Indian Point. The plant was permitted to do it regularly during its 55 years of operation.
"It's a challenge for people to understand that it's done routinely. But it's done at very, very safe levels according to the science and the safety standards set," said Holtec's Patrick O'Brien.
Holtec is the company working to dismantle Indian Point through a process known as decommissioning.
There are a million gallons of wastewater on the site and a debate over what to do with it. Options include:
- Evaporation
- Removal by truck or train
- On-site storage for many years
- Discharge into the river
An independent expert advising the state said every option has a downside, but discharge into the river will "minimize harm" and trace amounts of tritium will immediately be diluted.
"At the end of the day it's really the least impactful, to go the liquid discharge route," said O'Brien.
Riverkeeper, an environmental group, disagrees.
"Just because we've been doing something for decades, like polluting the Hudson, doesn't mean that we should continue doing it," said Tracy Brown, Riverkeeper's president.
Riverkeeper believes the safety standards for tritium are outdated and don't consider possible specific risks to pregnant women and children.
The group is pushing for the water to be stored on site.
"With this site being in a decommissioning phase for the next 15 years, there is not a rush to quickly dump this water and get it off site," said Brown.
Holtec had proposed beginning the discharge in August. Environmentalists are looking at multiple options to stop the plan.
Plans to release wastewater are also controversial at the Pilgrim nuclear plant south of Boston and the Fukushima plant in Japan, which shut down after the 2011 tsunami.