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The Associated Press yesterday reported that leaks of radioactive Tritium have occurred at 75% of all commercial nuclear power sites in the US. The findings are the result of a year-long AP investigation, which also revealed that at 37 of those facilities, the concentration of leaked Tritium exceed allowable limits under federal drinking water standards. The material also made its way into drinking-water wells in Illinois and Minnesota, and into a waterway in New Jersey. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is aware of the problem, but states the amount of material released does not present a public health hazard. In lock-step with nuclear industry representatives, the NRC is less concerned with the health and safety ramifications, and more concerned that news of the leaks damages public confidence in nuclear power. While the details are fuzzy regarding the health effects of small releases of Tritium, the AP makes the underlying cause crystal clear. America’s decades-old nuclear power plants are in a general state of decay. Corroded pipes are the source of many leaks, and inspections are difficult and costly. The AP reports that at a 2009 conference, representatives of the biggest nuclear operator in the US said, “100% verification of piping integrity is not practical.”

GUEST: Harvey Wasserman, journalist, author, and a leading advocate of renewable energy technologies.

Find out more at: www.nonukes.org