The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating a radioactive release into the Mississippi River from the Grand Gulf Nuclear Plant in Port Gibson.
A spokesperson from Grand Gulf tells News Channel 12 that they found standing water in an abandoned unit.
In an effort to remove the standing water, Entergy began pumping the water out and into a drain that emptyed into the Mississippi River.
A censor went off detecting the chemical “tritium” in the standing water.
NRC officials say the River has diluted the radioactive material and is not causing harm to the people.
Right now the incident is under investigation by the NRC.
Entergy officials tell News Channel 12 they are not sure of the source of the tritium.
There’s no word on how much Tritum was pumped into the river.
- Radioactive water released into river at Grand Gulf (Infiniteunknown):
PORT GIBSON — An unknown amount of radioactive water was released accidentally into the Mississippi River late last week at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station.
An alarm apparently alerted workers to the presence of tritium, a byproduct of the nuclear reactor processes. The pumps were turned off stopping the flow. Investigators are not certain why tritium was in the storm water or how it got there.
“Although the concentrations of tritium exceeded EPA drinking water limits, the release should not represent a hazard to public health because of its dilution in the river,” said Lara Uselding, public affairs officer with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region IV.
