Environmental experts are testing condensate and water in the system for tritium. Levels normally found in this system are a fraction of a percent of regulatory limits for airborne releases, which are part of normal plant operations, according to the company.
Produced in greater concentrations in commercial nuclear reactors, tritium is an isotope of hydrogen with a weak level of radioactivity, which is formed naturally in the upper atmosphere and is a component of rain found in virtually all or earth’s surface water.
The two nuclear energy units of Braidwood Generating Station, which is approximately 60 miles southwest of Chicago, can produce a total of more than 2,300MW net at full power, enough electricity to power more than 2 million homes.
