You see, this leak had been occurring months prior to the MDH announcement, which was the first time that many Minnesotans had even heard about the radioactive leak. Xcel reported it to the Minnesota Duty Officer (MDC) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) back in November, but the spill was only made public this week.
Why did it take four months for the MDH to inform the Minnesota public that a potentially serious radioactive incident occurred right in their own backyards? This is the question that many are now asking as the scandal unfolds.
"The leak was stopped and the company is monitoring the groundwater plume through two dozen wells," the health department wrote. "An estimated 20 percent of the tritium has been recovered through extraction wells, and contaminated water continues to be pumped from the groundwater."
(Related: Remember the massive radioactive disaster known as Fukushima?)
Minnesota government, Xcel claim no risks even though just one-fifth of leaked tritium has been recovered
If just 20 percent of the tritium was removed, where is the other 80 percent? And how can local officials continue to tell the public that the leak "poses no health and safety risk to the local community or environment" when clearly there is more tritium hiding in the ground, and potentially in groundwater, near the plant?
According to the Minnesota government, there is no risk at all to the Mississippi River or other local aquifers, but how can they know this for sure if only one-fifth of the leaked tritium has thus far been recovered from the contamination site?
Xcel issued a statement claiming that the leaked radioactive water is "fully contained on-site and has not been detected beyond the facility or in any local drinking water." If this is really true, why, once again, did it take four months for the authorities to tell anyone about it?
Something stinks bad, really bad, and the public deserves answers. What do you think about this latest incident involving deadly chemicals being released into the environment?
"Should be no problem if you're boosted and wearing a mask," joked one commenter on a news story about the incident. "A snug-fitting surgical mask is highly effective against gamma irradiation because of Science™."
Just to be clear, the above comment is a joke. It is meant to highlight the lunacy of government officials telling us throughout the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic" that a paper or plastic cloth prevents viral spread, which is equally as unscientific as wearing the same type of mask to protect against nuclear radiation exposure.
"You just need to social distance six miles from your contaminated home and you will be perfectly fine in 10,000 years," joked another, again making fun of the government (but not making light of this potentially serious situation.
Others emphasized the importance of living far, far away from nuclear power plants, if possible, because of the high potential for leaks and other contamination that, as we can all see, sometimes go unreported for very long periods of time.
"If anyone thinks we have better transparency than China, then he is wrong," noted another about how the United States is no better than the world's worst communist dictatorship in terms of telling the public the truth about serious matters.
"We are far worse," this person added.
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