“A power failure at a nuclear reactor in Illinois has been traced to a failed piece of equipment at a switchyard that delivers power to and from the plant, the company said Tuesday.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared Monday’s incident an “unusual event,” the lowest of four levels of emergency.”
***”The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, but federal and plant officials say the levels were safe for workers and the public.”
First, i would like to say much love to the people of Chicago — this is the last thing anyone needs to hear right about now — but since the MSM decided to BURY this story — Im sure it will come as a shock to a lot of people up in the great ‘windy city’.
If you were outside today in Downtown Chicago — Any time after about 1030am CST — 1/30/2012 — chances are , you may have been exposed to NUCLEAR RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT from the steam that was vented by the Byron Illinois / Exelon Nuclear power plant.
More specifically, aerosolized particulates of Tritium were in the clouds of steam released—- those clouds then blew down into Chicago area proper. As to whether people inhaled these particles — only time will tell now.
They say low levels— but — you can easily find out the health risks associated with this radioactive particle.
On top of fukushima (japan) radiation – this is the last thing anyone needs.
Tritium (/ˈtrɪtiəm/ or /ˈtrɪʃiəm/; symbol T or 3
H, also known as hydrogen-3) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium (sometimes called a triton) contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium (by far the most abundant hydrogen isotope) contains one proton and no neutrons. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare on Earth, where trace amounts are formed by the interaction of the atmosphere with cosmic rays. The name of this isotope is formed from the Greek word “tritos” meaning “third.”
Health risks
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, which allows it to readily bind to hydroxyl radicals, forming tritiated water (HTO), and to carbon atoms. Since tritium is a low energy beta emitter, it is not dangerous externally (its beta particles are unable to penetrate the skin), but it is a radiation hazard when inhaled, ingested via food or water, or absorbed through the skin.[14][15][16][17] HTO has a short biological half-life in the human body of 7 to 14 days, which both reduces the total effects of single-incident ingestion and precludes long-term bioaccumulation of HTO from the environment[16].
Tritium has leaked from 48 of 65 nuclear sites in the United States, detected in groundwater at levels exceeding the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards by up to 375 times.[18]
Regulatory limits
The legal limits for tritium in drinking water vary from country-to-country and from continent-to-continent. Some figures are given below.
European Union: “investigative” limit of 100 Bq/L.
The American limit is calculated to yield a dose of 4.0 millirems (or 40 microsieverts in SI units) per year. This is about 1.3% of the natural background radiation (roughly 3000 microsieverts).
