The owner of Indian Point Energy Center is hoping a high-tech robot can find the source of a spike in radioactive material in the groundwater near the Buchanan nuclear power plant.
Samples from monitoring wells in April showed a spike in the presence of tritium, a weak radioactive form of hydrogen. The increased levels pose no health risk, according to a spokesman for the plant.
Samples are taken regularly and the levels have since dropped, although they haven”™t returned to previous levels, according to Entergy Corp., which owns the plant.
Now the company is turning to a robot that will descend into the pipes near the plant, using video technology so that experts can determine where the spike in tritium is originating, according to The Journal News. The robot-led investigation will take place next week, the newspaper said.
Indian Point, under a previous owner, saw a leak in its spent fuel pool for Indian Point 1, a reactor that was retired in 1974. That leak has since been fixed and is a separate issue, Entergy said.
The monitoring pools were installed as a way to keep track of future leaks and oversee what material was making its way into the ground around the reactor. The current sampling showed spikes from two wells near Indian Point 2, which was recently refueled and temporarily shut down during the process for maintenance. There is speculation the materials may have leaked out during that time.
Nappi said the company was continuing to monitor groundwater and looking to conclusively determine what caused the tritium increase in the spring.
Entergy is looking to relicense Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3 for another 20 years amid opposition from environmental groups and politicians including Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The power plant has drawn opposition due to its location on the Hudson River, 30 miles outside of New York City and within 50 miles of the homes of 17 million people.
The application process began in 2007, making the current relicensing review the longest in U.S. history.
