(KNSI) — There will be an open house Q&A session Monday regarding two leaks amounting to a spill of over 400,000 gallons of water tainted with a radioactive element from the Monticello nuclear power plant.
The session is scheduled for Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Monticello Community Center.
The first incident happened in November when the water which contained tritium leaked from a pipe. Xcel notified the state and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but there was no public notification about it at that time as there was no environmental or public threat, according to Xcel.
The news came as a shock to locals after a second smaller incident earlier this month, and Xcel publicly announced the first spill.
Xcel says it is taking new measures and has reclaimed roughly a third of the contaminated water. Cleanup is expected to last for the next year.
The company says there is no threat to the environment or the drinking water, but locals say not telling people the first time around shows a lack of transparency.
The plant was temporarily powered down and will possibly remain offline until its next scheduled routine maintenance in mid-April.
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