Levels of radioactive tritium are still elevated in two monitoring wells at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey, according to new state data.
The plant had two tritium leaks in 2009, shortly after winning a 20-year license extension from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
While tritium levels have declined sharply in general, they remained above government limits in a 25-foot-deep well and a 20-foot-deep well in the Cape May aquifer, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The tritium levels were 202,000 and 46,400 picocuries per liter, respectively, in mid-October, according to the DEP.
The government limit in drinking water, surface water and groundwater is 20,000 picocuries.
Last year, the DEP ordered Exelon, which owns Oyster Creek, to remove the contamination.
The company has been pumping tritium-tainted water from the ground, funneling it through the plant and discharging it into Oyster Creek's discharge canal.
Due to dilution, tritium has not been detected in the canal. Tritium has also not been found off Oyster Creek property, according to officials.
The Oyster Creek nuclear plant and its discharge canal in Lacey (file photo by Bob Bielk)
