May 19, 2013

Radioactive water leaks into Lake Michigan


The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant was shut down after officials discovered a growing leak in a water storage tank the previous day. Safety investigators reported that 79 gallons of radioactive water from the 250,000-gallon tank leaked into a basin holding thousands of gallons of nonradioactive water. The same tank sprang a leak in 2012.


The plant is in Van Buren County's Covert Township. It has been under heightened attention from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because of a series of breakdowns over two years.

The leak rate went from about 1 gallon on Friday to about 90 gallons Saturday, leading to the shutdown.

Palisades is owned by New Orleans-based Entergy. It has been shut down nine times since September 2011.

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