Low levels of radioactive material have been found in the ground water around the Britain’s Dungeness B nuclear power station. An investigation has been launched to find the source of the leak of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. Tritium is a waste product from the processing of nuclear fuels and the storage of spent fuel.
The Office of the Nuclear Regulator said inspectors had found elevated tritium concentrations during routine water monitoring in three boreholes around the site in Kent since October 2012. Inspectors recorded tritium levels of around 850 Becquerels per litre. The World Health Organisation’s guidelines allow a maximum of 10,000 Becquerels per litre in drinking water.
EDF Energy, which runs Dungeness B, said it was still investigating the source of the leak but that tritium levels had now returned to original levels.
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