About 200 gallons of oil has leaked at of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in southern Minnesota, according to Xcel Energy. The leak was discovered while crews were testing a motor that helps circulate cooling water through the plant. The plant has been “shut down for maintenance” since 20 February.
“It is our priority to be good stewards of the environment and the communities where our facilities are based,” said Xcel officials in a statement. While testing equipment as part of the maintenance work, operators identified a problem with low oil levels in one of the motors that helps circulate water through the plant for cooling.
Crews found that a component that keeps the motor’s lubricating oil separate from the cooling water had failed, allowing the water and oil to mix. Xcel says teams immediately isolated the equipment from the water supply and notified federal, state and local governments of the event.
Officials estimate that about 200 gallons of oil left the cooling equipment before it was shut down, and a portion of the oil made its way to the discharge canal. Plant personnel confirmed, however, that no oil reached the Mississippi River.
Xcel says, as a preventative measure, oil spill containment and absorbent booms have been set up in the discharge canal, as well as the closest point of the river outside the discharge canal, to capture and contain any oil that may be in the water.
The spill comes more than three years after 400,000 gallons of water containing the radioactive isotope tritium leaked into groundwater underneath the facility. Fixing the leak killed hundreds of fish.
Xcel was criticised for waiting months before alerting the public, and insisting only a small amount reached the river. The company was issued a $14,000 fine by state regulators and committed to transparency moving forward.
