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NRC Says Spill At Prairie Island Posed No Danger

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a spill of radioactive tritium at Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant was so small the utility wasn't required to report it.

An NRC report says the plant notified regulators about a spill Monday of 27 gallons of condensate water from a heating steam system that overflowed onto the ground after return pumps failed to operate.

NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng says the tritium concentration was well below the level the Environmental Protection Agency allows for drinking water and did not pose a health risk to workers or the community. She says the utility isn't required to report such small releases but does so as a courtesy.

Lea Foushee of the North American Water Office, a nuclear watchdog group, says there's no safe dose of radiation.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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