--- title: "Nuclear Plant Admits It Accidentally Leaked 400,000 Gallons of Radioactive Water" description: "Not-So-Breaking News Months after alerting environmental officials that its Monticello, Minnesota-based nuclear plant had sprung a radioactive leak, power provider Xcel Energy is finally facing public scrunity — which checks out, considering that neither Xcel nor local officials actually brought the news to the public's attention. As NPR reports, the leak — 400,000 gallons of […]" date: "2023-03-20" modified: "2023-03-20" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nuclear-plant-leak-water" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "nuclear plant" - "nuclear waste" - "radioactive waste" - "the digest" --- # Nuclear Plant Admits It Accidentally Leaked 400,000 Gallons of Radioactive Water ![Months after notifying government officials that its Minnesota-based nuclear plant had sprung a radioactive water leak, Xcel Energy has come publicly clean.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Not-So-Breaking Months after alerting environmental officials that its Monticello, Minnesota-based nuclear plant had sprung a radioactive leak, power provider Xcel Energy is finally facing public scrutiny — prompting criticism, since neither Xcel nor local officials actually brought the news to the public's attention. As [*NPR* reports](), the leak — 400,000 gallons of water laced with tritium, a radioactive hydrogen molecule — was first identified back in November. And though the public has *technically* had access to the news for a while in the form of an [official bulletin]() from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), corporate and government officials involved in the matter say that they kept the development quiet so they could investigate the scope of the leak in peace. "We knew there was a presence of tritium in one monitoring well," Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) spokesman Michael Rafferty [told the ]()*[Associated]()[ Press]()*, "however Xcel had not yet identified the source of the leak and its location." "Now that we have all the information about where the leak occurred, how much was released into groundwater, and that contaminated groundwater had moved beyond the original location, we are sharing this information," he added, noting that the contaminated water has been contained to Xcel-owned land and doesn't pose any concerns to human health. ## Transparency Woes To be fair, as far as accidental radioactive waste goes, tritium is relatively lower-risk. In fact, [according to an NRC fact sheet](), everyone is "exposed to small amounts of tritium every day, because it occurs naturally in the environment and the foods we eat." Xcel reportedly maintains that the leaked tritium levels fall below NRC toxicity guidelines. That said, radioactive leaks are never a net positive, and though secrecy may have staved off bad press during the investigation and containment process, it could well be argued that choosing to forgo transparency in cases like this sows more suspicion than it does trust. It can't be fun for locals to know that information was being withheld — whether the substance in question ultimately causes extensive, minimal, or even zero harm. "While this leak does not pose a risk to the public or the environment, we take this very seriously and are working to safely address the situation," Chris Clark, president of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said in the [company's statement](). "We continue to gather and treat all potentially affected water while regularly monitoring nearby groundwater sources." **READ MORE:** [*A nuclear power plant leaked contaminated water in Minnesota. Here's what we know*]() \[*NPR*\] **More on radioactive accidents:** [*Miners Say "Sorry" For Losing Highly Radioactive Object along Highway*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()