Environmental group report claims water supply threatened by nuclear power

The drinking water for 4.8 million people in Massachusetts could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at nuclear power plants in the region, claims a new report released by the MASSPIRG Education Fund and Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center.

“Here in Massachusetts, the drinking water for well more than half of our state is too close to an active nuclear power plant to ignore,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MASSPIRG.  

Representatives of MASSPIRG and other environmental organizations presented their report at a ceremony near Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Manomet.

The report argues public health and environment is harmed by Pilgrim's daily radioactive releases into the air because off-site releases are not properly monitored and disclosed to the public, and what the government standards are based on decades-old science. Leaks from nuclear power plants are becoming more common as the facilities get older, MASSPIRG states.

In an e-mail, Pilgrim spokesman Carol Wightman noted that the nearest drinking well to Pilgrim is about 3-4 miles upstream from Pilgrim Station. Pilgrim is licensed and monitored by the appropriate federal and state agencies for any discharges from the plant to the environment and we will continue to adhere to those federal and state regulations,” she wrote. 

"We must not be cavalier about protecting drinking water for over four million Massachusetts residents, vital to our public health and the health of our entire economy,” said Becky Smith of Clean Water Action.

Read MASSPIRG's report here.