You may not want to go swimming off Cape Cod for a bit. Nuclear waste being dumped off the coast could turn the waters radioactive for as long as a month.
According to a study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, nuclear waste had a "high probability" of sticking around. The Pilgrim Nuclear PowerStation in Plymouth, Massachusetts is discharging nuclear waste into the water as part of its decommissioning. The study found that this nuclear waste has a chance of lingering around Cape Cod.
"Our numerical simulations suggest it is unlikely that the bulk of plume waters will leave the Bay in less than a month,'" said the study's leader Irina Rypina. The study found nuclear waste could affect the waters near Dennis, Wellfleet, and Provincetown.
"If the release were to happen in the spring and summer, a small portion of a plume might leave the bay in less than a month, passing north of Provincetown and then flowing southward along the outer Cape," the study said.
"We found virtually no out-of-the-Bay transport in winter and fall. And slightly larger, but still low, probability of some of the plume exiting the Bay in spring and summer,"Rypina also said.
Cape Cod Situation
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey responded to the situation in Cape Cod. The senator said that the study confirms the worst fears of Cape Cod residents, who criticized dumping waste into the water.
"In the years since, Holtec has fallen woefully short on this commitment. In light of these recent findings, I urge Holtec to develop a wastewater discharge plan that is informed. And guided by scientific fact and community input," Markey said.
However, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said dumping nuclear waste into waterways is a normal procedure for the decommissioning of power plants.
"The controlled release of liquid effluents at nuclear power plants, within specified regulatory limits, is an activity that occurs throughout the operation. And decommissioning of a facility," said the NRC.
Meanwhile, the plant's owner Hotlec also released a statement, saying that it will be completely safe. The company has released thousands of gallons of waste water previously.
"Those discharges were done within the safe federal and state limits. And reported to the NRC and publicly available on their website. This includes studies to determine any potential impact to sea life. And the Bay which showed that safety has always remained. And plant impact has been negligible," the spokesperson told the outlet.
