Study shows radioactive wastewater would linger

Any radioactive wastewater discharged from the decommissioning Pilgrim nuclear power plant on Cape Cod Bay would linger in the bay potentially for months rather than drift out to sea, a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has revealed.

“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,” said Woods Hole study leader and physical oceanographer, Irina Rypina.

There are approximately 900,000 gallons of wastewater stored at the closed Pilgrim reactor site, contaminated with “four gamma emitters (Manganese-54, Cobalt-60, Zinc-65 and Cesium-137) and Tritium (H-3 a beta radiation emitter),” according to an analysis by plant owner, Holtec International, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Area residents, the fishing community and political leaders have been opposing Holtec’s efforts to dump the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay or vent it into the atmosphere.

The findings of the study were welcomed by Democratic Massachusetts senator, Ed Markey, a long-time champion for nuclear safety.

“This study is a major outcome for the communities surrounding Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, who have been questioning the effects of a proposed release of radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay for years,” Markey said in a statement on his website. 

“Now, we have a peer-reviewed study that finds Holtec’s plans for discharge would bring wastewater towards communities along the Cape Cod shoreline. I am grateful to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for their continued commitment to conducting research that can be used to support the health and well-being of Massachusetts residents.”

Markey also noted the lack of faith the community continues to have in Holtec, which has acquired several closed nuclear plants in order to decommission them but in some cases is also attempting to restart shut down reactors (such as Palisades, MI) or build its own small modular reactors at decommissioned sites (such as Oyster Creek, NJ). Holtec has no experience constructing or operating nuclear power plants. 

“When Holtec took over the decommissioning of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in 2019, the company promised this community an open and transparent decommissioning process—a promise Holtec’s CEO repeated to me in a hearing I chaired in Plymouth in 2022,” Markey said.  “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.”

More