Holtec Still Deciding How To Dispose Of Plymouth Nuclear Waste

PLYMOUTH, MA — The company that is decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth released a statement Monday saying they are still evaluating how to dispose of radioactive wastewater when the power station goes offline.

Holtec International said the company will comply with all Environmental Protection Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations when disposing of about a million gallons of potentially radioactive water.

Holtec made the statement after several media outlets reported the company would dump the water into Cape Cod Bay. The Cape Cod Times and Boston Globe reported Holtec told the NRC it planned to start discharging water into the Bay in early 2022, in batches of up to 20,000 gallons at a time.

“Since the November 22nd Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory meeting there have been questions and concerns around the final disposition of processed water on the site," Holtec said in a statement posted to Twitter. "We have been consistent in our messaging since that meeting that over the next year we will be evaluating the regulatory approved options available and no final decisions have been made. The EPA and NRC have strict regulations regarding the disposition of all effluents from any decommissioning site and Holtec confirms that these requirements will be followed in all states where we conduct operations. We wanted to share that in the near term the decision at Pilgrim has been made that the processed water will remain on site, safely stored, and that we will not discharge any processed water in 2022 while this evaluation is undertaken. We appreciate and understand the public’s questions and concerns and remain committed to an open, transparent process on the decommissioning of Pilgrim Station focused on the health and safety of the public, the environment, and on-site personnel .”

The plant was shut down for good on May 31, 2019 after 47 years in service.