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Miami-Dade investigating whether nuclear power plant is polluting Biscayne Bay
Miami-Dade investigating whether nuclear power plant is polluting Biscayne Bay
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
Highlights
Ammonia and rising salinity appeared in bay after utility began adding water to cooling canals
Wells showed underground saltwater plume has spread west over the years
Cooling canal troubles started after FPL expanded the power plant
...Higher levels of ammonia and salinity began appearing at Turtle Point, just south of the plant, in November after the utility began adding millions of gallons of water from a nearby waterway to freshen the canals, according to the county’s Division of Environmental Resources Management. The 168-mile-long network of canals, which act like a radiator for the plant’s two nuclear reactors, have grown increasingly hotter since the company overhauled the reactors three years ago to produce more power.
...Problems in the canals worsened over the summer of 2014 as temperatures soared and an algae bloom — which first appeared when the company briefly shut down the canals during the reactor expansions — nearly forced the utility to twice power down the two reactors.
In a series of moves to address the problem, the utility asked for an emergency request from the South Florida Water Management District to pump freshwater from the nearby L-31 into the canals, in addition to more water from the Floridan aquifer. They also asked nuclear regulators to increase operating temperatures to 104 degrees, the highest for a nuclear power plant in the country.
The steps prompted legal challenges from environmental groups, nearby rock miners and local governments, concerned that the hot canals and huge water draws would put too much stress on a region grappling with increased demands on its over-taxed water supply.
As part...
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
Highlights
Ammonia and rising salinity appeared in bay after utility began adding water to cooling canals
Wells showed underground saltwater plume has spread west over the years
Cooling canal troubles started after FPL expanded the power plant
...Higher levels of ammonia and salinity began appearing at Turtle Point, just south of the plant, in November after the utility began adding millions of gallons of water from a nearby waterway to freshen the canals, according to the county’s Division of Environmental Resources Management. The 168-mile-long network of canals, which act like a radiator for the plant’s two nuclear reactors, have grown increasingly hotter since the company overhauled the reactors three years ago to produce more power.
...Problems in the canals worsened over the summer of 2014 as temperatures soared and an algae bloom — which first appeared when the company briefly shut down the canals during the reactor expansions — nearly forced the utility to twice power down the two reactors.
In a series of moves to address the problem, the utility asked for an emergency request from the South Florida Water Management District to pump freshwater from the nearby L-31 into the canals, in addition to more water from the Floridan aquifer. They also asked nuclear regulators to increase operating temperatures to 104 degrees, the highest for a nuclear power plant in the country.
The steps prompted legal challenges from environmental groups, nearby rock miners and local governments, concerned that the hot canals and huge water draws would put too much stress on a region grappling with increased demands on its over-taxed water supply.
As part...
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article54297750.html
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
FPL disputes assertions that nuke plant is polluting Biscayne Bay
Posted: 6:25 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016
By Susan Salisbury - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Homestead —
Following assertions that water from Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point nuclear plant is contaminating Biscayne Bay, a top FPL official said Tuesday that assumption is incorrect.
“We have to be very careful about jumping to conclusions,” said Steve Scroggs, FPL’s senior director/project development.
Biscayne Bay photo
American crocodiles are seen near Florida Power & Light Co.’s Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in 2003 near Homestead.
Scroggs said that while there could be seepage, samples taken from the cooling canals show the ammonia and phosphorous levels were much lower than in the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to 3 million people in South Florida. FPL is working with Miami-Dade County to better assess what is going on, Scroggs said.
At an Atomic Safety Licensing Board hearing Monday, Florida International University professor Philip Stoddard presented data FPL collected and provided to Miami-Dade County. Stoddard said the data show hypersaline water from the unlined Turkey Point cooling canals has leached underground into Biscayne Bay.
Juno Beach-based FPL owns and operates the power plant that consists of two nuclear units and two fossil fuel-fired units on the shores of Biscayne Bay 25 miles south of Miami...
Posted: 6:25 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016
By Susan Salisbury - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Homestead —
Following assertions that water from Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point nuclear plant is contaminating Biscayne Bay, a top FPL official said Tuesday that assumption is incorrect.
“We have to be very careful about jumping to conclusions,” said Steve Scroggs, FPL’s senior director/project development.
Biscayne Bay photo
American crocodiles are seen near Florida Power & Light Co.’s Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in 2003 near Homestead.
Scroggs said that while there could be seepage, samples taken from the cooling canals show the ammonia and phosphorous levels were much lower than in the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to 3 million people in South Florida. FPL is working with Miami-Dade County to better assess what is going on, Scroggs said.
At an Atomic Safety Licensing Board hearing Monday, Florida International University professor Philip Stoddard presented data FPL collected and provided to Miami-Dade County. Stoddard said the data show hypersaline water from the unlined Turkey Point cooling canals has leached underground into Biscayne Bay.
Juno Beach-based FPL owns and operates the power plant that consists of two nuclear units and two fossil fuel-fired units on the shores of Biscayne Bay 25 miles south of Miami...
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/business/fpl-disputes-assertions-that-nuke-plant-is-polluti/np35r/
