By Michael Hawthorne | Exelon agreed today to pay more than $1 million to settle lawsuits filed by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan after the company allowed radioactive tritium to leak outside three of its nuclear plants.

The settlement involves leaks of tritium-contaminated water that seeped into the ground around the company’s Braidwood, Byron and Dresden plants. The penalties include $628,000 in fines and $538,000 to fund environmental projects in Will, Ogle and Grundy counties.

“It is imperative that Illinois’ nuclear power plants are operated in a manner that does not endanger public health or the environment,” Madigan said in a statement.

Exelon officials declined to comment until officially notified that the
settlements had been filed in court.

Tritium, the radioactive form of hydrogen, is found naturally in
groundwater but is also one of the byproducts of nuclear energy
production. Exposure can increase the risk of cancer, though the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency considers it one of the least dangerous
radioactive substances, in part because it leaves the body quickly.