MINNEAPOLIS — Xcel Energy started shutting down its Monticello nuclear power plant Friday after the company's repair of a leaking pipe did not fully do the job — causing more radioactive water to seep into the ground.
Xcel officials said they plan to do a full analysis of why the pipe sprang a leak once the utility completes the shutdown, which will take a couple of days.
Groundwater well testing at the plant Wednesday indicated that a tritium leak into groundwater, first reported last week, had restarted, Christopher Clark, Xcel's Minnesota president, told reporters Friday at the Monticello Community Center.
