Oyster Creek says radioactive water leak confined

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - The operator of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant says a small quantity of a low-level radioactive substance found last week in a concrete cable vault is confined to the plant site.

Officials at the plant, near the Jersey Shore, told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that detectable levels of tritium had been found Wednesday while workers replaced a cable to a water pump. Tim Rausch, Oyster Creek's site vice president, said the release posed no threat to public or employee health or safety.

Plant engineers and environmental experts were working to determine the source of the water containing the tritium. They believe it may have trickled into the vault by following underground electrical conduits that pass near a condensation tank.

Oyster Creek is the nation's oldest nuclear power plant. - AP