By Joseph J. Mangano
The Monticello nuclear reactor, one of the oldest in the world, has requested permission from federal regulators to extend its license for 20 years. If approved, the reactor in Monticello, Minn. could stay open for up to 80 years after its 1970 launch.
An 80-year-old reactor is an unknown quantity. Only a few, including Monticello, have even passed the 50-year mark. But federal regulators have approved all six requests for U.S. reactors to remain active up to 80 years, and are considering 10 others. Approvals are expected for all, as federal regulators have never rejected an extension.
A nuclear reactor is a complex array of mechanical parts. Over time, these parts become brittle and corrode. Aging at a reactor like Monticello presents multiple threats to safety and health, including:
1. The chance of a catastrophic meltdown increases; with over 3 million persons living within 50 miles of Monticello, many thousands would suffer from radiation poisoning or cancer.
2. The amount of highly radioactive waste that must be stored at each site — forever — in deep pools of water or steel and concrete casks would increase; currently, Monticello waste is nearly equal to the amount released during the Chornobyl meltdown.
3. Routine releases of over 100 radioactive particles and gases, only created when a reactor operates or a nuclear weapon explodes, are likely to increase; these toxic products enter bodies of nearby residents through breathing and the food chain.
These concerns are a reality at Monticello. In November 2022, a leaky pipe released large amounts of water contaminated with radioactive tritium at the site. Xcel Energy, which owns the reactor, failed to report this for four months — until a second large leak occurred — while trying to fix the first leak. The total amount of contaminated water is greater than an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Any entry into local drinking water from these enormous spills is a health risk.
U.S. reactors have operated over six decades, but federal regulators have only conducted one study of cancer in local residents. That report used statistics before 1985, and is thus outdated. No studies are currently planned.
Monticello is in Wright County, close to the border of Sherburne County. Almost all residents of these counties live within 25 miles of the reactor, and are most vulnerable to exposures from environmental releases. These counties are fast-growing areas just outside of the Twin Cities, with a current population of more than 250,000.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, before and just after the Monticello reactor started up, the two-county death rate was 6 to 7% below that of other Minnesota counties — for cancers, and for all causes combined. This pattern is expected in an area with low rates of people who lack health insurance, who are disabled, or who live in poverty.
By the late 1970s, the two-county death rate exceeded the state rate for all causes, and has remained high ever since. If the local rate had remained 6-7% below the state, over 4,000 fewer deaths would have occurred. Cancer death rates are also high; in the two most recent years (2022 and 2023), the local rate was 9% and 20% above the state, respectively.
Many factors can account for an elevated risk of death. But one clue that Monticello releases may have been one factor is cancer mortality among children – who are much more likely to be harmed by a dose of radiation than are adults. Prior to the early 1990s, local child cancer mortality was 37% below the state, but has been 14% above ever since.
The push to keep the Monticello reactor running does little as a solution for future energy needs, as it only accounts for 9% of Minnesota’s electricity. However, safe and renewable sources accounted for 31% of the state’s electricity in 2022, most of it wind power, a number that is rising each year.
Unlike nuclear power, the wind and sun pose no cancer risk, and will last forever. The application to keep Monticello open should be denied, and the reactor should close in 2030, the end of its current license period.
— Joseph J. Mangano, MPH MBA, is an epidemiologist and Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.
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