LETTERS: The real story of Exelon’s safety record

Exelon Generation is deeply committed to our employees, our neighbors and the communities we serve. Their health, safety and security is our No. 1 priority at all times.

A recent Better Government Association article published in the Sun-Times raised questions about the safety of Exelon Generation’s Illinois nuclear facilities, our commitment to environmental stewardship, and the effectiveness of our state and federal regulators. The story misrepresented the facts, which we believe the public should know.

Contrary to the BGA’s claims, Exelon Generation is an industry leader in tritium monitoring, reporting and remediation. We were able to find, address and report many of the issues in the BGA story because we’ve invested more than $100 million since 2007 to upgrade monitoring systems and underground piping across our fleet. And we haven’t found a single case where our plants have caused drinking water to be unsafe. Any claims to the contrary are false.

We closely monitor tritium at our nuclear stations to ensure public health, and we proactively report tritium releases to government regulators. Tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen. It is also a byproduct of nuclear power. The highest concentration of tritium found in drinking water wells near our Illinois plants was less than 10 percent of the U.S. EPA drinking water standard. Drinking two liters of water at this concentration for a whole year is about the same radiation dose from drinking one glass of orange juice every week, or flying for one hour in an airplane.

We are proud of our track record on environmental responsibility, transparency and safety. Please visit our website to learn more or attend one of the Community Information Nights we host at all our Illinois nuclear facilities each year.

Bryan Hanson

Chief Nuclear Officer

Exelon Generation

Warrenville

What’s real patriotism

This writer, like most Americans, loves this country and believes in standing for the flag. Doing so however, does not make us patriotic. Being patriotic demands much more of citizens.

It demands that we strive each day to practice and promote the ideals that have made this country the greatest in the world. True patriots realize that our country falls short of it ideals.

Patriots are those who see the imperfections in our country and act to correct them.

The unpatriotic are those who undermine and circumvent our democratic principles. Unpatriotic citizens harbor feelings of racial and religious bias against other citizens. They say, “I’ve got mine, get yours the best way you can.”

True patriots, especially those of us who have achieved the American dream, look at those less fortunate and say, “there but for the grace of God, go I.”

Our country is at its best when we are a giving and forgiving people. Only then can we lay claim to being not only the greatest military power in the world, but also the moral leader.

Ned L. McCray, Tinley Park

Trickle-down?

The only “trickle-down effect” I am seeing is the hate, bigotry, narcissism and lies coming from our president. His constant tweets, bullying, threats and infantile behavior have trickled down to his supporters. It is divided our country in such a way that nothing will be accomplished.

Steve Maciontek, Avondale