NRC investigates incident at Palisades nuclear plant in the US — The National
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is investigating an incident during work to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan. As The National reports, NRC spokesperson Victoria Mitlyng said there was no radiological release and that workers and the public were not harmed.
A fuel assembly tipped over
According to Mitlyng, during nuclear fuel operations, one of the assemblies did not fall but tipped over. She noted that the incident did not require notification to the NRC or public disclosure by the regulator.
The incident became known after a post by physicist Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He referred to a Reddit post whose author claimed that Holtec had allegedly dropped a partially used nuclear fuel assembly during fuel loading. The NRC did not confirm this version and clarified that the assembly tipped over.
Regulator inspectors will continue monitoring the situation. According to Mitlyng, they have overseen restart work, including fuel operations, from the very beginning. The plant owner, Holtec, plans to submit an application to amend its license for the procedure to remove the assembly, which the NRC will assess thoroughly.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Plans to restart the plant
The Palisades reactor ceased operations in 2022. Holtec International, which acquired the plant that same year, previously stated its intention to restart it by the end of 2026 or in early 2027. Electricity demand from data centers using artificial intelligence has heightened expectations for the facility's return to operation.
On August 31, Holtec published photographs of fuel assemblies being loaded into the reactor vessel. The company stated that this had been preceded by more than two years of inspections, maintenance, restoration work, testing and equipment upgrades. Last year, the NRC allowed Palisades' status to be changed from a facility being decommissioned to one that may subsequently receive an operating license.
The Palisades nuclear power plant began operations in 1971. In 2012, the NRC drew attention to the plant's work culture and instances in which safety concerns were dismissed. In 2016, security service employees were temporarily suspended for failing to comply with fire safety procedures.
