ZOMBIE NUKE?! Band-Aids on Critical Safety System?!

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published a Federal Register Notice about Holtec’s License Amendment Request to merely “sleeve” severely degraded steam generator (SG) tubes at the Palisades zombie atomic reactor. Cascading failure of enough SG tubes all at once can lead to a reactor core meltdown. Palisades’ original owner, Consumers Energy, admitted to the Michigan Public Service Commission two decades ago that the reactor’s SGs needed replacement. Although Holtec gave lip service to replacing the SGs in 2022, at a whopping cost of $510 million, a year ago it claimed they were good to go. Revelations in late 2024 proved that untrue. Our environmental coalition will challenge this SG LAR, as it has multiple others. We will appeal all NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board rulings against us, including to federal court if and when needed.