Headaches at Palisades: Broken Seals and Failed Heals

Headaches at Palisades: Broken Seals and Failed Heals,” a July 16, 2010 report by Nuclear Safety Director Dave Lochbaum at Union of Concerned Scientists, re: chronic control rod drive mechanism seal failures at the Palisades atomic reactor in Covert, MI, beginning just one year into operations, in 1971:

In a May 20, 2022 press release, then-Palisades owner Entergy announced permanent shutdown of Palisades, 11 days earlier than scheduled, due to the latest in a half-century’s worth, long line of CRDM seal leaks, a problem unique in industry, as Lochbaum reported above a dozen years ago already.

(Lochbaum has also compiled a list of “Events at Palisades” from 1966 to 2021, highlighting CRDM seal failures, including in the post-2010 time period not covered by his report above.)