ZOMBIE NUKE? Holtec’s 2 Years of Neglect!

[Photo of a steam generator in a pressurized water reactor. The photo is taken from the top, looking down. The exceedingly thin-walled steam generator tubes at Palisades are only 0.042 inches thick to begin with; many are significantly cracked, risking through-wall failure.]

For nearly three years, Beyond Nuclear and environmental allies have resisted the unprecedented zombification of the closed for good, half-century problem-plagued Palisades atomic reactor on Lake Michigan in s.w. MI. On Jan. 14, all hell broke loose at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-Holtec public meeting about the restart scheme, in light of recently revealed, severe degradation of steam generator (SG) tubes. These components are safety-critical. Their failure can lead to a core meltdown. As revealed by an NRC staffer (Freudian slip?!), Holtec neglected to implement chemically-preservative wet layup for two years, resulting in accelerated degradation of already severely degraded SG tubes.

Our “day in court” against the restart is Feb. 12 at NRC HQ, before an Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Board Panel of three administrative judges (also known as hearing examiners).