NRC warns Palisades staff fear speaking up on safety
Nine of 15 trainees failed licensing exams, and the regulator found a culture of silence at the Michigan plant.
By Elijah Fitzgerald ·
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a formal warning to Holtec International regarding conditions at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. The agency determined that the work environment has become "chilled," causing employees to hesitate before raising safety concerns due to fear of retaliation.
This regulatory action follows a series of operational setbacks. The NRC conducted an inspection in July to assess safety awareness at the site. That review came after two distinct incidents occurred over the past year. In the first event, a contractor fell into the reactor cavity. The worker swallowed water and required off-site medical care. Radiation protection staff decontaminated the individual, but an incident report noted that 300 counts per minute remained in their hair.
A second incident happened in August when a bundle of nuclear fuel rods tilted during a refueling operation. This mechanical issue delayed the plant's schedule, which had been expected to mark the first restart of a closed US nuclear reactor.
The NRC also cited performance data from licensing exams. Nine of the 15 reactor operators at Palisades failed the initial examination administered in July and August. Only six individuals received operator licenses during that period. The regulator instructed Holtec to address the cultural issues identified in the inspection.
Holtec International has never operated a nuclear power plant before taking on this project. The company has secured approximately $2.2 billion in government support for the Palisades effort. This initiative has been promoted as a key example of the US nuclear industry's resurgence.
Critics of the restart argue that financial and political pressure to meet surging energy demands driven by artificial intelligence could increase the likelihood of accidents. The agency's warning places a specific focus on how that pressure affects daily operations and worker communication.
Palisades is one of several shuttered facilities planning a comeback. The owners of Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Duane Arnold in Iowa announced restart plans shortly after work began at the Michigan site.
