Palisades nuclear power plant standing upgraded by federal regulators

COVERT, MI — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says performance at Palisades nuclear power plant has improved enough to upgrade its standing with the agency, but it is requiring additional inspections at the plant in 2013.

The decision to upgrade the plant's standing comes after a nine-member team investigated the plant over 11 days in September. The team was charged with looking at many issues, including whether the safety culture at the plant has improved.

The NRC said Entergy, the company that owns Palisades, has made improvements and addressed deficiencies, but that the plant will have another 1,000 hours of inspections performed in 2013, in addition to the 2,000 hours required annually. This is because of several leaks at the plant this year, including one in the containment building. NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said the extra hours were imposed to ensure the changes that have been made are continued into the next year.

“While the licensee has demonstrated satisfactory resolution of the most significant risk issues and we have no immediate safety concerns, other issues, such as the leaks that came to light during this year, continue to occur,” Charles Casto, Midwest administrator for the NRC, said in a statement. 
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