WASHINGTON (WKZO-AM) — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to issue two license amendments involving the Palisades Nuclear Plant near Covert is coming under fire from anti-nuclear activist groups who continue to demand the immediate closure of the 44-year-old facility.
The NRC said the plant’s reactor vessel should remain safe for operation through 2031, when the Palisades license expires. They also said staffers at the facility “successfully demonstrated the safety of the pressure vessel under current operating conditions.”
A four-group coalition disputes these findings and claim that the NRC’s decision is based solely on greed. U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of St. Joseph disagrees, however.
“There’s no political arm-twisting,” Upton said. “It’s the science that determines the outcome.”
Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear accuses Upton of collusion with the NRC and Palisades’ operator Entergy in a way that is “similar to the root cause of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan.”
– John McNeill
