Palisades recovers damaged nuclear fuel assembly, but critics of restart escalate concerns
A nuclear fuel assembly that had tipped over was successfully retrieved from the soon-to-be-restarted Palisades nuclear reactor in Michigan but controversy over the restart has been escalated to Congress. On Wednesday, owners of the Holtec International reactor said “technical ingenuity” would allow efforts to resume operations at the plant to continue. “When we encounter a challenge, what…
A nuclear fuel assembly that tipped over at the Palisades nuclear reactor in Michigan was retrieved successfully on Wednesday by Holtec International, the reactor's owners. However, the restart of the plant has sparked controversy that has even reached Congress. Fadi Diya, Holtec's chief nuclear officer, emphasized that the team's response to challenges demonstrated their commitment to safety, technical precision, and teamwork.
The Palisades reactor, purchased by Holtec after being decommissioned in 2022, is part of a US nuclear energy resurgence driven by the demand for energy from artificial intelligence data centers. Restarting the reactor in Covert, Michigan, faced a setback in August when a fuel assembly toppled over during fueling, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) confirming that no radiation was released.
The escalating concern over the restart stems from a 2012 NRC report that raised safety concerns about the plant's work culture and another incident in 2016 where security staff were placed on leave for failing to follow fire prevention protocols. In October 2025, a worker fell into a pool of water while refueling but was not seriously injured.
The NRC recently sent a letter to Holtec, citing a "chilled work environment" in supply chain and quality assurance departments, where employees are hesitant to raise safety concerns for fear of retaliation. Critics, such as nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen, have expressed deep concerns about the safety of the Palisades restart, highlighting issues like nine out of 15 licensed reactor operators failing their exam and a majority of personnel in quality assurance and procurement departments feeling threatened by management if they report safety concerns.
Despite these criticisms, Holtec assures that safety remains a priority, stating that the reactor will resume operations once all required work is completed and all federal requirements and industry standards are met.
Written by urgent.news from The National Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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