{
  "id": 16088691,
  "title": "Palisades recovers damaged nuclear fuel assembly, but critics of restart escalate concerns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/palisades-recovers-damaged-nuclear-fuel-assembly-but-critics-of-16088691",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T17:08:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2026/10/22/palisades-power-plant-nuclear-controversy/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A nuclear fuel assembly that had toppled over was successfully retrieved from the reactor set to restart, Palisades, in Michigan, but controversy surrounding the restart has escalated to Congress. Holtec International, the reactor's owners, stated on Wednesday that \"technical ingenuity\" would enable them to continue operations at the plant. Fadi Diya, Holtec's chief nuclear officer, emphasized their team's commitment to safety, technical precision, and collaboration throughout the restart process. The Palisades reactor, acquired by Holtec post-decommissioning in 2022, has become emblematic of the US nuclear energy renaissance spurred by the substantial energy demands of artificial intelligence data centres.\n\nReinstating the reactor in Covert, Michigan, encountered a setback in August when a fuel assembly tipped over during fuelling, as reported by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). No radiation was released, but incidents linked to the Palisades reactor date back to 2012. An NRC report highlighted concerns about the plant's work culture, where safety issues were often disregarded. In 2016, security personnel were placed on leave for not adhering to fire prevention protocols at the plant, then owned by Entergy. Most recently, a worker at Palisades fell into a water pool while refuelling and was unharmed. Recently, the NRC reported during an inspection that while Palisades generally maintained a safety-focused work environment, \"a chilled work environment\" existed in the supply chain and quality assurance departments, making employees reluctant to raise safety concerns without fear of repercussions.\n\nLast week, Patrick O'Brien, Holtec's director of government affairs and communications, informed The National that Holtec was \"addressing these issues and will continue our work to maintain and strengthen a healthy safety-conscious work environment.\" However, Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer and adviser for the environmental advocacy group Don t Waste Michigan, criticized the handling of the Palisades restart. Gundersen noted that in recent weeks, Palisades experienced a nuclear fuel bundle loss and nine out of 15 licensed reactor operators failed their certification exam. Moreover, more than half of the personnel in the quality assurance and procurement departments felt they would be fired if they raised concerns. Despite this, the NRC recently granted Holtec permission to commence fuel loading. Gundersen has escalated his concerns about the Palisades nuclear restart to US Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a long-standing critic of the nuclear industry, who received Gundersen's letter expressing his safety concerns about restarting the 55-year-old reactor, deeming it unsafe given Holtec's lack of nuclear operating experience. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, while praising the restart efforts, has not indicated any shift in her stance. The Palisades restart is slated to proceed once all necessary work is completed and federal requirements and industry standards are met, according to Holtec's announcement.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}