The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant operated in a safe manner throughout 2018, but there will still be a public open house to address the plant’s safety performance next week in Covert.
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission tells us that staff will discuss the 2018 safety performance of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant during that open house next Thursday, May 9th at Covert.
The open house, slated to be held at the Covert Township Lions Community Center located at 78085 CR 378, will run from 6-7:30 pm. NRC employees who are responsible for plant inspections, including the resident inspectors based full-time at the site, will be available to discuss the plant’s performance.
The Palisades plant, operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., is located in Covert, approximately 5 miles south of South Haven on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Palisades operated safely during 2018. At the end of the year, all inspection findings and performance indicators were of very low safety significance. As a result, it remains under the NRC’s normal level of oversight, which entails thousands of hours of inspection each year.
The NRC Reactor Oversight Process uses color-coded inspection findings and indicators to measure plant performance. The colors start at green and increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Inspection findings or performance indicators with more than very low safety significance trigger increased NRC oversight.
Inspections are performed by two NRC resident inspectors and inspection specialists from the NRC’s Region III office which is located in Lisle, Illinois.
The annual assessment letter for Palisades, as well as the notice for the open house, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available there for the public to peruse ahead of the open house if they wish.
