The effort to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in Van Buren County may have hit a small snag.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received word from Palisades owner Holtec International that it may submit a regulations relief request for work done on some plant equipment — specifically, the “pressurizer spray nozzle safe end and safety nozzles flange” — due to a lack of documentation. Kevin Kamps with the advocacy group Beyond Nuclear explained the issue to us.
“They cannot prove that their welds are compliant with American Society for Mechanical Engineers welding standards and regulations that the NRC has incorporated into their own safety regulations,” Kamps said. “So their proposal is to work with proxy materials of similar vintage and try to show that everything’s okay.”
So, Holtec may ask the NRC for an exception to its welding codes, something Kamps would oppose. He says if the request is denied, the restart project could be set back a year.
The NRC held a meeting on Monday for Holtec to explain the issue and lay the groundwork for the potential submission of that relief request. The NRC’s Prema Chandrathil says regulators will base any decision on safety considerations.
“It’s a combination of the NRC having to look at the materials and the data and the information that the licensee provides to us in order for us to make a determination if we can approve this relief request,” Chandrathil said.
Chandrathil says Monday’s meeting was like a “pre-meeting” because Holtec hasn’t submitted the request for relief yet. Kamps says the company indicated it may submit its request in a couple of weeks.
Kamps says this entire issue, like many others, shows how complicated restarting a dormant nuclear power plant can be. Beyond Nuclear is among the groups currently suing to stop the restart of Palisades.
