With all Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection findings and performance indicators green or reflecting low safety significance, it looks like the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant maintained a safe profile along the shores of Lake Michigan at Covert over the course of the last year. Nevertheless, as has become customary, the NRC staff is inviting the public to discuss the safety performance of the plant in an open house event this Thursday evening.
The Palisades plant, operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. will be the subject of the open house slated to take place from 6pm until 8pm this Thursday, April 12th at the Baymont Inn & Suites Conference Center located at 1555 Phoenix Road in South Haven.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the 2017 safety performance of the Palisades nuclear power plant, operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., during an open house on April 12 in South Haven, Mich.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission agency employees who are responsible for all plant inspections, including the resident inspectors based at the site on a full-time basis, will be available during the open house to discuss the safety performance of the nuclear plant.
The NRC says Palisades operated safely during 2017. They report that at the end of the year, all inspection findings and performance indicators were green or low safety significance,which means that as a result, the plant 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 Region III office 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 at that site, and can be discussed at the open house event on Thursday evening in South Haven.
