The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the Palisades nuclear plant failed to implement a radiation protection program for workers at the plant during an incident in February.
Workers have been trying to get ready to restart Palisades after it went into decommissioning in 2022.
Federal regulators recently released the results of an inspection this week that found two violations.
The NRC says on two days in February, sensors picked up elevated airborne radiation in one work area. Palisades staff took some precautions to limit exposure, but it did not take all steps required by regulations. In addition, it said workers didn’t alert a Radiation Protection Manager, as required.
“On multiple occasions these communications were not made, and condition reports were not generated for instances in which stop work criteria were met,” the inspection report said.
Palisades also failed to follow regulations on monitoring airborne radiation exposure on the workers themselves. It said that monitors worn on worker lapels showed elevated airborne radiation levels, but plant staff reported the results as “cross-contaminated.”
The NRC says staff didn’t do enough to validate that conclusion, writing “there was no evaluation of the data, and the process is not described in site procedures.”
The violations come after some nearby residents pushed back on the plans to re-open Palisades, arguing the plant is too old to be operated safely. The restart plans are running nearly a year behind the initial timeline, though Holtec International, Palisades’ owner, said workers began installing fuel into the plant’s reactor at the start of this month.
A Palisades spokesman said the company has taken steps to address both violations in the NRC inspection report.
“The performance did not meet our standards, and we take this issue very seriously,” wrote spokesman Nick Culp. “Palisades completed a comprehensive root-cause evaluation and implemented corrective actions to prevent recurrence, including strengthened radiological controls, procedures, oversight, and staffing.”
Culp added that while some workers were exposed to “greater-than-expected” doses of radiation, “[a]t no time did any worker approach federal occupational radiation dose limits.”
The NRC inspection says the violations were of “very low safety significance”, and did not issue any penalties.
