Nine Palisades operators failed licensing exams

Nine of the fifteen reactor operators at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan failed their initial licensing examinations. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a formal warning to Holtec International, the company managing the restart, on October 23. The regulator cited a "chilled work environment" where employees hesitate to report safety issues due to fear of retaliation.

The NRC conducted an inspection in July after receiving questions about safety awareness at the site. This review followed a fall in the previous year when a contractor dropped into the reactor cavity. The worker swallowed water and was transported off-site for medical care. Radiation protection staff decontaminated the individual, but an incident report noted 300 counts per minute were still detected in their hair.

A second incident occurred in August during a refueling operation. A bundle of nuclear fuel rods tilted over, delaying the expected first restart of a closed nuclear reactor in the United States. The NRC reported that only six of the fifteen operators received licenses after the examination failures in July and August.

Holtec International has never operated a nuclear power plant before. The company has secured roughly $2.2 billion in government support for the Palisades effort. The project has been promoted as a symbol of a US nuclear resurgence, particularly under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Critics argue that financial and political pressure to revitalize nuclear power could raise the likelihood of accidents. They point to surging energy demand driven by artificial intelligence as a factor in the push to restart plants quickly. The Palisades site is not the only shuttered facility in line for a comeback. Owners of Two other plants, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Duane Arnold in Iowa, announced restart plans soon after work began at Palisades.