#nuclearpowerplants — Public Fediverse posts

Friday, October 3, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/10/friday-october-3-2025/

Risky Revival: How #Michigan’s #Palisades #NuclearPlant could impact agriculture

While state leaders champion the Palisades reopening as an energy solution, local farmers remain divided over the potential threats to their land and water.

by S. Nicole Lane, for Investigate Midwest December 10, 2024

COVERT, Michigan — "The Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, long synonymous with safety lapses and regulatory oversight, is poised for an unprecedented comeback under Michigan Gov. #GretchenWhitmer’s plan to reopen the shuttered plant by 2025 — the first attempt of its kind in U.S. history.

"However, in this robust agricultural region, there are fears about how reopening a problematic plant could impact area farmers and the food they produce.

"Approximately 6,362 farms are within 50 miles of Palisades. In Van Buren County alone, where the plant is located, there are 838 farms. Michigan’s southwestern corner, home to 80% of the state’s farms, is often called the 'blueberry capital of the world.'

"'A leak (and) this 150-year-old farm is done,' said Bill Adams, who runs Adams Blueberry Farms in Hartford, Michigan, 16 miles south of the plant. 'Why would they restart something that old and sitting this long?'

"Opened in 1971, Palisades, which is located along #LakeMichigan, once generated 5% of Michigan’s electricity, enough to power 800,000 homes. But a litany of mechanical issues plagued its operations for decades.

"In 2013, the plant leaked 79 gallons of diluted #RadioactiveWater into Lake Michigan, forcing a five-week shutdown — its ninth closure in just two years.

"Federal regulators repeatedly flagged the plant for safety concerns, from undetected #RadiationExposure among employees in 2008 to persistent cracks in its 300,000-gallon storage tank that leaked for over a decade. In 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) described Palisades as having some of the worst cases of nuclear fuel container weakening in the nation.

"The plant was permanently shut down on May 31, 2022, with its owners citing financial and safety concerns. But just months later, Whitmer announced a plan to revive Palisades, reigniting debates over the risks and benefits of #NuclearEnergy in a state still grappling with its troubled legacy.

"Typically, after 40 years, a nuclear power plant is closed and undergoes a complex decommissioning process that can take up to 30 years to complete. Globally, the only plants that have reopened are in Japan.

"#Holtec Decommissioning International bought Palisades in 2022 with the goal of dismantling it. Now, with Whitmer’s support, they have since decided to reopen the plant, something Holtec has never done.

"Neither Holtec nor Whitmer’s office responded to multiple requests for comment. "

Read more:
https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/12/10/risky-revival-how-michigans-palisades-nuclear-plant-could-impact-agriculture/

#NoNukes #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #RethinkNotRestart #RenewablesNow #Holtec #HoltecLies #USPol #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies #NuclearPowerPlants

[Thread] The next installment from #KleeBenally 's book, #NoSpiritualSurrender

“The devastation of #NuclearColonialism, which permanently destroys #Indigenous communities throughout the world, is outright ignored by some of the most devout #ClimateJustice advocates. They claim #NuclearEnergy production is also a #GreenSolution to the #ClimateCrisis. More than 15,000 abandoned #UraniumMines are located within the so-called US, mostly in and around Indigenous communities, permanently poisoning #SacredLands and waters with little to no action being taken to clean up their deadly toxic legacy. There are currently 93 operating #NuclearReactors in the so-called US that supply 20% of the country’s electricity. There are 60,000 tons of #HighlyRadioactive spent waste store in concrete dams at #NuclearPowerPlants throughout the country with the waste increasing at a rate of 2,000 tons per year.

“In 1987 the ‘US’ Congress initiated a controversial project to transport and store almost all of the US’s #ToxicWaste at #YuccaMountain located about 100 miles northwest of so-called #LasVegas, #Nevada. Yucca Mountan has been held holy to the #Paiute and #WesternShoshone Nations since time immemorial. In January 2010 the #ObamaAdminstration approved a $54 billion taxpayer loan in a guarantee program for new nuclear reactor construction, three times what Bush previously promised in 2005. In April 2022, the #BidenAdministration government bailout to ‘rescue’ nuclear power plants at risk for closing. A #Colonial government representative stated, ‘US nuclear power contributes more than half of our #CarbonFree electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our #CleanEnergy goals.’

“They, along with Climate Justice activiists, cite nuclear energy as necessary to combat #GlobalWarming, all while ignoring the devastating percent impacts #IndigenousPeoples have faced. There is nothing clean about energy produced from nuclear colonialism. From its weapons (including #DepletedUranium) to its #Mining and its waste; Indigenous bodies, lands, and waters continue to be sacrificed to heat water with radioactive materials which creates steam that moves generators to change batteries made from #Lithium extracted from other Indigenous sacred lands so #Teslas can mo you forward into a ‘just’ climate future.

“A green economy sustains and advances colonial progress, which means mitigated selective and ongoing destruction of #MotherEarth.”

Pages 139-140

#IndigenousAnarchy
#Ecosystem #HaulNo #DefendTheSacred
#CorporateColonialism #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife #ClimateDefenders #NoCopperMiningWithoutConsent #NoLithiumMining #CorporateColonialism #NoMiningWithoutConsent #LithiumMining #CopperMining #Greenwashng #NuclearWeapons #RestInPowerKleeBenally #RIPKleeBenally #StopCanyonMine