power plant

NRC issues violation notice to Palisades nuclear power plant

Rebecca Williams and Lindsey Smith — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:25:54 +0000

The Palisades nuclear power plant is six miles south of South Haven on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The plant had five unplanned shutdowns last year. Four of those were unplanned reactor shutdowns. The fifth was a problem with the plant’s water pumps that did not affect the reactor.

Viktoria Mitlyng is a spokesperson with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She says the Palisades plant is under scrutiny.

“There are so many issues in one year that have come up, you know, there’s certainly a concern. And we recognize that as a regulatory agency and are keeping a very close eye at what’s happening at the plant.”

The NRC has just issued a violation notice to the company that owns the Palisades plant - Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. - for a separate incident that happened in May. A water pump at the plant failed - and regulators concluded that’s because one of the components was lubricated when it shouldn’t have been.

NRC says violation is of "low to moderate significance"

The NRC says this violation falls into a risk category of "low to moderate significance." But there’s a regulatory hearing expected next week to address two additional safety issues – one of which is what the NRC calls substantial safety significance.

That’s a much bigger deal than the water pump investigation finalized this week. In the more serious situation, the plant was offline for about a week last September because of a power outage. An electrical circuit at the plant broke when a worker was doing routine maintenance. The worker did not follow procedures for doing the work. When Lindsey Smith talked to NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng in November, she said the worker had actually gotten permission from his managers not to follow procedures.

“Nobody stopped in their tracks and said 'hey, what are we doing here? We need to rethink this.'”

New fly ash regulations for Michigan power plants?

Steve Carmody — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:21:18 +0000

Coal burning power plants are often scrutinized for what they emit from smokestacks. But now a by-product of burning coal for electricity is getting a closer look. Steve Carmody reports:

For the past few days… Dennis Brabant and his crew have been vacuuming up tons of fly ash trapped in the silo at the Lansing Board of Water and Light ‘s Eckert Power Plant.

“That’s what we’re dealing with right there… it’s part of electricity.”

Michigan among worst for toxic air pollution from power plants

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:51:56 +0000

Michigan ranks seventh worst in air pollution on a list the Natural Resources Defense Council calls the “Toxic 20.” The NRDC study found almost half of all toxic air pollution comes from coal and oil-fired power plants. Detroit Edison’s Monroe Power Plant ranks fourth among power plant polluters in the country. Ohio took first before Pennsylvania, Florida and Kentucky.

Hugh McDiarmid is with the Michigan Environmental Council. He says Michigan is on its way to less toxic energy usage.

"We’re on sort of the verge of a new era where we’re going to use as much renewables as we possibly can, we’re going to look at efficiency because that provides power to about one tenth the cost of a new coal plant and we’re going to maximize those two efforts," McDiarmid said.

McDiarmid says Michigan’s rank on the “Toxic 20” is an opportunity to work toward less harmful energy use in the future.

The "Toxic 20" are:

Ohio
Pennsylvania
Florida
Kentucky
Maryland
Indiana
Michigan
West Virginia
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Alabama
Texas
Virginia
Tennessee
Missouri
Illinois
Wisconsin
New Hampshire
Iowa

- Amelia Carpenter - Michigan Radio Newsroom

Michigan species affected by power plant emissions

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:46:04 +0000

The National Wildlife Foundation has released a report on Michigan wildlife hurt by power plant emissions.
The report says nine species in the state are affected by power plant toxins. Mercury is the most dangerous toxin for some species, including the large-mouth bass and the common loon.
Lee Sprague is on the Tribal Council of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
"What we do know with mercury it really affects all life systems, from the very base of the food chain all the way up."

Lansing BW&L gets key state permit for new power plant

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:14:23 +0000

The Lansing Board of Water & Light has gotten a key state permit clearing the way for construction of a new $182 million cogeneration power plant.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment granted the permit.

A Lansing BW&L spokesman says the utility will now move to issuing bonds to pay for the project. The utility hopes to begin operating the new power plant in 2013.

The power plant will rely on natural gas to produce electricity. Lansing utility officials say it will eventually replace an aging coal-fired power plant.

Radioactive Water Spill from Fermi 2

Rebecca Williams — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:27:19 +0000

Everything’s back to normal at the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in southeast Michigan after a spill last week.
A drain valve for a filtering system failed and 100,000 gallons of slightly radioactive cooling water overflowed a holding tank. The water contaminated the shoes and outer clothing of some plant workers, but no one was harmed.