The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant remains offline because of a leak in a safety injection refueling tank. West Michigan Congressman Fred Upton toured the plant on Monday with a commissioner from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Upton told WMUK's Gordon Evans that he is confident that the NRC will be holding Palisades to a high standard. He says "we don't want any shortcuts" in fixing the problem at the plant near South Haven.
Palisades' license was extended by federal regulators in 2007, since then a number of problems have been reported at the plant (MLive Kalamazoo has a timeline of incidents at Palisades). But Upton, who is Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says the plant has made all of the improvements necessary to continue operating safely. He says people who live near the plant have no reason to fear for their safety.
On the subject of PCBs at the Allied Paper Landfill in Kalamazoo, Upton said he hopes that the Environmental Protection Agency will reverse its decision to "cap and monitor" the contamination. A letter signed by Upton and Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow has been sent to the EPA calling for complete removal of PCB contamination from the landfill in Kalamazoo.
