SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (WLKI)- Federal regulators have approved a special plan to remove a bent fuel assembly that has delayed fuel loading at the Palisades nuclear plant for more than six weeks.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a one-time license amendment Tuesday allowing Holtec International to use specialized equipment to move the affected fuel assembly from the reactor cavity to the plant's spent fuel pool.
Fuel loading stopped Aug. 30 after an assembly containing uranium fuel rods tipped and failed to enter the reactor vessel. Federal documents describe the assembly's metal framework as significantly bowed, though Holtec says the fuel rods and their protective cladding remain intact.
The recovery operation is considered the first of its kind. Under the plan, workers will use a specially designed device and a crane to move the assembly into a custom transfer canister. The loaded canister would then be moved through the containment building and placed in the spent fuel pool.
The NRC said the operation will involve additional safeguards because the assembly will spend part of its transfer out of the water that normally provides radiation shielding. Regulators reviewed Holtec's calculations involving radiation exposure, fuel temperatures and the structural integrity of the transfer equipment.
NRC officials said no radioactive material was released when the assembly tipped, and no workers or members of the public were harmed. Inspectors stationed at Palisades will monitor the recovery operation.
Holtec has not announced when the work will begin or whether the plant can still return to service by the end of the year. The 800-megawatt plant closed in 2022 and is being prepared for a possible restart.