In a draft assessment, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission found there would be no notable environmental impact if the Palisades Nuclear Plant were to resume operations. Palisades closed in 2022.
Bruce Davis, who lives near the still-dormant plant, is skeptical.
“Four years ago, we had pretty high waters with all this climate change. It wouldn't take much to cause problems that haven't been thought of before. I mean, ask the people in California,” Davis said.
The report states that all nuclear facilities must meet safety requirements for a wide range of extreme events, such as hurricane-level floods.
But climate change isn't the only issue Davis believes the NRC is ignoring.
He said the NRC is turning a blind eye to data on nearly 50 cases of thyroid cancer or disease in the area. Davis said that while he cannot directly link the cases to the Palisades, he believes the plant is the cause. He said the numbers are at very least enough to warrant an investigation.
“We're just looking at what's being presented to us and saying, 'Hey, you know, maybe you need to take notice of this maybe there is a causal relationship here, but we need to have somebody look at it to find that out.'”
But the draft report did address these concerns, examining state and federal data on ambient radiation levels near Palisades. It also looked at cancer statistics from Van Buren and nearby counties. The NRC concluded that the risk of cancer had not increased for local residents.
Though NRC spokesperson Viktoria Mitlyng declined to respond to Davis' claims, she still discussed the findings in the draft.
"The review demonstrated, according to the data, that the rate of thyroid cancer was so low that statistically it was not even possible to do further reviews."
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
