The Palisades nuclear plant will stay offline until early summer as crews repair the bottom of a water tank.
On May 5, the safety injection refueling water storage tank began leaking at a rate of about 90 gallons per day, exceeding a threshold set earlier by federal regulators. The source of the leak has been identified as a small crack in a nozzle weld at the base of the tank, an Entergy spokeswoman told the Kalamazoo Gazette. Plans call for replacement of the tank's bottom, which will keep the plant out of service for weeks.
Entergy is looking for a long-term solution to leaks from the tank, which also caused an unplanned shutdown last year when water entered the control room below it. Michigan Public Radio reported that the most recent leak spilled water onto the roof that drained into Lake Michigan.
The incident did not pose a threat to human health, though, as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported the water's radiation was an order of magnitude less than the 100 millirem regulatory limit for public exposure. On Thursday, the agency plans to host a public webinar on its oversight of the plant.