A mothballed nuclear plant is set to reopen in Michigan, but residents are concerned reviving the decommissioned site could see it become the next Chernobyl. 

The Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, is set to reopen by the end of this year, but plenty of the township's 2,500 residents are voicing their concerns. 

The site, which sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and is roughly 70 miles south of Grand Rapids, was first opened in 1971, but was later decommissioned in May 2022 due to high operating costs. 

Holtec International, a nuclear decommissioning company, acquired the site in 2023 and announced it planned on reopening the plant by the end of this year. 

The announcement came after it was approached by state and federal officials, who were interested in keeping nuclear power - a clear energy and carbon-free source - in Michigan, a company insider told Daily Mail. 

But some residents and local organizations are wary of it due to the chance of a radioactive mess if the operation goes wrong as they fear it could become a disaster like Chernobyl.

Kevin Kamps, a radioactive waste specialist for Beyond Nuclear, told Daily Mail: 'It could wipe out more than just a township, it could wipe out the Great Lakes.'

He compared it to Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the disaster at Fermi Unit 1, which was located in Monroe County near Detroit. 

Fermi was one of the largest nuclear accidents to take place at a commercial plant after it suffered a partial meltdown in 1966. 

'We could have lost Detroit,' Kamps said, saying these incidents are a firm reminder why nuclear is dangerous.  

'Our main concern is the safety risks... [Palisades is] a dangerous experiment and we're just the guinea pigs.' 

However Palisades never had any serious accidents during its 50 years of operation. 

There are concerns that if nuclear waste entered the water, it could spread throughout all the Great Lakes and poison drinking water used by 40millon people across the US and Canada. 

The Great Lakes holds 20 percent of the world's surface freshwater, or roughly 6quadrillion gallons. 

'[This project] is not a public benefit, it's a public cost,' Kamps told Daily Mail. '[Holtec] has never operated, repaired, or restarted a reactor before.' 

He accused Holtec of engaging in 'outrageous behavior' and said the company is 'willing to take extreme risks' in the name of profit.

However, Holtec's Senior Manager of Government Affairs and Communications, Nick Culp, told Daily Mail that the nuclear company has hired a 'high-pedigree' team, many whom have operated plants and came from the Naval program. 

At least 600 are nuclear professionals, Culp told Daily Mail.  

Employees are also forced to undergo an accreditation program and the plant has to maintain certain safety standards in order to operate. 

Culp also pointed out that all nuclear sites are based on bodies of water. Plants are typically located there as water is used as a coolant and most reactors in the US boil water into steam to produce electricity. 

There's also a monitoring system in place, Culp said, that would alert the team if anything were to happen.     

But Kamps, who joined Beyond Nuclear in 1992, said there has always been resistance against Palisades and has been since before it broke ground in the 1960s. 

Kamps, who lives 35-miles downwind from Palisades, got involved with the organization after finding out the nuclear site stored radioactive waste on the beaches of Lake Michigan, concerning him about contamination. 

He also said that although some Covert locals and businesses may be on board, they're wholly uniformed of the dangers that comes with a nuclear site in their backyard. 

'Ignorance is bliss,' Kamps told Daily Mail. 'They better have a to-go bag. They may never get to go home again [if something goes wrong].' 

Beyond Nuclear also accused Holtec of engaging in 'Band-Aid fixes' in order to maximize profit. 

'They will take major shortcuts to save [money],' Kamps told Daily Mail. 

Activists have voiced concerns about Holtec 'sleeving' damaged tubes inside the steam generators - a process that involves inserting a smaller tube into the pipe to avoid cutting water flow, but to seal off any damage. 

However, Culp said that sleeving has been used in the industry for years and is common practice. He also told Daily Mail the sleeving done to Palisades' tubes was 'successfully' completed. 

He said the concerns surrounding the progress and accusations of 'Band-Aid fixes' have 'no basis in how a nuclear power plant operates.' 

Beyond Nuclear hypothesized that Holtec's reactor would surely experience a rupture, which could lead to reactor core meltdown and unleash 'catastrophic quantities of hazardous ionizing radioactivity.' 

But Culp told Daily Mail that the company is investing tons of money into the plant to 'ensure continued safe and reliable operation.' 

Another concern is the radioactive waste. The United States does not have a national depository; therefore, all nuclear plants have to store the highly dangerous output on-site. 

The company has received environmental permits to potentially dump its waste in New Mexico, which Holtec proposed as an interim depository. 

If approved, Holtec would operate the New Mexico site. 

Kamps, however, is worried rumors that Holtec plans on storing its waste on barges on Lake Michigan will further the chances of water contamination. 

Culp, on the other hand, had never heard of the barge rumor, and said it ultimately wouldn't be up to them how the waste was transported to New Mexico, whether that be by boat or rail. The Department of Energy would have that authority. 

The company also argued that the Biden Administration committed to a $1.5billion loan guarantee, which the Trump Administration has continued to distribute toward the project. 

'We’ve got two administrations with very different philosophies on energy, both saying this makes sense to move ahead with bringing Palisades back,' Congressman Bill Huizenga said. 

'All the infrastructure is there. There’s no long, drawn-out permitting process. It’s not like it’s a new greenfield development. It’s been there for decades.' 

But Beyond Nuclear claimed Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Holtec, and the Department of Energy are playing 'Russian roulette on the Lake Michigan shore.' 

'Is Southwest Michigan and beyond ready for a Chernobyl- or Fukushima-scale nuclear catastrophe, which is now a distinct possibility at the restarted Palisades?' it questioned. 

Lastly, area residents have concerns about cancer, as a large number of thyroid cancer diagnoses has popped up in the area since the plant had originally opened in 1971 before being decommissioned in May 2022.

'There should be no cases,' Kamps said. 

Despite some opposition, Culp said Holtec has received plenty of support from the community, who were greatly impacted when the plant closed in 2022. 

It has brought in a wealth of new jobs, with more than 1,600 currently employed at the plant. And many are high-paying as well, with lots of contractors making more than $100,000 a year, Culp said. 

The energy that will be generated from the 800-megawatt plant will also power 800,000 homes, most which will mainly be located in rural Michigan and Indiana. 

Nuclear energy is also more reliable compared to other forms, which are less expensive. 

With nuclear powering rural homes, there will be less of a chance for power outages, Culp told Daily Mail. 

The plant, which is not legally allowed to generate power at the moment, hit a historic landmark last week as it officially became the first plant in the US to go from decommissioned to operational again. 

'The Palisades restart is a testament to [the] important role that nuclear will play as part of our nation’s energy future,' Culp said.