Action Alert & Media Release: Nuclear Power Safety Concerns in Michigan amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic; Three-Dozen Groups and 62 Individuals Write Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II

Dear Friends and Colleagues concerned about nuclear power and radioactive waste risks in Michigan,

FYI, see the link to the media release, and accompanying briefing paper, below. Thanks very much to those of you who signed onto this letter to the governor and lieutenant governor.

Anyone who feels moved to take further action, please consider:

Calling Gov. Whitmer’s office of constituent services:  517-335-7858

Urge Gov. Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Gilchrist to take the following actions, as requested in the letter:

---Vital safety inspections, repairs and maintenance at Michigan atomic reactors be carried out, not deferred or cancelled, including for example the torus inspection and repair at Fermi 2 prior to reactor restart;

---The highly radioactive waste storage pools at Michigan reactors be carefully monitored and prepared for the potential loss of electric grid power to run safety and cooling systems, that is, that back-up emergency diesel generators be connected to pool cooling systems prior to an emergency, and that expedited transfer of irradiated nuclear fuel into on-site or near-site hardened storage be prioritized;

---There be no further reduction in safety margins at Fermi 2, Palisades, or Cook, even during refueling outage shutdowns -- the COVID-19 emergency is no excuse to increase radiological risks;

---Emergency preparedness and response measures, complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, be comprehensively reviewed and addressed, including by state, county, local, and tribal agencies of jurisdiction;

---Given the reduced demand for electricity at the present time, keep Palisades shut down for good, and delay refueling outages, and postpone restarts, at Fermi Unit 2 and Cook Units 1 and 2, until post-pandemic, in order to prevent coronavirus outbreaks in southwest Michigan, as has already occurred in southeast Michigan at Fermi 2 due to very large, itinerant refueling outage workforces traveling in from outside counties and even other states.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear and Don't Waste Michigan

Link to press release:

Nuclear Power Safety Concerns in Michigan amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Link to accompanying briefing paper:

Briefing Paper: Nuclear Power Safety Concerns in Michigan amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic