Local residents, environmentalists continue to call for problem-plagued Palisades' shutdown

Entergy's Palisades atomic reactor in Covert, MI, showing the S.W. MI countryside, as well as Lake Michigan, all of which it puts at potentially catastrophic radioactive risk. Van Buren County is one of MI's agricultural leaders, especially in fruit production. Lake Michigan is a headwaters of the Great Lakes, 20% of the world's surface fresh water, and drinking water supply for 40 million people in 8 U.S. states, 2 Canadian provinces, and a large number of Native American First NationsOver 100 people attended, and more than a dozen concerned local residents and environmental group representatives -- including Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps, as well as members of Don't Waste MI, MI Land Trustees, MI Safe Energy Future, and Nuclear Energy Information Service -- took to the microphone and testified about safety, health, and environmental risks at Entergy's Palisades atomic reactor during a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) annual performance review on April 2nd. Several Palisades workers also testified in support of their employer. The exchange took place at the Beach Haven Event Center in South Haven, MI, less than five miles from the atomic reactor on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

WOOD (NBC TV 8, Grand Rapids), the Saint Joe-Benton Harbor Herald Palladium, the Kalamazoo Gazette, and Michigan Radio reported on the public meeting.

Local grassroots groups, including recently formed Michigan Safe Energy Future chapters in Kalamazoo and on the shoreline, continue to meet on a regular basis, including on Sat., April 6th at 1 PM at the South Haven Memorial Library.

David Lochbaum, the Nuclear Safety Project Director at Union of Concerned Scientists, will speak in Kalamazoo and South Haven on Thursday, April 11th. Beyond Nuclear is a co-sponsor of the events. Lochbaum has documented three near-misses at Palisades in the past few years alone, making it one of the most risky atomic reactors in the entire country.