Federal Regulators & Nuclear Plant Agree on Resolution

Federal regulators say they and the operator of an Arizona nuclear power plant have resolved previously reported apparent violations involving safe handling and storage of high-level radioactive waste.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Wednesday that an order settling apparent violations involving the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station requires Arizona Public Service Co. to take several agreed-upon steps.

The three-reactor plant is located about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix.


The apparent violations were found during an NRC inspection.

The review involved the company’s failure to adequately analyze the consequences of a hypothetical tip-over of a cask for storing spent nuclear fuel or to properly evaluate a change to the cask storage system, the agency said in a statement.

The resolution was achieved through APS’ requested use of an alternative dispute resolution process, the NRC said.

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