Editorial: Dangerous Quad Cities plant incident gives us reason for concern about nuke operator's commitment to safety

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

Atomic energy is getting a surge of support these days, including from people who not too long ago opposed any expansion of its use.
Gov. JB Pritzker, for example, now enthusiastically backs lifting Illinois' long-standing moratorium on new base-load nukes, a 38-year-old prohibition he previously urged retaining. Lifting the moratorium was part of a sprawling energy bill that — like many other major issues in Springfield this past spring — was left for another day to be completed.
Another data point: In recent days, Constellation Energy Group, which owns all the nuclear power plants in Illinois, struck a 20-year deal with Facebook owner Meta to purchase all the capacity at Constellation's downstate Clinton plant. The deal ensures a facility that's been financially wobbly in the past will run at least another two decades and allows for Constellation to consider building another reactor at the site in the future.
These are heady days for an industry that over the past decade has secured not one but two ratepayer-funded bailouts from the state of Illinois in order to keep plants from shuttering prematurely.
So news recently that Constellation misled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2023 about a significant screw-up at its Quad Cities plant in Cordova, Illinois, is a bracing reminder of the risks inherent in nuclear power — and the degree to which we all rely on operators to keep themselves honest.
Illinois has the most nukes of any U.S. state and in an age in which climate change has elevated the status of nukes because they don't emit heat-trapping carbon, it's easy to forget the controversy that enveloped the industry for much of its existence. Memories are short when it comes to the terrible accidents in other parts of the world such as the 1980s-era Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union and the 2011 Fukushima calamity in Japan.
That's why the disclosure that Constellation employees had lied to regulators about the spillage of radioactive-contaminated cooling water at Quad Cities in 2023 was so alarming. According to the NRC, at least 1,200 gallons of the liquid was mistakenly drained at the plant, exposing workers. The NRC's report said at least two workers were sprayed in the face with reactor coolant water. The incident was serious enough that the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group, called it a 'near miss.' But at least as worrisome was a worker's attempts initially to cover up the problem.
That senior reactor operator initially misidentified the issue as something more benign than what happened. It took 10 days for the truth to come out. The operator later explained that 'fear of a particular senior manager's anger kept him from providing complete and accurate information,' according to the NRC report on the incident.
The NRC is in the process of determining what consequences Baltimore-based Constellation will face for the cover-up. The penalty should be harsh enough to provide effective deterrence of any repeat performance.
In a statement to the media, Constellation said it fired the employees deemed responsible and proffered assurances there was no threat to the public or to workers. The company said it 'holds its employees and contractors to the highest standards of ethical conduct while promoting a culture of transparency, accountability and continuous learning.'
Executives like to talk about their company cultures. Frequently, they use words such as the ones above. Actions, however, speak louder than words, and it's concerning indeed that a senior reactor operator was so frightened of his boss that he lied about a potentially dangerous incident at his workplace.
Illinois' nuclear fleet — producing reliable power around the clock, employing thousands and generating tens of millions in tax revenue to local communities — is an asset to the region. Constellation should use this black eye as an opportunity for brutally honest self-examination. More than most companies, we need to be able to believe what Constellation says.