DTE Energy instituted a safety stand down of its Fermi 2 nuclear power plant Friday; some of the work resumed Monday.

DTE has instituted a safety stand down of its Fermi 2 nuclear power plant that has temporarily suspended some of the maintenance and refueling outage work that had been occurring at the facility.

The stand down began Friday and some of the work resumed on Monday.

The stand down was related to the health and safety of employees amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement issued by DTE spokesperson Stephen Tait.

“Crews who maintain the facility in its current idled state remained on the job through the weekend to ensure the safety of the plant,” he said. “The safety stand down allowed the site to conduct newly available novel coronavirus testing for regular and contract employees at the facility. The testing conducted for all personnel included antibody testing, which requires a finger-prick blood sample, and viral testing, which requires a nasal swab.”

Tait said the planned refueling and maintenance work, which began March 21, included COVID-19 prevention activities such as health assessments, enhanced cleaning efforts and temperature checks to permit entry into the facility. DTE also is requiring all employees and contractors to wear provided face masks while on site.

“The safety stand down will add duration to the outage,” Tait acknowledged. “But our focus is on the health and safety of the people at the plant. This was the right step to promote their health and well-being.”

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