Startling new revelations from a federal inspection report have uncovered a deeply entrenched atmosphere of fear at a Florida nuclear power facility, where employees report being too scared to report safety threats, even if done anonymously.

The unsettling findings, revealed by The Tampa Bay Times, focus on the St. Lucie nuclear plant, managed by Florida Power & Light, the largest utility company in the state.

Federal investigators indicate that workers at the plant described a toxic environment where repercussions for highlighting concerns were so widespread that employees avoided using official complaint pathways out of fear of being tracked and penalized.

The report, discreetly finalized last fall, painted a harrowing picture of suppression, intimidation, and operational negligence at the aging plant situated on a barrier island just north of West Palm Beach.

This means a hush has enveloped one of Florida’s crucial energy facilities, even as technical failures and shutdowns increase.

‘Senior management’s reactions to individuals raising nuclear safety concerns could be perceived as retaliation,’ the inspection report states. 

The report comes after an unprecedented surge in anonymous grievances from the plant, surpassing those at all other nuclear installations in the US last year, sparking renewed worries about the operational soundness of this complex on Florida’s east coast.

The timing couldn’t be more controversial as Florida Power & Light is currently seeking approval for what watchdogs call the largest electric rate hike in US history – a nearly $10 billion increase over four years. 

After interviewing more than 75 workers, federal inspectors concluded that a pervasive fear of retaliation has silenced employees and put public safety in jeopardy.

‘Senior management’s reactions to individuals raising nuclear safety concerns could be perceived as retaliation,’ the report states.

At the heart of the crisis is a breakdown in trust between workers and leadership.

According to the inspection, employees were so spooked by prior incidents of retaliation that they avoided even anonymous reporting systems, fearing their IP addresses might be traced. 

Instead, many turned to union representatives – or just stayed silent.

Whistleblower complaints have exploded. In 2024, the St. Lucie plant logged 20 anonymous allegations, the most of any of the nation’s 54 nuclear facilities, and five times the number it received just a year prior.

‘Without [a healthy safety culture], it’s a toxic environment that contributes to potential for a more serious event to occur,’ warned Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

Federal regulators confirmed they launched the inspection specifically because of the spike in these complaints.

Despite the alarming findings, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued no formal violations, allowing FPL to claim the issue is under control. 

A spokesperson for the utility, Ellen Meyers, insisted that the nuclear fleet remains ‘safe, reliable and emissions-free’.

She added that the plants, including Turkey Point near Miami, hold the NRC’s top ‘green’ rating – but experts have called that label misleading.

‘There has been grade inflation,’ Lyman said. ‘Green findings are less meaningful when inspectors are discouraged from escalating serious concerns.’  

Lyman, a physicist and director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said he found the issues uncovered at the plant to be troubling.

‘The reason why these inspections were initiated in the first place is the recognition of how important good safety culture is,’ he said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. 

‘Without that, it’s a toxic environment that contributes to potential for a more serious event to occur.’

The problems at St. Lucie are neither isolated nor new. Records show years of safety violations, internal scandals, and worsening shutdowns at both of Florida’s active nuclear plants, St. Lucie and Turkey Point.

In 2019, federal regulators fined FPL $150,000 after employees at Turkey Point falsified safety records and failed to notify supervisors of serious errors during maintenance. 

In 2017, a contract worker at St. Lucie was terminated after raising radiation concerns – another incident that triggered a federal penalty.

An internal review by Florida regulators later revealed that FPL’s own executives admitted their nuclear operations were in crisis. 

One plant manager even concluded St. Lucie had ‘the worst operational focus in the industry.’

Since then, the company cut a quarter of its nuclear workforce, according to testimony from utility consultant Richard Polich, who warned that fewer staff, coupled with a fear-driven culture, heightens the risk of costly or dangerous mistakes.

‘Mistakes can occur, tasks may not be performed in accordance with company procedures, and projects are rushed… leading to avoidable outages and imprudent fuel costs,’ Polich told regulators. 

FPL dismissed Polich’s warnings as ‘conjecture’, but state investigators are once again raising red flags. 

After a brief period of improvement, plant shutdowns at St. Lucie and Turkey Point spiked again last year. 

A new review from the state Public Service Commission suggested that the same dysfunction regulators identified in past audits has returned.

‘Issues related to Florida Power & Light’s philosophy with regard to receiving concerns … may have come up again,’ wrote Commission attorney Suzanne Brownless in a 2024 filing. 

The situation has attracted scrutiny from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Tallahassee.

‘A ‘chilled work environment’ where employees fear speaking up about safety concerns is not just a red flag – it’s a siren,’ said Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).

‘This points to a systemic failure in oversight and serious public safety concerns.’ 

Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville), a long-time FPL critic, added that the state utility commission ‘should consider these issues’ in any rate hike decision. 

According to testimony from Polich, each nuclear shutdown can cost ratepayers over $1 million in replacement power.

In a 2023 settlement, FPL agreed to refund $5 million to customers after regulators determined multiple shutdowns from 2020–2022 were avoidable.

But with a new $10 billion rate hike request pending, watchdogs say the company’s nuclear operations deserve a full airing.

‘This is not about isolated incidents,’ Eskamani said. ‘This is about public accountability.’ 

So far, FPL has insisted that it is not seeking reimbursement for any nuclear outages as part of its current rate case, but internal documents are now subject to subpoena by the state’s public advocate, meaning more damaging revelations could emerge in the months ahead.