The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station continues to operate safely, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s second of three increased-oversight inspections at the troubled Massachusetts plant.
Following a series of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve concerns, NRC in September lowered Pilgrim’s safety rating to Column 4, which is the lowest rating a facility can have while remaining in operation. NRC has scheduled three inspections at the plant to decide whether to keep the plant in operation or whether additional regulatory action is required.
NRC in its first two inspections has found no major issues with Pilgrim, though both times inspectors listed “green” inspection findings, which signify issues of “very low safety significance.” The latest green finding stems from plant owner Entergy’s “failure to implement a corrective action which required a revision to a maintenance procedure for a salt service water pump.”
Specifically NRC inspectors found in November 2015 that the pump was declared inoperable after divers discovered debris in the salt service water pump system, which is used to cool the reactor building’s closed cooling water system, equipment that cools emergency and safety-related systems. According to NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan, Entergy has “made the necessary procedure revisions,” and “recent maintenance of the affected pumps was correctly completed.”
“This inspection has determined that Pilgrim continues to operate safely and no additional regulatory actions beyond those for plants in Column 4 of the NRC’s Action Matrix are needed at this point to ensure that the plant remains safe,” Sheehan wrote in an email Tuesday.
The third and possibly final increased-oversight inspection at Pilgrim is expected later this year or in early 2017.
The first “green” finding was detailed in the initial inspection report released in March. Inspectors found that Entergy personnel did not correctly address water leakage from the core spray system, which likely caused air pockets to form in a discharge line during the plant’s January 2015 shutdown.
Entergy spokesman Patrick O’Brien said in a statement: “We take NRC inspection reports very seriously, and we are committed to continuously strengthening our ability to identify and resolve any existing and potential issues in a timely, effective manner that not only meets the NRC’s expectations but also the high standards to which we hold ourselves.”
Entergy said last month it would refuel Pilgrim in 2017 and then shut it down on May 31, 2019. Entergy also closed its Vermont Yankee facility in 2014 and plans to close its James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York next January.
