The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s third and final increased oversight inspection at Entergy’s downgraded Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is tentatively set to begin Nov. 28, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Wednesday.
The agency in September 2015 moved the 44-year-old Massachusetts facility to column 4 of its Action Matrix, the lowest safety rating a plant can have while remaining in operation. The decision followed a series of unplanned shutdowns and safety relief valve issues. The regulator has since completed two oversight inspections, both times registering findings of “very low safety significance” at the plant, which is scheduled to close in 2019. The first inspection concerned water leakage from the core spray system, and the second a maintenance procedure failure for a salt service water pump.
Pilgrim’s most recent event occurred on Sept. 6, when the plant had to shut down due to complications with a fluctuating feedwater regulating valve, which caused excessive water levels in the facility’s reactor vessel. The plant remained offline until Sept. 19, failing first to restart on Sept. 13, when the company brought the reactor to 9 percent power before discovering an issue with the facility’s turbine turning gear.
Lawmakers and residents have long called for NRC to shut the facility down as soon as possible. Sheehan said Wednesday that Pilgrim’s recent issues have not increased the regulator’s sense of urgency in dealing with the plant’s poor performance.
“These have been ongoing operational challenges they’ve had,” Sheehan said over the phone. Past problems “have been fixed, fixed to our satisfaction, so that’s not to say they won’t be captured when the inspectors are on-site and looking into all these various areas. … We’re going through this process, and the process is what it is.”
The NRC has scheduled three separate visits to Pilgrim in November, December, and January. Findings from the third inspection are expected in early March, and the agency will determine at that point what corrective measures are needed and if the plant should remain in operation.
Sheehan said inspectors will examine: human performance at the plant; equipment reliability; quality of plant procedures; safety culture, or employees’ willingness to voice concerns; and the company’s corrective action program, or how it is addressing issues.
Entergy could not be reached for comment.
