Conservationists and residents on Monday continued calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut down the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, with another rally outside the Massachusetts State House.
Cape Downwinders — a collection of residents from Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket – again asked that Gov. Charlie Baker (R) support closing the 44-year-old Plymouth facility, which has been plagued by safety violations and unplanned shutdowns in recent years. The NRC in 2015 downgraded the site to Column 4 of its Action Matrix, the lowest safety rating a plant can have while remaining in operation. Plant owner Entergy expects to close the facility in 2019 for economic reasons.
“It is time to confront a government that is failing the people of the Commonwealth,” Cape Downwinders Executive Director Diane Turco said in a prepared statement. “With ongoing problems at the repetitively degrading Pilgrim, the entire region, including metro Boston, is put at serious risk that can be avoided through strong leadership and action.”
Last week the NRC announced that it had identified four findings of “very low safety significance” at Pilgrim during the agency’s third-quarter inspection. Pilgrim also experienced a complication in early November, when Entergy shut down its high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI) system, one of three cooling systems, after the plant recorded excessive vibrations within the HPCI. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Monday that a stiffening plate was installed on the HPCI pump to address the issue. The pump was retested on Nov. 11, and the vibrations were found to be at an acceptable level.
Pilgrim’s most recent unplanned shutdown occurred in September, when complications with a fluctuating feedwater regulating valve led to excessive water levels in the plant’s reactor vessel. The NRC has completed two of three increased oversight inspections at the plant in the past year, due to the safety downgrade, identifying separate “low safety significance” findings during both visits. The third and most comprehensive inspection is scheduled to begin Nov. 28.
