Plymouth nuclear plant could be fined after medical violations reported
PLYMOUTH —
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering whether to fine the operator of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station after a series of medical violations were uncovered during a 2011 inspection.
Entergy Corp., owner of the plant, must respond by June 3 to the NRC, which documented failures of medical examiners at the plant to report the high blood pressure of a reactor operator and a decision to skip stamina tests for five others.
An independent physician later determined that the operators had “temporary disabilities and associated pain (that) would have severely impaired their mobility, range of motion and physical stability to carry out operator responsibilities in an emergency.”
The NRC described such violations as happening at multiple and various times between 2008 and 2011.
“NRC documented that a total of ten operators has not been administered stamina tests,” the NRC stated.
Entergy spokeswoman Carol Wightman said that Pilgrim has reviewed medical records of all operators at the plant to prevent future violations.
“It is important to note this did not result in any performance issues with operators standing watch in the control room,” Wightman said of the violations cited by the NRC.
In a second series of violations noted in the NRC report, Pilgrim sought to renew the licenses of two nuclear reactor operators that had not been given the stamina tests, asserting that the two operators had met the medical requirements for renewal.
“However, this was not the case since the RO (reactor operator) application had not been administered the stamina test,” the NRC stated.
Nuclear regulators could issue a fine or beef up oversight of the plant, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.
The maximum fine that NRC could impose is $140,000 per violation per day, but Sheehan would not disclose how many days Pilgrim was in violation of medical regulations.
Mary Lampert, a Duxbury resident and founder of Pilgrim Watch, said a nuclear reactor operator should be thought of as an airline pilot but with much more at stake.
“It’s about fitness for duty,” said Lampert. “Would you want to get in airplane where the pilot had high blood pressure and wasn’t physically fit?”
Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x1160896796/Medical-violations-at-nuclear-plant-could-bring-fines-for-Pilgrim-operator#ixzz2UJC9RDPu
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