Pilgrim Nuclear is of the same design as FUKUSHIMA!
Tripped breaker spurs shutdown at Pilgrim plant
PLYMOUTH — The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station was manually shut down at 8 a.m. Thursday after a tripped breaker cut off power to pumps supplying water to its reactor.
James Sinclair, spokesman for Entergy, the plant's owner and operator, said Thursday the public was in no danger. The plant was put into safe shutdown mode while staff tried to figure out the cause of the tripped breaker.
The plant will remain offline until the problem is identified and fixed, Sinclair said.
The facility could be put into "cold shutdown," which takes up to 48 hours to complete, depending on what repairs are needed, he said.
Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the plant had 1.9 unplanned shutdowns in a 7,000-hour period.
This latest shutdown could shift the plant into a category that requires tighter oversight by the federal agency.
"We have to crunch the numbers and see where they stand," Sheehan said.
There are 100 operating nuclear power plants in the United States, Sheehan said. Currently 23 require the tighter level of oversight.
Entergy supplies 15 percent of the electricity used in Massachusetts, but a spokesman for the utility NStar said the public should not worry about supply.
"We're not anticipating any issues for our customers on the Cape or elsewhere," said NStar spokesman Michael Durand on Thursday.
ISO New England, the power grid operator for the six New England states, factors in events such as power plant shutdowns or transmission line outages, said its spokeswoman, Lacey Ryan.
"We have other resources we can call upon for power," Ryan said.
Pilgrim is NOT needed for power.
Mary Lampert, founder of the citizens' group Pilgrim Watch, said breakdowns at the plant are becoming more frequent.
"What does this tell us?" Lampert asked. "First, that the reactor is an antique and is experiencing multiple age-related problems. Second, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not doing its job with inspections and enforcement of regulations. Third, Entergy is not doing well financially with cheaper sources of power, and are running the reactor on the cheap, avoiding repairs and cutting back on personnel."
In a recent announcement of staff cutbacks, Entergy said 30 employees at the Pilgrim plant would be laid off.
Diane Turco of Harwich, founder of Cape Downwinders, an activist group that has called for the plant to be shut down, said problems at Pilgrim have become far too frequent.
"How many more times do they have to have events before it's an event they can't control?" Turco said. "It's an old and troubled plant, and it needs to be closed. Why are we dancing around the danger?"
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