Pilgrim Nuclear: Undisclosed Security Violation

Mystery security issue at Pilgrim results in violation

By Christine Legere 
Posted Jun 29, 2017 

PLYMOUTH — Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will receive at least one violation as part of its next quarterly report, based on a security issue at the plant that’s not being elaborated on because of its sensitive nature.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Pilgrim’s Site Vice President Brian Sullivan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said its Office of Investigations had looked into a report from plant owner Entergy Corp. in mid-March regarding a security issue.

“We are constrained as far as what we can say about this because it involves security,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan wrote in an email. “We can tell you that it was identified by Entergy and that the company took immediate action to address any vulnerabilities, and that the issue was entered into the plant’s corrective action program. We launched our investigation after being notified by Entergy of the issue.”

The federal investigators concluded the issue represented a Level IV finding, which is less serious than Levels I, II, and III but still classified as a violation.

“A severity Level IV violation is roughly equivalent to a ‘green’ inspection finding, or of very low safety/security significance,” Sheehan said.

Details of the violation and its significance to the public were included in an enclosure accompanying the letter, but weren’t made public. Entergy must now respond to the investigators’ report, “in part, to determine whether further enforcement is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC requirements,” the letter said.

Entergy spokesman Patrick O’Brien elaborated a little, saying, “this incident involved two individuals whose behavior does not meet our standards.”

“We are committed to continuing to improve our regulatory performance and complying with all regulatory requirements, and will respond to the NRC as instructed in the letter,” O’Brien wrote in an email.

http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20170629/mystery-security-issue-at-pilgrim-results-in-violation