Amid relief, questions remain on Pilgrim sale
By Christine Legere
Buyer’s experience with decommissioning a concern.
PLYMOUTH — State Sen. Julian Cyr received an email from Entergy Corp. early Wednesday, giving him a heads-up a few hours before the public would find out that Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is going to be sold to Holtec International.
Holtec is promising to decommission the plant in eight years, Cyr was told.
The Truro Democrat said the email signaled to him that “there’s an end in sight.”
“The sale of Pilgrim to Holtec indicates the plant is not going to be restarted,” Cyr said. “It’s a huge relief and big news.”
The push by the Trump administration to keep old reactors like Pilgrim churning has had plant watchdogs holding their breath.
Pilgrim is scheduled to shut down permanently by June 1. Entergy’s announcement makes it clear that’s going to happen.
Holtec’s announced plan for swift decommissioning was also a big relief, Cyr said.
“My real concern was they would pursue SAFSTOR,” he said.
Nuclear reactor license holders have three options for decommissioning. The SAFSTOR option allows a plant to be mothballed for up to 60 years, delaying dismantling and radiation cleanup.
Based on Entergy’s announcement of the planned transfer of Pilgrim’s license to Holtec, the Plymouth plant will be decommissioned via the DECON option, whereby a site is cleaned up within several years instead of over several decades.
The transfer from Entergy to Holtec would include the nuclear reactor, radioactive spent fuel and more than $1 billion in Pilgrim’s decommissioning trust fund. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and requires owners to set aside money for the work.
Under the plan for Pilgrim, the transfer would take place in 2020, after the final 500 fuel assemblies are removed from the reactor.
Holtec expects to move all 4,000 of the radioactive spent fuel assemblies into heavy concrete and steel dry casks within three years.
“I think the real risk (at Pilgrim) is the spent fuel pool,” Cyr said. “This indicates a promising step.”
Sean Mullin, chairman of the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel, said the news “came out of left field.” He has scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at Plymouth Community Intermediate School to allow panel members, as well as the public, to ask questions and get more information. Representatives from Entergy and Holtec will be on hand.
“I have long been concerned about Pilgrim’s safety and operating record and its management’s history of cutting corners at the expense of increased risk to Massachusetts residents. I am concerned that Pilgrim appears to be Holtec’s first full decommissioning effort, especially as it is taking over Pilgrim less than a year before decommissioning is set to begin.
“I will be watching this matter closely and no matter who owns Pilgrim, I will work to ensure that no corner will be cut and no cost spared in ensuring the safety of residents near the plant and on the Cape,” the statement says.
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