Warren presses NRC on Pilgrim oversight
By Christine LegerePosted Oct 31, 2018
Letter to agency chairwoman raises concerns over plant’s final months of operation.
PLYMOUTH — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote to the chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, expressing “deep concern” over the performance of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, “particularly in light of recent events.”
The senator criticized the federal regulatory agency for not doing enough to force the plant to meet acceptable standards.
Pilgrim’s reactor was shut down to address equipment problems for 57 days this calendar year, as of Oct. 9, which makes it clear that Entergy Corp., the plant’s owner and operator, has not succeeded in maintaining its safe operation, Warren wrote.
In her letter to NRC Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki, the senator noted Pilgrim is currently in Column 4 under federal performance standards — one step from mandatory shutdown and the worst plant among the nation’s fleet of 98 reactors.
“It is alarming the NRC has not taken additional steps to ensure that Entergy is safely operating the Pilgrim plant,” Warren wrote.
An NRC spokesman disputed Warren’s comments, arguing several steps have been taken. “Anybody who follows Pilgrim knows we’ve been methodically working our way through a list of 156 items in the confirmatory action letter,” Neil Sheehan said.
The NRC issued the action letter outlining plant deficiencies several months after the agency placed Pilgrim in its Column 4 performance category in late 2015. All issues must be resolved before Pilgrim may be considered for a better classification under federal standards. Entergy hopes to have the plant back in Column 1 by the time it shuts down permanently in June, Sheehan said.
As of the third quarter of this year, 79 of the 156 issues had been resolved, he said.
“We have conducted thousands of hours of inspections at Pilgrim in the last year alone to evaluate safety at the site and efforts to improve performance,” Sheehan wrote in an email. “The plant has also received ongoing attention from NRC senior management, including repeated visits to the facility and interactions with plant managers and personnel.”
Pilgrim is heading into its final winter, a historically challenging time of year for the plant because of electrical arcing problems in the switchyard when there is loss of off-site power during a severe storm.
Warren and fellow Massachusetts Democrats Sen. Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. William Keating sent a joint letter to Svinicki in February on the issue, and Warren mentioned it again in her Tuesday letter, noting the chairwoman had responded by saying Entergy had made modifications to the switchyard and some procedural changes, which the NRC found acceptable.
“However, the NRC has consistently given Entergy a pass on implementing other key safety measures,” wrote Warren, citing exemptions on upgrades to vent systems, cybersecurity measures, seismic and flood risk re-evaluations and emergency planning zone requirements.
Those were not given lightly, said the NRC spokesman.
“Any exemptions that we have granted to Pilgrim have been approved only after a thorough review of any safety implications,” Sheehan said. “The limited remaining operational lifespan of the plant has been a consideration in those evaluations.”
Mary Lampert, president of the citizens group Pilgrim Watch, called Warren’s push for increased oversight of Pilgrim, based on its performance rating, “spot on.”
The close scrutiny must continue even after plant shutdown, Lampert said. “Never forget continued enhanced oversight will be needed once it closes and the walls come tumbling down — and years of serious contamination hopefully cleaned up to protect the public health, environment and our economy,” Lampert wrote in an email.
The president of the Cape Downwinders, an organization that advocates for the immediate closure of Pilgrim, said Warren did not go far enough.
“While Senator Warren clearly recognizes the failure of the NRC to protect us, she falls short of calling for immediate closure of Pilgrim as our bipartisan Cape Cod delegation has done,” Diane Turco said.
Entergy spokesman Patrick O’Brien said Pilgrim “has made significant progress toward exiting Column 4.”
During the latest reactor shutdown Oct. 5, caused by a problem with a system that provides water to the reactor, “all plant safety systems operated exactly as designed,” O’Brien wrote. An extended shutdown earlier this year was related to the replacement of a start-up transformer, “ensuring the reliability of that component until the end of our planned operation.”
“Conservative decision-making and precise operation are the cornerstones of this facility,” O’Brien wrote. “The professional and talented men and women who work at Pilgrim are committed to continuing safe operations and finishing strong through our shutdown date.”
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