9 security violations found at Pilgrim
Posted Jan 11, 2017
Findings classified as low-risk but exceed typical number.
PLYMOUTH - Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is one of the poorest performers in the nation, based on a rating system used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and its handling of security matters appears to be similarly weak.
Nine violations were identified during a routine Dec. 1 security inspection at Pilgrim, according to a letter sent by the commission Wednesday to Entergy Corp., Pilgrim's owner-operator.
Six violations were found by inspectors and three were reported by plant operators.
Although details of the violations were not made public because they relate to security, Raymond Lorson, NRC director of the Division of Reactor Safety, wrote: "Specifically, Entergy did not effectively implement error reduction tools, maintain equipment availability, challenge unusual conditions, use prudent decision-making and maintain complete and accurate documentation."
Pilgrim watchdog Mary Lampert, a Duxbury resident, said the nine security violations could be added "to the laundry list of technical problems found at the plant."
"It shows it's time to close Pilgrim," Lampert said.
All violations were classified as "green," which are considered of low security significance, Lorson wrote.
Green findings, classified as low risk, are violations of regulations, but licensees are not cited with formal notices if the infraction is placed into the plant's corrective action program or if the violation is not repetitive, according to the NRC website.
"As is always the case with green findings, the company will place the issues into the plant's corrective action, and we will follow up via upcoming inspections to ensure the issues have been addressed," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan wrote in an email. "The company had to have at least put in place compensatory measures before our inspectors left the facility."
One infraction involved the storage of radioactive material, which must be kept in "robust structures" under federal regulations. Lorson said the issue was discussed with plant operators at the exit meeting after the inspection. Although enforcement action could have been taken for such a violation, the NRC chose not to take any, "exercising enforcement discretion," Lorson wrote.
One expert on the U.S. nuclear industry said the results of the security inspection were telling. A total of 205 security inspections were done by the NRC in 2015, based on its report to Congress in August, said David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"A total of 205 inspections resulted in 108 findings (violations), with 101 of those being characterized as green," Lochbaum wrote in an email. "Thus, the average security inspection yielded about one-half green finding."
Pilgrim's nine green violations in a single inspection is 18 times that average.
"It represents a larger number of findings than we would typically see in a security inspection," Sheehan said.
Entergy spokesman Patrick O'Brien said in an email that Pilgrim operators "continuously maintain effective security at the plant in accordance with strict NRC regulations."
"As the NRC noted in its letter, all deficiencies were promptly corrected or compensated for and the plant was in compliance before the inspectors left Dec. 1, 2016," O'Brien wrote. "All the identified issues have been entered into our Corrective Action Program to determine the causes and implement corrective actions to preclude recurrence."
The security inspection is unrelated to the three-week special inspection that will wrap up Friday at Pilgrim. The special inspection is required based on Pilgrim's status under the NRC rating system, as one step above mandatory shutdown.
Pilgrim has again been under public scrutiny since a Dec. 5 email from the leader of the special inspection team, mistakenly made public, described staff as "overwhelmed" by the operation of the 44-year-old plant. The email listed a host of problems related to procedure, equipment and staff performance, in many cases citing specific examples.
"There's a silver lining," Lochbaum wrote of the security inspection results. "Given Pilgrim's equally underperformance on safety issues, terrorists might not target Pilgrim. They'd spend lots of time and money planning an attack on Pilgrim only to have the plant melt down by itself the week before the planned attack."
If the NRC closed Pilgrim for poor performance, the agency might gain back public confidence, Lampert said. Entergy would benefit from Pilgrim's closure since it considers the plant a financial loser, and the public would gain in terms of safety, the environment and property values, she added.
- Follow Christine Legere on Twitter: @ChrisLegereCCT.
Editor's note: The original version of this story contained incorrect information about when nuclear plant licensees are cited with formal notices of a violation. The story has been corrected.
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