The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday began its third and final increased oversight inspection at the troubled Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts.
Agency managers leading the inspection spoke Monday during a conference call with reporters, saying there are no immediate safety concerns at the plant, but that the team of about 20 NRC officials will conduct a thorough on-site examination, which is scheduled to wrap up Jan. 13.
“We’re going to dig as far as we need to dig,” said inspection team leader Don Jackson, noting that the effort could very well last longer than its scheduled closeout date.
During the inspection. the NRC will evaluate Entergy’s plan to address safety performance issues, including the quality of the plant’s procedures and its corrective action program. Jackson said the crew will assess Pilgrim’s safety culture, equipment, maintenance process, and risk determination process.
The 44-year-old plant has registered a long list of complications and unplanned shutdowns. Pilgrim, which is scheduled to close in 2019, was downgraded in 2015 to Column 4 of the NRC’s Action Matrix, the lowest safety rating a plant can have while remaining in operation. The NRC’s decision to finalize a white inspection finding (low to moderate safety significance) followed several unplanned shutdowns and the discovery of safety relief valve issues dating to 2013.
The agency this year has completed two of three increased oversight inspections, registering separate green findings (very low safety significance) in both visits. The first finding concerned water leakage from the core spray system, and the second a maintenance procedure failure for a salt service water pump. Pilgrim’s most recent unplanned shutdown occurred in September, when complications with a fluctuating feedwater regulating valve led to excessive water levels in the plant’s reactor vessel.
