The Nuclear Regulatory Commission identified four “very low safety significance” findings at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station during its third-quarter inspection in September, which was released publicly Monday.
The green inspection findings were added to a long list of complications at the beleaguered 44-year-old Massachusetts plant. The NRC in 2015 downgraded Pilgrim to Column 4 of its Action Matrix, the lowest safety rating a nuclear site can have while remaining in operation. The facility is expected to close in 2019 for economic reasons.
The violations included plant owner Entergy’s failure to adequately assess operability of one of Pilgrim’s emergency diesel generators during a five-hour test on Aug. 10. The company also failed to recognize that several radiation monitor subsystems had exceeded their performance criteria under the NRC’s Maintenance Rule. In addition, Entergy did not implement preventive maintenance procedural requirements to periodically replace six electrical relays, and did not perform timely operational evaluations for primary containment isolation valves, which were fitted with electrical relays that were in place beyond their recommended service life.
Lawmakers and residents have long called on the NRC and Entergy to close Pilgrim immediately, as the plant has experienced several unplanned shutdowns and safety issues with relief valves since 2013. The most recent unplanned shutdown occurred in September, following complications with a fluctuating feedwater regulating valve that caused excessive water levels in the plant’s reactor vessel. The NRC has conducted two of three increased oversight inspections at the plant in the past year, resulting from the safety downgrade, identifying separate green findings in both of those visits. The third and most comprehensive inspection is scheduled to begin Nov. 28.
Entergy has 30 days to respond to the inspection report if it plans to contest the violations. The inspection was held on Sept. 30. Entergy did not respond to a request for comment.
The NRC would not impose any penalties because the findings have been classified as of very low safety significance. However, Entergy will have to enter these issues into the plant’s corrective action program and take steps to address them.
“We have not been notified by Entergy of any intention to contest the findings,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Tuesday. “Typically, ‘Green’ findings are not contested.”
