The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, now ranks among the lowest performing reactors in the United States. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is downgrading Pilgrim to one of its lowest performance categories after a series of emergency shutdowns and equipment failures at the power plant.
The NRC recently took action after an inspection team found that some of the plant’s four safety relief valves were so degraded they wouldn’t open properly under certain conditions. NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan says the plant’s owner should have been aware of the problem.
The NRC ranks nuclear plants in five safety columns. Pilgrim now moves into the fourth column, making it one of the lowest performing plants in the country when it comes to safety. “The only other column is ‘column 5’, which means you are at risk of being shutdown,” Sheehan said. “There are 99 operating power reactors in the US. Of those 99, only three would be in this ‘column 4’.”
While Pilgrim workers have already replaced the faulty safety relief valves, Sheehan said the plant now faces further inspections and oversight.