In an inspection report released by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, federal regulators have announced that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station may be subjected to even stricter oversight because of the glitches that occurred after the reactor shut down during a blizzard this past January.
The report stated that when the plant was taken offline during the January 27-28 blizzard, one complication involved the use of safety relief valves to reduce reactor pressure during the cool-down process. One of four valves failed to open, the report said. Inspectors said plant owner-operator Entergy could have prevented that issue if it addressed a valve problem that dated back to a shutdown during a February 2013 storm.
There are five categories in the commission’s performance assessment. Pilgrim is currently in a “degraded cornerstone” category, a classification that puts it under closer scrutiny by federal regulators. Entergy spokeswoman Lauren Burm issued a statement after the report’s release. “The issues raised by the NRC report have all been addressed in the four months since the special inspection team visited the plant following the historic January 27 blizzard,” her statement said.
Burm said four new safety relief valves were installed during a recent refueling and refitting of the reactor. “Our testing and investigation of the previous valves has found that they may have had defects that caused their performance to degrade over time,” she wrote.
Entergy has been given 10 days to respond to the report and contest the conclusions. If the findings are finalized with no changes, it could mean even closer scrutiny of the plant.