AG HEALEY CALLS ON NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TO ADDRESS SAFETY CONCERNS AT PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

AG HEALEY CALLS ON NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TO ADDRESS SAFETY CONCERNS AT PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Leads Group of Federal and State Officials in Requesting a Public Meeting

            BOSTON – Attorney General Maura Healey and state and federal leaders today called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to hold a public meeting in Massachusetts to answer questions

about the safety of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth.

            In a letter sent to the NRC today, AG Healey joined with federal, state, and local leaders – including Governor Charlie Baker, Senator Edward Markey and the entire Congressional delegation, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, and legislators from Plymouth, Cape Cod and the islands – in urging the NRC to communicate directly with the public about the safety of the nuclear power plant and provide details about recent shutdowns.

Today’s letter follows the inadvertent disclosure of an email last month from the leader of the NRC special inspection team noting continued concerns about operations at the plant, including poor engineering expertise and a “safety culture problem.”  In addition, the team leader commented that plant staff “seems overwhelmed by just trying to run the” nuclear plant. 

            “The NRC has an obligation to address the operation of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant and the increased public concerns that continue to plague the plant at a time when it should be showing significant improvements,” said AG Healey. “The public’s serious questions about the safety of this plant and risks it poses to the environment, workers and residents need to be answered immediately.”

            The letter states that a public meeting also would provide an opportunity for the NRC to discuss the cause of the plant’s most recent shutdown, including how the leaks in three of the plant’s eight main steam isolation valves were discovered, why they were not discovered earlier, and what steps have been taken to inspect the integrity of the remaining steam isolation valves.  These valves are used to prevent a leak of radioactivity into the environment during a nuclear accident.  In light of the documented ongoing safety issues at the plant, the letter also calls on the NRC to deny a request from the plant’s owner, Entergy, for an exemption from NRC’s post-Fukushima Dai-ichi plant safety upgrades.

AG Healey has been a vocal advocate for increased safety at nuclear power plants. In December 2015, she filed a brief with other New England states in support of Vermont’s call on the NRC to ensure decommissioning funds meant to clean up radioactive waste at closed power plants are not used for other purposes.

In June 2015,  AG Healey sent a letter to congressional leaders advocating for three key pieces of legislation that are vital to increasing  security at decommissioned reactors where spent fuel is stored, enhancing safety of long term storage of spent fuel at plant sites, including Pilgrim, and increasing opportunities for public participation in the decommissioning process for retiring plants.

The NRC downgraded Pilgrim safety’s status to the least safe category in September 2015 based on recurring safety issues at the plant.  In October 2015, Entergy announced that it will shut down the plant by June 2019 citing low energy prices, reduced revenues, and increased operational costs.  Pilgrim generates 680 megawatts of electricity.