Two Valves Fail Inspection at Pilgrim Station

COURTESY PILGRIM NUCLEAR POWER STATION

PLYMOUTH – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says two safety valves at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station failed a required test recently, marking the latest equipment issue at the troubled station in Plymouth.

According to a report, two High-Pressure Coolant Injection exhaust valves leaked beyond acceptable levels during a mandatory test. Pilgrim is currently offline for a refueling outage and is undergoing a series of tests while it is not connected to the grid.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the system is used to inject coolant into the reactor in the event of an emergency or sudden shutdown.

“Any leakage from these valves could make its way to environment following a severe accident” said Neil Sheehan, a Spokesperson with the NRC.

Federal inspectors on-site at Pilgrim will follow up on the issue, according to Sheehan. It’s not yet known if the station will face a violation for the failed test.

“While conducting tests on High Pressure Coolant Injection system valves, we found they were performing outside of their design criteria,” said Pilgrim spokesperson Patrick O’Brien. “Since the plant is shut down, there was no consequence.”

“As is required by our license, we made notification to the NRC. The valves will be repaired, within proper limits, before the plant restarts,” O’Brien added.

Pilgrim is in Column 4 of the NRC’s action matrix, one step away from a federally-mandated shutdown. The station saw its safety rating downgraded in 2015 following a series of unplanned shutdown and safety violations.

The NRC announced this month that Pilgrim would remain in Column 4 after a special inspection of the facility in December and January. That review turned up 11 new safety violations, 10 of which are not considered serious.

Pilgrim is one of only three plants in the country in Column 4, along with two reactors in Arkansas. All three of those stations are owned by Entergy Corp.

The station is scheduled to close permanently in 2019.

 

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy