The troubled 685 MW boiling water reactor at the Pilgrim nuclear facility in Massachusetts is back online, following a spate of unexpected shutdowns that have left critics wondering if the plant is up to snuff, The Boston Globe reports.

Of the seven shutdowns in the last two years, five were unexpected, caused by problems discovered in the plant’s systems. The most recent shutdown, which began on Jan. 21, went into effect after workers found a leak in a safety valve.

None of the outages endangered public health, according to plant owner Entergy (NYSE: ETR), though another outage would likely trigger a federal review of the facility, the Globe reports.

Subscribe to Nuclear Power International magazine

Copyright © 2012: PennWell Corporation  Subscribe to Nuclear Power International

http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2013/january/pilgrim-nuclear-power-plant-back-online.html