Pilgrim plant faces more NRC scrutinyNov 5 - Christine Legere Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.Federal regulators will be watching Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station's operation more closely because of complications during unplanned shutdowns at the reactor over the past year. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released third-quarter performance reports for the nation's 100 nuclear power plants on Monday. Pilgrim is now one of 22 plants that fall below the federal performance standards in one or more categories. Since January, Pilgrim has had two shutdowns in which operators were required to employ measures beyond standard procedure due to complications during the power-down process. Such incidents should be extremely rare, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan. "The maximum allowed by the NRC in a year is one," Sheehan said. "We will be formally notifying the company of the change in the Performance Indicator and our review plans in an upcoming letter," Sheehan said. An NRC inspection team will visit the plant and scrutinize the root cause for recent problems, he said. Entergy spokesman James Sinclair said the company has already taken some significant steps toward improvement. "Operating Pilgrim at the highest levels of safety and reliability is our highest priority, and we have conducted rigorous reviews of the plant shutdowns to identify needed improvements," Sinclair said in an email. The company's action plan addresses plant equipment, procedures and staff organization, he said. "Changes have been made to some key site leadership positions to accelerate our improvement," Sinclair said. The NRC has developed a grid containing several performance indicators plants must meet. A green rating is awarded for each federal benchmark they satisfy. The color changes to white if they fall below a benchmark. More oversight is then required. Plants that fall far below minimum standards get yellow or red ratings. David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said plant owners want to avoid a drop in performance ratings. "They know Wall Street is watching, and when you get white ratings, you don't look as good," Lochbaum said. "It also means more NRC inspectors show up at your door and turn over more rocks that could move you more into the white." Pilgrim is also walking a fine line for unplanned shutdowns in general. No more than three are allowed in a 7,000-hour period of operation, which is about a year. When the third quarter ended, Pilgrim was at 2.9 for unplanned shutdowns. That number did not include the Oct. 14 unplanned shutdown, which will be considered at the end of the fourth quarter, Sheehan said. The plant was also close to dropping to white in the category of safety system function failures. That standard tracks events or conditions that could prevent safety systems from properly operating in reactor emergencies. "Six is the magic line (to drop to white) in that category, and they're tracking down at five," Lochbaum said. The performance rating of the plant's on-site emergency backup systems also dipped. Those systems include diesel generators and large batteries that kick in when off-site power is lost. William Maurer, a Falmouth resident and member of the anti-nuclear group Cape Downwinders, wondered, in a email, whether Pilgrim's "diminished performance is a result of an over-the-hill nuclear facility and a company reluctant to spend the money required on upkeep." Meanwhile Lochbaum expressed confidence that increased oversight by the NRC will yield results at Pilgrim. "Their inspectors will see whether it's bad luck or bad management," the scientist said. "There will be plenty of incentive to heed these things and turn them around." http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=30537055& |