Full house expected at Pilgrim hearingApr 28 -Christine Legere Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
A big crowd is expected for Thursday's public forum to discuss Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station's glitch-filled performance last year and its ultimate downgrade by federal regulators to among the nine worst reactors in the country. The annual event organized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Entergy Corp., Pilgrim's owner-operator, is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel at 180 Water St. More than an hour has been set aside for public questions and comments. Speakers will be asked to sign up when they arrive. "I expect the room to be bursting at the seams," said Jeff Berger, chairman emeritus of the Plymouth Nuclear Matters Committee. "It's always pretty busy, but I think it will be substantially more so this year. I don't think it will be a quiet crowd either." NRC staff will open with a 10-minute presentation on problems at the 42-year-old plant last year that resulted in unplanned shutdowns and shutdowns with complications. That will be followed by a 30-minute discussion with Entergy representatives on safety issues and how they are being addressed. The company has been told to look for the root causes of the shutdowns and devise corrective measures. The floor will then be turned over to the public. David Lochbaum, director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists, recently pointed out that 2013 was Pilgrim's worst year in two decades in terms of shutdowns. Lochbaum said Thursday's meeting will give federal regulators an opportunity to inform the public of progress being made and give the public a chance to "resolve problems" by asking questions "rather than allowing them to fester." Although the focus will be on Pilgrim's performance in 2013, federal regulators plan to allow questions beyond that topic. "We will seek to be as responsive as possible to all questions and will seek to get back to those for whom we do not have an immediate answer," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. Diane Turco, founder and chairwoman of the Cape Downwinders, plans to ask the same question she does every year. "I've always asked them if Fukushima could happen here," Turco said. The Pilgrim nuclear reactor is a General Electric Mark 1, the same model involved in the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. According to Turco, at least one NRC representative in the past conceded a Fukushima-type disaster was possible. Berger expects Plymouth residents to have a lot of questions, based on last year's plant performance. "There is a lot of concern across town, both from proponents of the plant continuing to operate and opponents who would like to see it shut down," he said. Sheehan said the time for public questions can be extended. "We generally don't have a hard-and-fast stop time," he said. "Again, we try to respond to as many questions as we can within the allotted time window and within the constraints of our contract with the hotel. We have on many occasions allowed additional time so that attendees can get in as many questions as possible." Berger said he was glad to hear the public would be given ample time, "but whether they will be answering questions to people's satisfaction, I don't know." http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=32302007& |