Beyond Nuclear released the following statement by Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear, in response to the decision by Entergy to shut its troubled Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth, MA, but not until as late as June 2019.
“While the planned closure of another outdated and dangerous nuclear power plant is welcome news, the decision to postpone the Pilgrim shutdown until 2019 puts surrounding populations at unacceptable risk. This is a reactor design with a containment that is guaranteed to fail in the event of a severe accident. It is a Fukushima waiting to happen on U.S. soil.
“Entergy is going to request that federal regulators waive compliance with critical post-Fukushima safety upgrades that are already part of its operating license. Pilgrim has deadlines to comply with Fukushima upgrades that are going to come sooner than June 2019.
“If Entergy is going to operate this plant for another three years, and without spending any money on required Fukushima upgrades, then it should close immediately."