Misdirected NRC email reveals "overwhelmed" safety workforce at Pilgrim nuclear plant
A leaked email from an inspector with the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission mistakenly sent December 5, 2016 to a local community activist, reveals that Entergy Corporation is “overwhelmed” by the operation of its aging Pilgrim nuclear power station in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Deteriorating safety conditions at the Fukushima-style nuclear power plant located 35 miles south of the Boston metropolitan area continue to challenge beleaguered station workers with potential for catastrophic consequences under accident conditions.
The many issues reported to have “overwhelmed” site workers include:
• An emergency diesel generator necessary to power safety systems during an accident had been run with “little or no oil” in the gear box;
• Poor station performance in assessing and protecting against the potential failure modes for the emergency generator and its backup power generator;
• Several examples of inadequate corrective actions including an internal flooding issue raised in 2011 left unaddressed;
• Lack of an onsite safety culture including “poor maintenance, poor engineering practices, and equipment reliability problems,” and corrective actions that were circumvented because they were “too hard to complete.”
The emailed memo indicates that the NRC inspection team is “struggling to figure out what all this all means.”
The answer is quite simple. The Pilgrim nuclear power station must be permanently closed immediately.\
For more information, please review these links:
http://www.capecod.com/newscenter/nrc-e-mail-pilgrim-plant-overwhelmed-trying-to-run-station/
http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20161207/more-deteriorating-panels-found-at-pilgrim-nuclear-plant
December 8, 2016