Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Under Additional Oversight

Federal nuclear regulators say the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth is subject to additional oversight related to an emergency shutdown in May.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Monday that the findings of a previous inspection found that the violations in the May shutdown were of low to moderate significance.

“When it comes to the job of controlling the reactor, unyielding adherence to standards and procedures is essential,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said in a statement. “While the plant’s automatic safety systems assured that this event did not compromise plant safety or adversely impact the environment, this clearly was a significant operational event. The NRC fully expects plant personnel to learn from this experience and take steps to ensure there is not a recurrence.”

The commission criticized Pilgrim’s owners for inadequate training and enforcement of its standards following the automatic shutdown, which occurred as the reactor was being returned to service after a refueling and maintenance outage.

Entergy disagreed with the NRC's determination of risk associated with the event.

The shutdown was blamed on human error. There was never a danger to the public.

A Pilgrim spokesman said Entergy has taken the event very seriously and instituted numerous corrective actions including retraining control room operators.