Local legislators frustrated by federal response on Pilgrim nuclear plant
Amid a week-long shutdown of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, legislators from Plymouth say their greatest frustration is not with the plant's latest closure but in trying to get the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be more forthcoming about the aging nuclear plant and problems identified by their own inspectors.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, after conducting scheduled testing at the plant, a Pilgrim operator found a "small main steam line leak" and the plant's "operators made the conservative, best practice decision to shut down the plant and repair the leak," Patrick O'Brien, a spokesman for the plant's owner Entergy, said in an email.
The plant remained offline Wednesday, O'Brien said, as plant workers took "the time/opportunity to do maintenance that can't be done otherwise when we are at full-power." The steam line repairs have been completed, he said, and there was no threat to the safety of the plant's staff or the public.
But Sen. Vinny deMacedo and Rep. Mathew Muratore, both Republicans from Plymouth, said they are more concerned about the NRC's apparent unwillingness to answer questions raised after the Cape Cod Times and other media outlets obtained an internal NRC email documenting safety concerns found at the plant during an NRC inspection earlier this month.
Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/news/20161222/local-legislators-frustrated-by-federal-response-on-pilgrim-nuclear-plant
