No. I-14-018 April 21, 2014 

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

NRC to Meet With Entergy on May 1st to Discuss

Performance of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with management of the Pilgrim nuclear power 

plant on Thursday, May 1, to discuss the agency’s annual review of safety performance at the 

Plymouth, Mass., facility.

The public meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor, 

at 180 Water St. in Plymouth. Prior to the session’s adjournment, NRC staff will answer questions from 

the public on the performance of the plant, as well as address the agency’s role in providing oversight 

of plant safety. There will be a security bag search at the entrance to the meeting.

Under the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, color-coded inspection findings and performance 

indicators are used to assess plant performance. (Performance indicators are statistical measurements of 

plant and equipment performance which, if exceeded, trigger additional NRC oversight.) The colors 

range from green, connoting very low safety or security significance, to white, yellow or red, for an 

issue of high significance.

Overall, the Pilgrim plant, which is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc.,

operated safely during 2013. However, the plant is receiving additional scrutiny from the NRC due to 

two performance indicators crossing from green to white last year.

Based on the update of data following the third quarter of 2013, Pilgrim saw its performance 

indicator for Unplanned Scrams (shutdowns) with Complications shift from green to white. This 

indicator tracks unplanned scrams that require additional operator actions and that are more risksignificant than uncomplicated shutdowns. Subsequently, when 2013 fourth-quarter data was finalized, 

another indicator for the single-reactor plant also transitioned to white. That indicator covers 

Unplanned Scrams per 7,000 Hours of Operation and becomes white if a plant experiences more than 

three unplanned shutdowns during that period of time.

These changes led to Pilgrim moving to the Degraded Cornerstone Column of the NRC’s 

Action Matrix (the third of five such columns that represent increasing levels of NRC oversight), 

resulting in more inspections by the NRC and greater interaction between NRC senior managers and 

plant management to reach a better understanding of actions taken or planned to address the problems.
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“The combination of two white performance indicators in the area of unplanned shutdowns 

ensures that Pilgrim will draw further scrutiny from the NRC. As such, we plan to review what is 

behind these shutdowns and make certain that Entergy is appropriately addressing the root cause or 

causes,” NRC Region I Administrator Bill Dean said. “We will pursue that not only through a 

supplemental team inspection but also during a discussion with the company at a meeting that will be 

open to the public. The results of those reviews and interactions will be readily available to the public.”

The NRC has also identified a cross-cutting theme at Pilgrim in the area of problem 

identification and resolution. NRC inspectors will be following up on the company’s work to address 

those issues, as well.

In 2013, the NRC devoted approximately 6,985 hours to inspections at Pilgrim.

The NRC issues reports on performance at each plant twice a year: during the mid-cycle, or 

mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the year. Inspection findings and performance indicators 

are also updated on a quarterly basis on the agency’s website. Following the release of the Annual 

Assessment letters each March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss 

the results.

Normal inspections are carried out by the two Resident Inspectors assigned to Pilgrim. Reviews 

are also performed at the sites by specialist inspectors assigned to the agency’s Region I Office in King 

of Prussia, Pa. Among the areas to be inspected this year at Pilgrim are the dry cask storage of spent 

nuclear fuel, emergency planning and radiological safety.

The Annual Assessment letter for Pilgrim, as well as the notice for the May 1st public meeting, 

are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Pilgrim.