No: I-15-035 September 2, 2015

CONTACT: Diane Screnci, 610-337-5330 E-mail: opa1.resource@nrc.gov

 Neil Sheehan, 610-337-5331 

NRC to Increase Oversight of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

Based on New Inspection Finding

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalized an inspection finding of low-to-moderate 

safety significance and an associated violation for the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The decision will 

result in increased NRC oversight at the Plymouth, Mass., facility.

Specifically, the enforcement action will move the plant into the Repetitive Degraded 

Cornerstone Column, or Column 4, of the NRC’s Action Matrix. The plant transitioned into the 

Degraded Cornerstone Column, or Column 3, in late 2013 as a result of unplanned shutdowns and 

unplanned shutdowns with complications that year. During an inspection in December 2014, the NRC 

found that Entergy, the plant’s owner and operator, had not adequately evaluated the causes of those 

shutdowns and that some corrective actions had not been completed as intended or were closed out 

prematurely.

Although the NRC found during a subsequent inspection in early May of this year that the 

issues had been satisfactorily addressed, the latest finding was identified during a Special Inspection at 

the plant following a storm-induced unplanned shutdown in January 2015. The more recent finding, 

which involved the performance of the plant’s safety relief valves, occurred while the plant was in 

Column 3. This will now result in the plant shifting to Column 4.

“The most recent finding highlights the continuing weaknesses in the implementation of 

Entergy’s program for identifying, evaluating and resolving problems at Pilgrim,” NRC Region I 

Administrator Dan Dorman said. “Our increased oversight will focus on understanding the reasons for 

those weaknesses and the actions needed to achieve sustained improvements.”

Dorman said the NRC will also determine the need for additional regulatory action and examine 

the extent of equipment, human performance and procedure quality issues that have contributed to or 

complicated the unplanned shutdowns in 2013 and 2015.

The latest inspection finding stems from a determination that Entergy could have prevented a 

Jan. 27, 2015, problem involving safety relief valves at the plant if it had properly identified, evaluated 

and corrected a condition that caused one of the valves to fail to operate correctly after a plant 
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shutdown on Feb, 9, 2013. This failure to identify and correct the valve condition also constituted a 

violation of NRC requirements.

All of the safety relief valves were replaced with valves of a different design during a refueling 

and maintenance outage at the plant this spring.

Prior to making a final enforcement decision, the NRC offered the company the opportunity to 

accept the finding without any formal response or to provide additional information in a Regulatory 

Conference or in writing. The company opted for a Regulatory Conference, which took place on July 8. 

During that session, Entergy stated that, among other things, two of the safety relief valves remained 

fully operable during the event while two others would have functioned at high pressure levels. The 

company also noted the availability of redundant safety equipment that provides alternative means of 

achieving the function of the valves. As such, the finding should have been classified as very low safety 

significance, the company asserted.

After considering all of the available information, the NRC has concluded the finding is 

appropriately characterized as low-to-moderate safety significance. This is based, in part, on the 

determination that the as-found and historical degradation of the valves indicated there was an 

increased likelihood that the valves would not properly function when needed.

The NRC’s letter discussing the finalization of the inspection finding will be posted in the 

agency’s ADAMS electronic documents system.