Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is nearing its deadline for operation

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Massachusetts only nuclear powerhouse wants permission to operate another twenty years. But some high ranking officials in that state warn that the record-long review spanning six years is not enough for the plant after the Fukushima disaster.

The Entergy Corporation's operating license only allows for this plant to operate through June 8th of this year. And they are seeking permission to from the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to operate this plant until 2032. A decision is expected to be issued any day now although Massachusetts' officials have asked regulators to delay their decision until after all of their concerns have been addressed.

By the way, the issues they want addressed have to do with the fact that the units at this plant are basically sisters to the ones at Fukushima-- a General Electric Mark I boiling water reactor. Here is a Wikipedia article on the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station as well as the GE Mark I BWR (Boiling Water Reactor). So I say their concerns are rather well founded. Now I have no knowledge of the fault conditions that Massachusetts even has, but I can say it cannot be as bad as the 'ring of fire' that exists in the South Pacific as well as Japan in general. But diligent prudence should be exercised for any nuclear plant at this point in time.

Martha Coakley, the state's Attorney General, U.S. Reps. Edward Markey and William Keating, and Gov. Deval Patrick have all asked that the NRC give this approval process more time to ensure the state does not have a Fukushima style meltdown.

But, the NRC staff has already recommended the commission approve Pilgrim's license, and a public commission vote is expected soon.

"We do believe that the plant is being operated safely, we believe that it has the appropriate level of security, and the staff believes that the review that has been conducted shows that the plant can operate safely for an additional 20 years," said NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci.

Mary Lampert, an activist trying to get the date for approval extended has said that she believes that ultimately Pilgrim as well as Entergy Corporation will see approval in the short term. She belongs to a group, Pilgrim Watch, who is fighting for more public awareness about Pilgrim's risks.

"I would hope that it would be closed," said Lampert of Duxbury. "In the interim, you have to work for safer operations to reduce risks."

But one thing you should know about this is that Pilgrim filed its renewal application on time, so it can continue to operate even if the NRC doesn't relicense it by June 8.

As is detailed in the Wiki article which I linked you to, this plant was built in 1972 by Bechtel construction company, and was sold to the Entergy Corporation after the energy markets were deregulated-- something which my grandfather vehimently disapproved of! The 680-megawatt plant provides electricity to about 680,000 homes, said Carol Wightman, an Entergy spokeswoman.

By the way, Entergy applied for renewal in January of 2006, but a series of various hearings have made the pending review process the longest in NRC history by thirteen months, according to Screnci.

Opponents of this plant have attacked the relicensing through several different angles. According to Markey, some of the unresolved issues include the NRC's failure to account how the plant's relicensing will affect at least two species covered under the Endangered Species Act-- Atlantic sturgeon and river herring.

According to both Markey and Coakley, the NRC is not considering lessons from the Fukushima disaster. They point to the fact that Pilgrim's storage of spent rods, which you can tell from the Wiki article I linked you to, are just stored in pools of water instead of being encased in dry casks-- which was the same method employed by Tokyo Electric at Fukushima, and those rods caught fire!

Lampert says that security at the plant is subpar which leaves it open to a terror attack as well.

Just last Monday the town of Brewster, Massachusetts became the latest town to pass anti-Pilgrim resolutions, in which they all have asked state lawmakers to block the plant's relicensing efforts. But such opinions are not universal according to Entergy's Wightman. She went on to further quote how much money that Entergy has pumped into said plant. Industry and corporations just do not seem to care about citizens of this country, and this is just one example of their gross negligence to such!!! And this blog post was inspired by this article.