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UN-REPAIRED, PARTIALLY-REPAIRED
& BROKEN PARTS
EXAMPLES
Faulty Water level Indicators: Water Level Indicators activate emergency cooling systems in the event of an accident and shut down the reactor. If they do not work, there is a threat of the release of radioactive steam and a meltdown.
At Pilgrim, like other BWRs, the problem is due to high pressured gas in the water - the result of a pipe design deficiency. The solution has been spelled out; however, Pilgrim chose to repair only half of the safety devices. Pilgrim claimed that the rest of the “fix” was not important because the “operators were trained without using reactor water-level instruments as a guide” - training is a substitute for operable equipment. However training is not a substitute for fixing the equipment.
Does the water level indicator work properly, now? Entergy claims to have fixed the problem during the last refueling outage, 2003.
Lack of Quality Assurance for Fuel Pool Cooling System during LOCA/LOOP: In 1992, a study at the Susquehanna NPS by David Lockbaum and Donald Prevatte concluded that there is a major meltdown risk that is generic to BWR’s, Like Pilgrim (David Lockbaum, Nuclear Waste Disposal Crisis, PennWell Books, Tulsa, Oklahoma 1996).
The design flaw can occur in the event of an accident or the loss of off-site power. Pilgrim NPS is on the coast and loss of off-site power is a concern. Although there are backup diesel generators to protect a reactors cooling system if power is lost, there are no such diesel backups for a reactor’s used fuel pool; and all back-up generators may be inoperable - as was the case at Seabrook Station. During a LOCA, the normal cooling system would be useless because it runs on electricity. Activating the backup system manually would expose plant workers to fatal levels of radiation.
The fix is expensive and time consuming. It has not happened.
Motor Operated Valves: During an accident some valves close to stop the loss of steam or water through broken pipes and others open to let in emergency cooling water. If not operating, there is a threat of serious radioactive release and meltdown. UCS pointed out two problems with Pilgrim’s MOVs. First, many have malfunctioned and second they have not been tested in accident conditions. Pilgrim has fixed some, but not all.
Again, the fix is expensive and time consuming.
More
Structural Issues
PilgrimWatch.org
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