Entergy to close Massachusetts Pilgrim nuclear plant by 2019

[Marlin]

I worked at Pilgrim for a significant portion of 1978 and at the time I considered it the only plant I had worked in that deserved to be shut down. I am very pro-nuclear and hate to even think about plants being shut down, but the material condition of the plant, the radiological conditions in the plant and the general lack of caring by the employees (not all of them but many) led me to believe that it was not being cared for properly. Piled on to all of that was a pointed animosity toward the contractors that were there to help (or steal jobs depending on your point of view) which made it an unpleasant place to work as well. We were called names, not allowed in any union break rooms or bathrooms, and looked down on even though we were doing jobs they did not want to do or were apparently not capable of doing. Again, there were exceptions to the rule, but most of the union employees were belligerent, at best. We were pleasantly surprised to find house RPs that were not. I promised myself I would not go back, and I held myself to that promise.

Having said all of that, I did hear over the years that conditions improved, both materially and socially and I am sorry to hear of the plant's imminent demise. I hate to see any plant shutdown before its life is up and even more so when considering the effect on the workforce. Good luck to those who have had their cheese moved.

   I don't want to condemn Pilgrim as it is today but RDTroja is right, Boston Edison at that time made some bad choices that made it a very bad place to work radiologically. Pilgrim elected to run with a batch of fuel bundles from a supplier that Vermont Yankee shutdown and removed instead. I worked VY in 79 when they sipped and removed leaker's in 84 I did the piping replacement at Pilgrim. Pilgrims backwash receiver room could not be entered due to dose rates and general dose rates around the plant were much higher than average for a boiler of that type. When we started removing all of the Control Rod Drives we averaged 10 to 25 ManRem per drive it dropped later with some aggressive radiological controls.

   Pilgrims current problem is economics not operational safety.

Cheap Gas Claims Another Nuclear Victim

http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Cheap-Gas-Claims-Another-Nuclear-Victim.html

[Rerun]

Uh Marlin must not be paying attention to what Column 4 means

[GLW]

Uh Marlin must not be paying attention to what Column 4 means

For Pilgrim:

Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column

Pilgrim is in Column 4 because of one parallel white inspection finding for a white performance indicator in the Initiating Events Cornerstone originating in 3Q2013, one parallel white inspection finding for a white performance indicator in the Initiating Events Cornerstone originating in 4Q2013, and an additional white inspection finding in the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone originating in 1Q2015, resulting in Pilgrim meeting the criteria for a repetitive degraded cornerstone.

For ANO 2:

Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column

ANO Unit 2 is in Column 4 because of a yellow finding in the Initiating Events Cornerstone originating in 1Q2014, a yellow finding in the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone originating in 3Q2014, and a greater-than-green finding in the Security Cornerstone originating in 1Q2014.

(is that a typo for ANO Unit 1, or is it a reporting criteria for multi-unit sites which share the same security force which I am not schooled on [and when it comes to security stuff perhaps I should not be {schooled that is}]?)

for a short synopsis of how your favorite lil' commercial nuke plant is faring read here:

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/actionmatrix_summary.html

the Action Matrix Summary at the bottom is the reader's digest version of the short synopsis for those too busy with outage to linger in front of the monitor,....

[Marlin]

Uh Marlin must not be paying attention to what Column 4 means

They are operating and could continue to operate if they performed the upgrades required as many nuclear plants have had to do in the past and aging plants will have to do in the future. Cheap gas is the reason they have decided to close. You can reasonable argue that it is one of the factors, but it is certainly not the only one nor the primary one, at least not historically.

[a|F]

Looks like Region 2 is the place to be.

[Marlin]

Looks like Region 2 is the place to be.

China would be better   

China Sets Sights On 110 Reactors By 2030

http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2015/10/16/china-sets-sights-on-110-reactors-by-2030-101601.aspx#.ViGEqvmrQhc

How's your Mandarin 

[fiveeleven]

Those of us still at Kewaunee,(for not much longer) watch this with heavy hearts indeed. We were in the regulatory doldrums when big D bought us. The whole gamut of issues - training programs, equipment issues, corrective action program, etc. In a few short years everything was turned around to the point that KPS was a top decile performer in just about every category that makes up the 30 ft. wide performance indicator chart. Many millions spent - entire new switch yard and main transformers, huge MOV upgrade, and the list goes on. End result - 5/15/13 one of the best running plants in the world down for the count. Of course the main culprit was said to be the evil natural gas. Within a month or so the local natural gas supplier - former owner WPS - was telling customers to buck up for the upcoming winter season as they were predicting higher prices. Go figure. As an ex-navy (yes- an ELT) type - I never thought I would identify with Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore - 1st Battalion 9th Air Cav- substituting steam for napalm and my longing for the odiferous content of it in the morning.

[GLW]

China Sets Sights On 110 Reactors By 2030

One of my pastimes:

In the USA today,...

Total nukes on the grid – 99

Nukes on the grid < 10YO – 0

Nukes on the grid 10YO to 20YO – 1

Nukes on the grid 20YO to 30YO – 22

Nukes on the grid 30YO to 40YO – 38

Nukes on the grid > 40YO – 38

Nukes on the grid average age – 35YO

Nukes on the grid median age – 37YO

Let it sink in slowly,.....

[Rerun]

So the 70 million they have sunk into upgrades is...

[fiveeleven]

In the loss column on their tax return.

[GLW]

because some of you are morbid enough to ask,....

One of my pastimes:

In the USA today,...

Nukes on the grid > 45YO - 5

Let it sink in slowly,.....