My 2013 Petition On Pilgrim Asking for Everyone To Come To Terms Over Bad SRVs

I presented this 2.206 to the regional officials at the SRV white finding public meeting this summer. I asked them why didn't you move on this 2.206 petition. They said, "at the time there was no evidence available to show the SRVs were inoperable or broken to anyone. This 2.206 was just based on wishful thinking." Everything in this 2.206 has come to be true post Jan storm Juno and the resulting NRC investigations.

I have these conversations recorded...

From: Michael Mulligan [mailto:steamshovel2002@yahoo.com]

Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2013 12:33 PM

Yep, I was desperately trying to get people to believe what I was saying. Took a shot at getting the Boston Globe involved. 

To: newstip~globe.com; NRC Allegation

Subject: 2.206: Pilgrim Nuclear Plant SRV Request for Emergency Shutdown 

Dear sir, 

I called this into your hotline by telephone and left a message to a reporter an hour or so ago. This is just a follow-up. 

I'd like to get Gov Patrick to demand an immediate Pilgrim shutdown and demand a special investigation of these events. 

Mike 

So the below is my 2.206 request to the NRC. You'd do me a favor if the BG calls our region I public relation people.. .Neil Shaheen.

March 7, 2013

This was shortly after storm Nemo...

Bill Borchardt

Executive Director for Operations

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001 

Dear Mr. Bochardt, 

Request an emergency and for a exigent bases, that the Pilgrim Nuclear plant be immediately shut down.

Don't tell me just before Nor'easter Nimo struck the Pilgrim plant with a leaking safety relief valve and down at 80%, Entergy was intending to operate that plant with a defective leaking safety relief valve till the next refuel outage. Tell it ain't so. It certainly looks like with the current leak today that are intending to operate till next month. 

Is the game plan today to incrementally increase reactor power from 94% by 1% to see if a new SRV leak is getting worse? 

Timeline: 

1) New three stage safety relief valves installed in the plant around May 2011. 

2) First leak and shut down on Dec, 26. 2011 (SRV RV-203-3D). 

3) Second leak and shut down on Jan 20, 2013 (SRV RV-203-3B). 

4) Third leak occurred a few weeks later and the Nemo blizzard tripped the plant...the NRC promised these valves would be fixed. (SRV RV-203-3B).

5) Basically they operated for 20 days at 100% power operation post shutdown, then reported on Feb 27 the plant is operating at 94% power with no explained reason until today. The reason for the down power was kept secret from the public. Don't forget the repetitive nature of the recently broken scram discharge volume vent and drain valves...implies Entergy is incapable of maintaining safety components of a nuclear plant. 

The repeated nature of the failures of the safety relief valves means Entergy doesn't know the mechanism of the failure...it is a common mode failure. The design and manufacture of these valves are defective and it is extremely unsafe to operate a nuclear plant with all safety relief valves being INOP. A condition adverse to quality... 

The NRC should have made a public comment about the new leaking safety relief when they first became aware of the leak. The implication is the agency was going to allow the plant to operate with unsafe SRVs until the refueling outage next month. The NRC is involved in a serious cover-up of an extremely unsafe operation of a nuclear power.

1) Request an immediate shutdown the Pilgrim Plant. 

I called for a big special inspection in early 2013. One wonders if the NRC a full scale special inspection in 2013; would Pilgrim not have a permanent shutdown hanging over their head today?

2) The is the second time I requested a special NRC inspection concerning the defective SRV valves.  

3) Not allow the plant to restart Pilgrim until they fully understand the past failure mechanisms of the four bad new three stage safety relief valves. 

4) Request the OIG investigate this cover-up to keep an unsafe nuclear plant at power.

References: 

The Popperville Town Hall (my blog):

http://steamshovel2002. blogspot.com/ 

"Pilgrim's Safety Relief Valve Leaking Boondoggle"

http: //steamshovel2002.blogspot.com/2013/02/pilgrims-safetyrelief-valve-leaking.html

Sincerely,

Michael Mulligan

PO Box 161

Hinsdale, NH 03541

16033368320

steamshovel2002@vahoo.com