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Oct. 31, 2008 - Markey: Pilgrim Plant Fire Raises Issue of Lax Fire Safety Regulation by NRC
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a fire at the Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, today expressed concerns to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) about fire safety and the lack of compliance with critical fire protection regulations at many nuclear power plants.
Rep. Markey said,
"Thankfully no one was hurt and as far as we know there was no release of
radioactivity during this week's fire incident at the Pilgrim plant, but the
incident raises once again longstanding concerns about the NRC's lax
enforcement of fire safety rules at our nation's nuclear plants. Fire poses a
particularly potent risk to nuclear reactors, and shoddy fire protection
procedures at nuclear plants are simply inexcusable."
Rep. Markey's letter
to the NRC requests answers to several specific questions about this latest
incident at Pilgrim and more generalized fire safety issues, including:
How did the fire at Pilgrim start?The Event Notification Report states
that the fire was extinguished 19 minutes after it was "discovered" - why did
it take so long to extinguish this fire?
Did the fire penetrate any passive fire
barriers?Were there any
malfunctions by the plant's fire-protection systems?
Was the reactor operating at the time of
the fire?Did the fire ever
threaten the safe operation and safe shutdown of the reactor?
Is Pilgrim in full compliance with
NRC's fire protection regulations?
What steps, if any, does the NRC intend to take in response to the
findings and recommendations made by the GAO in its June 2008 report?
"I remain seriously concerned about the
NRC's lack of progress towards bringing the nation's nuclear plants into
compliance with fire protection regulations. This latest incident is yet
another reminder that more work needs to be done to fully protect reactors and
the populations that live near nuclear plants," added Rep. Markey.
