The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that 96 of the nation's 99 nuclear power plants are operating within the two highest performance categories after safety reviews performed during the agency's mid-cycle assessment period that ended on 30 June.
Out of the 96 plants in the top two categories, 75 were performing in the highest safety bracket, having fully met all safety and security performance objectives after NRC inspections using the baseline inspection program – the program employed when there are no red flags to indicate further oversight is needed.
The other 21 reactors were assessed as needing to resolve one or two items of low safety significance. For these reactors, regulatory oversight includes additional follow up inspections to assess corrective actions.
The 21 reactors with low-level safety concerns that require follow up inspections include Clinton (Illinois), Comanche Peak 1 and 2 (Texas), Davis-Besse (Ohio), Diablo Canyon 1 and 2 (California), Dresden 2 and 3 (Illinois), Duane Arnold (Iowa), Fitzpatrick (New York), Millstone 3 (Connecticut), Monticello (Minnesota), Oyster Creek (New Jersey), Palisades (Michigan), River Bend (Louisiana), St Lucie 1 (Florida), Salem 1 (New Jersey), Susquehanna 1 and 2 (Pennsylvania), and Vogtle 1 and 2 (Georgia).
The NRC noted that operators at Davis-Besse and St. Lucie 1 have already resolved their safety issues and have been placed back in the highest level category for plant evaluation.
The remaining three reactors are Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 and Pilgrim, which is in Massachusetts.
These plants were put in the fourth performance category at the end of the mid-cycle assessment period, which triggers the highest level of NRC oversight.
Arkansas Nuclear One 1 and 2 were put in the fourth category because of two safety findings of substantial significance. Pilgrim was placed in the category because of long-standing performance issues of low-to-moderate safety significance, the NRC said.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker responded to the news that Pilgrim had been downgraded with a letter to Entergy, which owns the Pilgrim NPP.
Baker urged Entergy Site Vice President John Dent to “take all steps necessary to perform an appropriate root cause analysis of the shutdowns and to complete all the necessary repairs and corrective actions.”