Activist calls for Pilgrim shutdown: But authorities want capacity kept high

The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) ^ | 9/11/2001 | JULIE JETTE and SUE REINERT

[BansheeBill]

By JULIE JETTE and SUE REINERT
Patriot Ledger staff

A member of a local town's nuclear advisory committee called for the Pilgrim power plant in Plymouth to close in the wake of terrorist attacks on the United States today.

Energy companies increased security, however, and the agency running the region's power grid asked for a high level of capacity.

Independent System Operator of New England instructed power plants to postpone maintenance, said Craig Kazin, a spokesman.

"It makes all of the resources of the system available to the ISO in case we need them," Kazin said.

The agency also cut dial-up service to its internal computer system used by telecommuters to protect it from possible security breaches.

The agency also closed its Holyoke headquarters to visitors. Employees were told to cancel meetings outside the building.

The Pilgrim plant went on "heightened security," said spokesman Dave Tarantino. "We're allowing only one access and (we're) checking IDs," Tarantino said. He said the plant took other precautions that he would not disclose.

Mary Lampert, a Duxbury anti-nuclear activist and a member of the town's Nuclear Advisory Committee, said several worried residents called her.

"They wanted to know what is the town doing?" Lampert said.

"I'm concerned about the threat of terrorism," she said.

Lampert called for the plant to reduce power or shut down.

Tarantino said Pilgrim would remain at full power.

"There have been no threats to Pilgrim or any of the nation's nuclear plants," he said. "Our job is to provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity, and I don't think this is the time to reduce electrical power."

NStar spokesman Michael Monahan said the company had evacuated its employees in the Prudential Center as part of that building's security precautions.

"We remain staffed, and we will continue where necessary to augment security precautions," he said.

Posted for informational and discussion purposes only. Not for commercial use.

[BansheeBill]

Well beyond the alarmist comments of the anti-nuclear advisory board member, this article makes me wonder with the new type of terrorism we saw in NY and DC today, if a Nuclear Power Plant's containment vessel could take a direct hit from a jumbo jet with a full load of fuel.

Can I get some comments from aviation savvy FReepers?

[billorites]

"Mary Lampert, a Duxbury anti-nuclear activist and a member of the town's Nuclear Advisory Committee, said several worried residents called her."

Estrogen replacement therapy might be more useful than anything else for the symptoms she describes.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

gawd, I prolly shouldn't say much, but I worked there for y2k. It would have to be one MF of a plane to do important damage. Their security is really quite good. (Hi guys!) There are plans in place for just about everything.

Pat's sister in DC, tell Pat I'm live and well, we are just invisible, at our place in the mountains, these days. Say hi to Evan, too.

There are Freepers and lurkers inside Pilgrim.

[FirstFlaBn]

I worked in nuke plant construction. Though it was outside my area of responsibility, I occasionally looked through the design basis documents for my own understanding. They are indeed designed to take the impact of a 747 splatting into the reactor building. You misspoke slightly. The containment vessel keeps the insides in. A concrete outer shell completely separate from the vessel, three feet thick on the ones I worked on, protects against breach from the outside.

[FirstFlaBn]

I worked in nuke plant construction. Though it was outside my area of responsibility, I occasionally looked through the design basis documents for my own understanding. They are indeed designed to take the impact of a 747 splatting into the reactor building. You misspoke slightly. The containment vessel keeps the insides in. A concrete outer shell completely separate from the vessel, three feet thick on the ones I worked on, protects against breach from the outside.

[throwthebumsout]

I'm not aviation savvy but I am familiar with the construction of nuclear reactors. The pressure vessel is surrounded by a thick concrete wall. This is inside a sealed steel containment structure, which itself is inside a steel-reinforced concrete dome four feet thick. The dome is designed to withstand extremes such as earthquakes or a direct hit by a crashing airliner. But even a breach in the dome wouldn't be reason enough to panic. It's the pressure vessel inside that needs to be breached. Even then, the safety systems would kick in and shut down the reaction before things got out-of-hand.