Coakley Asks NRC To Delay Relicensing Of Pilgrim

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay a decision on re-licensing for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth pending a review of safety at the facility.

Coakley say the Pilgrim plant has a similar design to the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Japan damaged by an earthquake and tsunami.

In its petition, the attorney general's office notes that the NRC task force created to look at the lessons of Fukushima is reviewing issues relevant to the re-licensing of Pilgrim, including technical issues related to spent fuel pools.

Coakley says she has consistently raised serious concerns about the storage of spent fuel at Pilgrim, which is owned by Entergy Corp.

An Entergy spokeswoman says Pilgrim has met all NRC requirements for re-licensing.