US Entergy Corp has agreed to review fire safety measures at all its nuclear reactors after an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) found that workers at one plant failed to follow rules and falsified records.
Contract workers at unit 3 of Entergy's Waterford NPP in Louisiana falsified reports showing they had performed fire inspections that never occurred between July 2013 and April 2014, according to a statement issued by NRC on 9 April. An Entergy supervisor also failed to take action when provided with information of suspected wrongdoing, the agency said. Plant operators are required to carry out periodic inspections to ensure protection against fire damage. Entergy was already facing scrutiny over its safety record. In March, nuclear regulators said that three of the company's reactors will be subject to increased federal oversight because of safety shortcomings. And Entergy said it was extending a maintenance outage at the Indian Point plant north of New York City after discovering bolts missing in a reactor. In light of the latest findings, Entergy agreed to complete a comprehensive review of its fire watch programmes and to improve training among other measures, NRC said.
Entergy has stepped up its fire safety measures and the contractors involved in the incident are no longer employed at the company, Leanna Weaver, a spokeswoman for Entergy, said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. "Entergy does not tolerate improper reporting or disregard of our protocols," Weaver said.
