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."

Problems with the NRC's oversight of fire safety regulations have been outlined in two reports from the Government Accountability Office: "Nuclear Safety:  NRC's Oversight of Fire Protection at U.S. Commercial Nuclear Reactor Units Could be Strengthened," issued in June 2008, and "Fire Protection:  Barriers to Effective Implementation of NRC's Safety Oversight Process," issued in April 2000. The 2000 report was a direct response to a request from Rep. Markey.

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.

The full text of Rep. Markey's letter is available here.