State Sues Holtec for Mishandling Asbestos at Pilgrim Reactor Site

BY CHRISTINE LEGERE, The Provincetown Independent
Published on FEB 21, 2024

Mass. Attorney General Andrea Campbell has filed a civil complaint against Holtec Decommissioning International, owner of the shuttered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, for a long list of violations related to improperly handling, storing, shipping, and disposing of asbestos-laced debris during demolition work at the plant.

The complaint cites three separate events between January 2021 and September 2023. The improper handling put the health of workers and residents near the plant in jeopardy, according to the complaint, which seeks penalties of $25,000 per day for each violation.

The 28-page civil suit was filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Feb. 14.

The next week, the attorney general’s office confirmed that the two sides are working on a settlement. No details were provided before the Independent’s deadline this week.

Holtec spokesperson Patrick O’Brien said he had not yet seen a settlement agreement so he could not confirm its details, including the amount his company would have to pay. O’Brien said he believed it would be between $200,000 and $250,000.

The company’s critics were dismayed: “$200,000 is nothing to Holtec,” said Diane Turco, president of the advocacy group Cape Downwinders.

Mary Lampert, who is a member of the state-appointed Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel (NDCAP), said the asbestos violations were typical of Holtec’s record.

“Holtec’s motto is ‘It’s cheaper to pay the fine than obey the law,’ ” Lampert said.

Repeated Violations

The civil complaint, signed by Assistant Attorney General John Craig of the office’s environmental division, states that Holtec did not hire the required asbestos inspector before demolishing a 32-foot water tower in 2021. Asbestos-laced paint on the tower’s exterior was not removed and properly stored, the complaint charges, and it wound up in flakes on the work site and mixed in with metal scraps from the tower.

The debris was stored on top of open dumpsters in ripped trash bags and left in the work area and a nearby shed, the lawsuit says. It was then taken in three large open-top trailers to a recycling facility in Middleborough that is not licensed to accept such waste. The material, still not labeled as containing asbestos, was stored and processed there and then transferred to the Schnitzer Steel scrap metal facility in Everett.

Under state regulations, renovation and demolition cannot take place until asbestos is properly removed. The demolition area must be sealed, and filters must be used to prevent asbestos fibers from leaking into the air.

The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) must be notified 10 days before a demolition if asbestos is present. Typically, the asbestos is soaked so that it doesn’t become airborne, and then it is stored in clearly labeled, sealed containers.

Holtec did not take any of those precautions, the state charged.

Turco said she reviewed the videotape of a 2021 NDCAP meeting from around the time the water tower was being demolished. “At the meeting, the public was reassured by Holtec representative Pat O’Brien that ‘abatement’ of asbestos was under control,” Turco said. “They lied then, and they lie now.”

The second alleged violation in the lawsuit took place in January 2022, when Holtec’s contractor started demolishing the interior concrete walls in a warehouse at the Pilgrim site.

The survey Holtec submitted to the state failed to note that the walls contained asbestos, and Holtec again did not notify the state 10 days before demolition. The warehouse was not sealed off, and required filters were not installed, allowing unfiltered exhaust to be released in the area. The commingled debris was cleaned up and put in containers without a required emergency waiver from DEP.

Holtec notified the DEP that asbestos-containing vermiculite had been discovered only after the material was cleaned up and stored, according to the lawsuit. The company’s actions “risked the health of people at and around the work location and increased the likelihood that asbestos was released into the air,” Craig wrote.

A third alleged violation took place last September, when Holtec failed to check a pipe and gasket for asbestos prior to repair work. The gasket contained 40 percent Chrysotile asbestos, Craig wrote. Again, Holtec had not properly notified DEP or hired an asbestos inspector.

A Settlement

A few days after the lawsuit was filed, O’Brien issued a statement on Holtec’s behalf.

“We continue to focus on a safe, efficient decommissioning of Pilgrim Station,” it said. “We meet regularly with Mass. DEP on our work containing asbestos and ensuring compliance with regulations. We maintain contracts with licensed site professionals and hygienists to ensure compliance. We report any material that is found unexpectedly during work evolutions. We look forward to continuing to make progress on the safe dismantlement of the facility. We have a settlement agreement with the AG regarding these unfortunate incidents and at no time was our work found to be at fault as part of the settlement.”

Turco was outraged by the claim that Holtec was not at fault.

“By not admitting guilt and just paying a minimal fine, this nuclear mafia gets away with endangering the public health again and again,” she said.

Holtec is still in the hot seat for evaporating 200,000 gallons of wastewater from Pilgrim’s reactor systems through the reactor building’s vents — and using submersible heaters to speed up the process. The evaporation of radioactive wastewater continues despite public objections.

At an NDCAP meeting in late January, the DEP directed Holtec to submit an analysis of contaminants known to be in the wastewater based on sampling done last April and any additional pollutants that may have been released into the water and then evaporated since then.

Results of that analysis should be available at the NDCAP meeting in late March.