Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station — Plymouth, Massachusetts

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that construction workers, plant operators, maintenance tradespeople, and contractor personnel at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts were exposed to asbestos-containing insulation and materials during the facility’s construction, operational, and maintenance periods.

Premises Description

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (Pilgrim 1) is a boiling water reactor (BWR) located on Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth, Massachusetts, approximately 35 miles southeast of Boston — in the South Shore region that includes Bryantville, Pembroke, and the surrounding communities.

Operational history:

  • Construction — mid-1960s through 1972; General Electric designed and supplied the reactor; Stone & Webster served as architect-engineer and constructor
  • 1972 — Commercial operation commenced; Boston Edison Company as licensed operator
  • 1993 — Boston Edison attempted to sell; NRC review delayed transaction
  • 1999 — Entergy Corporation acquired Pilgrim Nuclear
  • 2019 — Permanent shutdown; decommissioning ongoing (Holtec International as decommissioning contractor)

Pilgrim was a significant New England employer. During construction, peak workforces of several thousand tradespeople worked on the plant simultaneously. Throughout decades of operation, refueling outages brought large contractor workforces for maintenance, inspection, and equipment replacement.

Asbestos was used extensively at Pilgrim in:

  • Pipe insulation and lagging throughout the reactor building, turbine building, and balance-of-plant piping systems
  • Boiler and heat exchanger insulation in steam generator and feedwater systems
  • Turbine insulation on high-pressure and low-pressure turbine casings
  • Pump and valve packing in high-temperature systems throughout the plant
  • Refractory and castable insulation in industrial equipment
  • Asbestos-containing gaskets on hundreds of flange connections throughout the plant
  • Fireproofing applied to structural steel in the reactor and auxiliary buildings
  • Floor tile (VAT) and adhesives in administrative and auxiliary areas constructed in the 1960s–1970s

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) records and OSHA inspection histories for Pilgrim reflect repeated documentation of asbestos-containing materials in various plant systems.

Boston Edison Company and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. have been named as premises defendants in publicly filed asbestos personal-injury litigation arising from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.

Workers Exposed

Workers allegedly exposed to asbestos at Pilgrim Nuclear include:

  • Construction-era tradespeople (1960s–1972): pipe coverers and insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, ironworkers, and laborers during initial plant construction
  • Pipe coverers and insulators (HFIAW Local 6, Boston; Local 17) on recurring refueling outage insulation removal and replacement work
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local 29, Quincy; Local 589, Providence RI) on heat exchanger and boiler maintenance
  • Pipefitters and steamfitters (UA Local 537, Boston) on plant piping maintenance
  • Millwrights performing turbine maintenance in asbestos-laden environments
  • Health physics technicians and radiation protection workers who worked in areas with disturbed asbestos insulation
  • Operations and maintenance staff employed by Boston Edison and Entergy who worked in asbestos-containing plant areas over multi-decade careers
  • Contract refueling outage workers who rotated through Pilgrim and other nuclear plants

Plymouth County Jurisdiction

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station claims are typically filed in Plymouth County Superior Court. Massachusetts has a three-year statute of limitations (M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A) running from the date of mesothelioma or asbestos-disease diagnosis under the discovery rule. Wrongful death claims must be filed within three years of death (M.G.L. c. 229, § 2).

Trust fund claims are commonly available in parallel. The Stone & Webster engineering firm — Pilgrim’s architect-engineer/constructor — is subject to the Shaw Group (Stone & Webster) asbestos trust. The General Electric asbestos trust fund (GE Asbestos Trust) covers reactor and turbine equipment exposure.

If You Worked at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

If you or a family member worked at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts — during construction, operation, or refueling outages — and were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have legal rights and trust fund claims.

Free, confidential case evaluation: contact O’Brien Law Firm at (314) 237-3332. No fee unless a financial recovery is made.