ML023310597
| ML023310597 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Indian Point  (DPR-026, DPR-064) |
| Issue date: | 03/04/2003 |
| From: | Meserve R NRC/Chairman |
| To: | Galef S State of NY, State Assembly |
| Milano, P , NRR/DLPM, 415-1457 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ml023310613 | List: |
| References | |
| G20020650, LTR-02-0737, TAC MB6696, TAC MB6697 | |
| Download: ML023310597 (2) | |
Text
1NRC Report NUREG-1738, Technical Study of Spent Fuel Pool Accident Risk at Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plants, February 2001 (the draft was issued in October 2000).
March 4, 2003 The Honorable Sandra R. Galef New York State Assembly Albany, New York 12248
Dear Ms. Galef:
I am responding on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to your letter of November 12, 2002, in which you asked the NRC to make an immediate change in its regulations to require a more secure facility be developed for spent nuclear fuel. As the basis for your request, you cite a November 10, 2002, article by Roger Witherspoon of The Journal News. You stated that the article suggests that an October 2000 NRC study1 points directly to major safety issues related to spent fuel pools.
In the Commissions view, the account of the NRC study in The Journal News, misrepresented the health risk at nuclear power plants in general, and at Indian Point in particular. The NRC staff provided information to Mr. Witherspoon concerning the purpose, methodology, and conclusions of the NRCs October 2000 generic spent fuel pool accident study, including the fact that the study used data and assumptions that are neither specific to, nor realistic for, Indian Point. Mr. Witherspoons article did not reflect the staffs input. A letter to the editor from Mr. Hubert J. Miller, the NRC Regional Administrator for Region I, published in The Journal News on November 23, 2002, pointed out the reporters omissions.
The NRC has performed a variety of studies over the years to investigate the potential consequences of both reactor and spent fuel pool accidents. The October 2000 study evaluated spent fuel pools at sites where the reactor had shut down permanently (i.e., sites in the decommissioning process) to determine if regulatory requirements for these facilities could be justified on a generic basis. That report could not justify the changes on a generic basis and concluded that the likelihood of a serious spent fuel pool accident is low and well within the Commissions safety goals. The Commission is concerned that NUREG-1738 is being used improperly in speculating upon the potential impacts of a spent fuel accident.
As you are aware, the NRC is in the process of reevaluating its safeguards and physical security programs, including the safeguards and physical security for spent fuel. On the basis of this information and information from other Federal agencies, the NRC has issued security and safeguards advisories and Orders to our licensees. We will continue to assess the situation and to take action, as necessary.
In my letters to you over the past year, I have reaffirmed the NRC staffs judgment that spent fuel can be safely stored at Indian Point and the other nuclear power plants. Although the spent fuel storage buildings at Indian Point are not as hardened as the reactor containment
The Honorable Sandra R. Galef structures, the robust design, relatively small size of the pools, site-specific arrangements and characteristics, and the enhanced onsite security measures minimize the likelihood that a terrorist attack would result in the release of radioactive material offsite.
I assure you that the NRC continues to focus on its primary mission, public health and safety. Thank you for your continued interest in the safety and security of the Indian Point Energy Center.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Richard A. Meserve