ML042030182
| ML042030182 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | MIT Nuclear Research Reactor |
| Issue date: | 07/20/2004 |
| From: | Hughes D NRC/NRR/DRIP/RNRP |
| To: | Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs |
| Hughes D, NRR/DRIP/RNRP, 301-415-1631 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML041980432 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML042030182 (2) | |
Text
July 20, 2004 Note to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor Docket 50-20 file:
A telephone conversation between Kathryn Elizabeth Adams, the petitioner, and Daniel Hughes, Marvin Mendonca and Patrick Madden of the US NRC staff took place at 2 PM on July 15, 2004. The following is a record of the conversation with the petitioner. The petitioners comments are in italics.
The petitioner was told:
Your petition, dated June 28, 2004 was received on July 8, 2004 pursuant to Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.206.
You requested our immediate action to require the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Research Reactor to cease operations over a period bracketing the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
The basis for your request relates to safety concerns presented over the heightened threat of terrorism during the DNC.
The Petition Review Board (PRB) viewed this petition as a request for immediate action, and as such reviewed it on July 13, 2004.
The PRB reviews petition against three criteria and if the request meets all of the following criteria the staff will review the petition:
- 1) The petition contains a request for enforcement-related action such as issuing an order modifying, suspending, or revoking a license.
- 2) The facts that constitute the bases for taking the particular action are specified and they are credible and sufficient to warrant further inquiry.
- 3) There is no NRC proceeding available in which the petitioner is or could be a party and through which the petitioner's concerns could be addressed.
Your request satisfies only the first and third criteria.
The PRB determined that there was no need for immediate action to shutdown the MIT Research Reactor because there was no specific intelligence or threat against the facility.
The PRB has also concluded that your submittal does not meet the criteria for consideration under 10 CFR 2.206.
The petitioner stated that such a determination was contrary to what the NRC did with Georgia Tech and the University of Utah during the high profile events of the 1996 and 2002 Olympics. She stated that the NRC ordered the reactors shut down.
The petitioner was told that her information was incorrect, those facilities voluntarily shutdown, similar to what MIT is planning to do for the DNC.
The petitioner stated that her understanding from the press notices was that they were ordered to shut down.
The petitioner was assured that was not the case.
The petitioner was then told that she would receive a letter concerning her petition which would include the information that was just given to her.
The petitioner was asked if she had any other questions or comments.
The petitioner stated that at this time she did not.
The petitioner was told that she could call Patrick Madden (telephone number was supplied) if she had questions or comments in the future.
ACCESSION PACKAGE NO.: ML041980432 ACCESSION INCOMING LETTER NO.: ML041910346 ACCESSION RESPONSE LETTER NO.: ML041970444 ACCESSION NOTE TO MIT NO.: ML042030182 OFFICE RNRP:PM NAME DHughes DATE 07/ 20 /04 C=COVER E=COVER &ENCLOSURE N=NO COPY OFFICIAL RECORD COPY