ML081980567
| ML081980567 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Big Rock Point File:Consumers Energy icon.png |
| Issue date: | 07/24/2008 |
| From: | Borchardt R NRC/EDO |
| To: | Levin C US SEN (Senate) |
| Staab C, NMSS/SFST 301-492-3321 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML081980460 | List: |
| References | |
| EDATS: SECY-2008-0388, G20080457, LTR-08-0369, SECY-2008-0388 | |
| Download: ML081980567 (2) | |
Text
July 24, 2008 The Honorable Carl Levin United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Levin:
I am responding to your July 1, 2008, letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Director of Congressional Affairs, Rebecca L. Schmidt. You requested that NRC look into questions from your constituent, Ms. Haley Bissonnette, about spent fuel stored at Big Rock Point and the decommissioning and decontamination of Big Rock Point Power Plant.
Specifically, your constituent asked if nuclear waste was being stored on site, whether the waste was being stored properly, whether the waste was seeping into the ground or surrounding water, and if the property was generally safe.
The Big Rock Point Power Plant was permanently shut down on August 29, 1997. In 2003, the spent nuclear fuel from the plant was transferred and sealed into above-ground spent fuel dry-storage casks which currently remain on site. This spent fuel was welded closed inside steel canisters which were surrounded by concrete casks, providing a leak-tight containment. The spent fuel is properly stored in accordance with NRC regulations; NRC provides continuing oversight of this stored spent nuclear fuel to ensure public health and safety. Dry spent fuel storage in casks is considered to be safe and environmentally sound. To date, there have been no leaks of radioactive material from any of the approximately 1,000 dry storage systems loaded at approximately 50 NRC licensed facilities throughout the U. S.
With the spent nuclear fuel moved to dry-storage casks, the rest of the power plant was decommissioned and decontaminated through an NRC-regulated process that was completed in 2006. Other radioactive waste materials were removed from the site and appropriately disposed of in accordance with Federal regulations. There were no on-site waste disposals or burials at Big Rock Point. The licensee performed contamination surveys and analyzed ground water samples to demonstrate the adequacy of the site cleanup activities. NRC independently verified the results and subsequently released the property for unrestricted use on January 8, 2007.
I hope that this information addresses the concerns raised by your constituent. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
/RA Martin Virgilio for/
R. W. Borchardt Executive Director for Operations
July 24, 2008 The Honorable Carl Levin United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Levin:
I am responding to your July 1, 2008, letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Director of Congressional Affairs, Rebecca L. Schmidt. You requested that NRC look into questions from your constituent, Ms. Haley Bissonnette, about spent fuel stored at Big Rock Point and the decommissioning and decontamination of Big Rock Point Power Plant.
Specifically, your constituent asked if nuclear waste was being stored on site, whether the waste was being stored properly, whether the waste was seeping into the ground or surrounding water, and if the property was generally safe.
The Big Rock Point Power Plant was permanently shut down on August 29, 1997. In 2003, the spent nuclear fuel from the plant was transferred and sealed into above-ground spent fuel dry-storage casks which currently remain on site. This spent fuel was welded closed inside steel canisters which were surrounded by concrete casks, providing a leak-tight containment. The spent fuel is properly stored in accordance with NRC regulations; NRC provides continuing oversight of this stored spent nuclear fuel to ensure public health and safety. Dry spent fuel storage in casks is considered to be safe and environmentally sound. To date, there have been no leaks of radioactive material from any of the approximately 1,000 dry storage systems loaded at approximately 50 NRC licensed facilities throughout the U. S.
With the spent nuclear fuel moved to dry-storage casks, the rest of the power plant was decommissioned and decontaminated through an NRC-regulated process that was completed in 2006. Other radioactive waste materials were removed from the site and appropriately disposed of in accordance with Federal regulations. There were no on-site waste disposals or burials at Big Rock Point. The licensee performed contamination surveys and analyzed ground water samples to demonstrate the adequacy of the site cleanup activities. NRC independently verified the results and subsequently released the property for unrestricted use on January 8, 2007.
I hope that this information addresses the concerns raised by your constituent. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
/RA Martin Virgilio for/
R. W. Borchardt Executive Director for Operations DISTRIBUTION: G20080457/LTR-08-0369/EDATS: SECY-2008-0388 NMSS r/f EDO r/f RidsNmssOd RidsEdoMailCenter MRodgers RidsOcaMailCenter SFST r/f SBakhsh, RIII ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML081980460 OFC SFST SFST FSME SFST TechEd NAME CStaab NMamish APersinko EWBrach EKraus by fax DATE 07/15/2008 07/15/2008 07/15/2008 0716/2008 07/15/2008 OFC OGC NMSS OCA EDO NAME APessin MWeber RSchmidt RWBorchardt (MJVirgilio for)
DATE 07/16/2008 07/22/2008 07/23/08 07/24/08 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY