ML090720661

Comment (53) E-mail Regarding Iplr Dseis

ML090720661
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	03/11/2009
From:	Public Commenter Public Commenter
To:	Division of License Renewal
NRC/NRR/DLR
References
73FR80440
Download: ML090720661 (3)

Text

IPRenewalCEmails From: mbarthel@ramapo.edu Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 8:13 PM To: IndianPointEIS Resource; Michael R Edelstein

Subject:

Comment Letter TO:

Mr. Andrew Stuyvenberg Project Manager U.S. Regulatory Commission FROM:

Margaret Barthelme Student Ramapo College RE:

Comments on Indian Point DSEIS

Dear Andrew Stuyvenberg,

Following please find comments in addition to those I spoke of at the DSEIS Public Comment Hearing. They are additional points that I feel have not been fully addressed in the DSEIS prepared by the NRC.

I had spoken of the proximity of the Ramapo Fault of not having been adequately addressed in the DSEIS.

An article in the New York Times on August 31, 2008, Neroulias stated:

The plant may be more vulnerable to earthquakes than experts previously thought, because it sits less than a mile south of a newly identified seismic zone running from Stamford, Conn., to Peekskill, according to a study by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The study compiled information about 383 earthquakes within a 15,000-square-mile-area around New York City since 1677 and analyzed 34 years of new data on tremors recorded by modern technology. Based on this research, scientists say magnitude-5 earthquakes -- strong enough to cause damage -- should be expected in the region about every 100 years.

The most recent one occurred in 1884. The last one just knocked over a few chimneys, but now, with our population density, we'd see some buildings falling, people getting killed, said John Armbruster, one of the study's authors, adding that a major tremor could damage aging bridges and Indian Point's nuclear reactors.

This is not adequately addressed in the DSEIS and studies need to be done by a third party as to the seismic durability of all facilities (especially the underground piping) at Indian Point.

Historically, In an article by Marsh, Gates stated, I found a lot of faults, splays that offshoot from the Ramapo that go 5 to 10 miles away from the fault. I have looked at the Ramapo Fault in other places too. I have seen splays 5 to 10 miles up into the Hudson Highlands. And you can see them right along the roadsides on 287.

There's been a lot of damage to those rocks, and obviously it was produced by fault activities. All of these faults have earthquake potential. Page et al. states that Since 1962 the Lamont seismograph network in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey has recorded four small earthquakes with epicenters along the Ramapo fault near the New York-New Jersey border. In addition, Aggerwal states, Seismic activity in the greater New York City area is concentrated along several northeast-trending faults of which the Ramapo fault appears to be the most active. Three nuclear power plants at Indian Point, New York, are situated close to the Ramapo fault. For a reactor site in use for 40 years, the probability that the site will experience an intensity equal to or in excess of the design (safe shutdown) earthquake is estimated to be about 5 to 11 percent.

These citations show that there has been an obvious scientifically observed issue with the fault and 40 years later it is still not adequately addressed.

Thank you for your time and consideration, Margaret Barthelme 1

WORKS CITED:

Seismicity in the vicinity of the Ramapo fault, New Jersey-New York PAGE et al. BULLETIN OF THE SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA.1968; 58: 681-687 Earthquakes, Faults, and Nuclear Power Plants in Southern New York and North... AGGARWAL and SYKES.

Science 28 April 1978: 425-429 DOI: 10.1126/science.200.4340.425 NASH, M. (2001, March 25). ON THE MAP; Exploring the Fault Where the Next Big One May Be Waiting. New York Times, Retrieved March 5, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

2

Federal Register Notice: 73FR80440 Comment Number: 53 Mail Envelope Properties (20090311201255.BDR79073)

Subject:

Comment Letter Sent Date: 3/11/2009 8:12:55 PM Received Date: 3/11/2009 8:13:00 PM From: mbarthel@ramapo.edu Created By: mbarthel@ramapo.edu Recipients:

"IndianPointEIS Resource" <IndianPoint.EIS@nrc.gov>

Tracking Status: None "Michael R Edelstein" <medelste@ramapo.edu>

Tracking Status: None Post Office: msg-1.mail.ramapo.edu Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 3659 3/11/2009 8:13:00 PM Options Priority: Standard Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:

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