ML101060485
| ML101060485 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Vermont Yankee  |
| Issue date: | 04/16/2010 |
| From: | Collins S Region 1 Administrator |
| To: | Sprankle K US Dept of Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service |
| Barkley R | |
| References | |
| G20100165, LTR-10-0125, SECY-2010-0163 | |
| Download: ML101060485 (4) | |
Text
April 16, 2010 Kenneth Sprankle Connecticut River Coordinator United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service 103 East Plumtree Road Sunderland, MA 01375
Dear Mr. Sprankle:
On behalf of Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
I am responding to your letter of March 12, 2010, regarding protection of aquatic resources and habitats of the Connecticut River Basin near the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Brattleboro, Vermont. I appreciate your commitment to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The NRC shares this joint responsibility with you as part of the NRCs mission to protect public health, safety, and the environment.
For all nuclear plants, the NRC requires licensees to measure and report radioactive effluents discharged to the environment. The NRC also requires licensees to perform environmental monitoring outside the site boundary to monitor for potential plant related radioactivity. Vermont Yankee is allowed by its NRC license to discharge radioactive effluents; however, the plant has not routinely discharged liquid radioactive effluents, such as tritium, to the Connecticut River since 1981 as the plant is capable of processing and reusing wastewater internal to the plant.
In its most recent effluent report and environmental reports, Entergy reported no routine liquid effluent radioactive discharges, and no detectable plant-related radioactivity in the off-site environment. However, the Vermont Yankee environmental monitoring program did detect naturally occurring radioactivity. The historical effluent and environmental reports (as well as reports for other nuclear plants), are publicly available at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/tritium/plant-info.html.
Due to the recent abnormal tritium leak that was detected with on-site groundwater monitoring wells, it is possible that some minor amounts of tritium have, or will eventually, migrate into the Connecticut River. However, the tritium will immediately mix with and be diluted by the river, making detection of tritium in the Connecticut River highly improbable. During recent inspections, NRC evaluated Vermont Yankees current environmental sampling results for the Connecticut River and has determined that there is no detectable tritium in the river. In the near and long term, NRC will continue to inspect and monitor the environmental monitoring results, including tritium monitoring, both during licensed operations and decommissioning.
The potential impacts from radioactive discharges were originally evaluated in Chapter V of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vermont Yankee plant that was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
Many Federal and State agencies, including the Department of Interior, reviewed this draft EIS.
The scope of the EIS included impacts on phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic fauna, and the fish population, among others, from any radioactive releases from the plant.
K. Sprankle 2 As part of the NRC mission to protect the environment, the NRC strictly limits the amount of radioactivity that is authorized to be discharged in liquid effluents. These limits are based on effluent control standards that were established in an extensive public rulemaking process conducted in the early 1970s, including a Generic Environmental Impact Statement and federal rulemaking hearings. Currently, the NRC regulations are based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The ICRP notes that radiation effects for the majority of animals and plants are not dissimilar from those relating to chemical toxicity studies, where the levels required to produce a given effect are many orders of magnitude greater than those in most environmental situations. This conclusion is particularly valid for biota in the Connecticut River near Vermont Yankee, since there are no routine liquid effluent discharges of tritium, no detectable tritium in the river water, and no detectable buildup of tritium in the environment (due to plant operations) that would cause long-term exposures.
Regarding your question about how tritium moves through the environment, tritium moves in the same manner as water. Tritium is one form (i.e., isotope) of hydrogen which is radioactive with a 12.3 year half life and has a low energy radioactive emission (0-18.6 keV beta particle). Some tritium exists in the environment arising from natural cosmic interactions. Hydrogen, including tritium, readily combines with oxygen as H2O and is called tritiated water. Since tritium is one of the isotopes of hydrogen, tritiated water is chemically identical to water.
I want to assure you that the NRC is also concerned about the tritium leaks, and through the NRC inspection program, has verified that Entergy has promptly taken appropriate actions to identify, repair, and stop the leak. While your letter raised concerns with the radioactive release expanding, on March 25, 2010, Entergy reported that the leak had been stopped and remediation has begun. NRC has on-site inspectors that are verifying these actions, and have determined that the tritium levels in the on-site monitoring wells are steadily declining. While other radionuclides (e.g., Cs-137, Co-60) were identified in the soil near the source of the leak, those radionuclides are not highly mobile in soil. Entergy plans to remove the contaminated soil in the vicinity of the leak and dispose of it in accordance with NRC regulations.
On an industry-wide basis, the agency reviewed the issue of liquid radioactive releases at other nuclear stations in 2006, and is currently reviewing the matter of groundwater contamination in further detail. Information on both of these reviews is provided as Enclosures 1 & 2.
If you have additional concerns in this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Richard Barkley of my staff at (610) 337-5065. I understand that he spoke with you regarding your letter back on March 25th to better understand your concerns. I trust that we have addressed them all.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Samuel J. Collins Regional Administrator
Enclosures:
- 1) Groundwater Contamination Task Force Charter dated March 5, 2010 (ML100640188)
- 2) Liquid Radioactive Release Lessons Learned Task Force Final Report dated September 1, 2006 (ML062650312) cc: Distribution via ListServ
ML101060485 To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without attachment/enclosure "E" = Copy with attachment/enclosure "N" = No copy OFFICE ORA:TCA DRS DRS:PSB2 DRS:PB2 ORA:RA NAME RBarkley JFuria JWhite DRoberts SCollins DATE 04/06/2010 04/06/10 04/06/10 04/15/10 04/16/10 K. Sprankle 3 Distribution: G20100165\Ltr-10-0125\EDATS: SECY-2010-0163 RidsEDOMailcenter Resource RidsNrrOd Resource RidsOGCMailCenter Resource D. Ash, RidsOcfoMailCenter Resource R. Schmidt, RidsOcaMailCenter Resource S. Baggett, OEDO R. Rihm, OEDO S. Collins, RA M. Dapas, DRA D. Lew, DRP J. Clifford, DRP D. Roberts, DRS P. Wilson, DRS L. Trocine, RI OEDO D. Jackson, DRP D. Spindler, DRP, SRI