ML120540097

G20120047/Ltr No. 12-0026/EDATS:SECY-2012-0038, M. Costello Public Safety Concerns-Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant

ML120540097
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	02/22/2012
From:	Bill Dean Region 1 Administrator
To:	Costello M State of MA, House of Representatives
McNamara N
Shared Package
ML120530663	List: ML120540097
References
G20120047, Ltr No. 12-0026, SECY-2012-0038
Download: ML120540097 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION I 475 ALLENDALE ROAD KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406-1415 February 22, 2012 The Honorable Michael A. Costello Massachusetts House of Representatives Boston, MA 02133

Dear Mr. Costello:

On behalf of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter dated January 19, 2012. In your letter, you expressed concerns regarding the concrete degradation noted at Seabrook Station due to an Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), and urged the agency to take several steps to fully address the matter to ensure the safety of your constituents in the future.

Be assured that the NRC is thoroughly evaluating this technical issue. While the longer-term implications of this issue are being evaluated by NRC staff here in Region I, as well as the technical staff in our headquarters office, this matter has been assessed by NextEra and the NRC to ensure that the current safety of the facility remains assured. To date, these engineering reviews have indicated that the station structures most affected by ASR degradation remain capable of carrying out their safety function.

Notwithstanding the above, the agency has a number of questions regarding the long-term monitoring plan for the ASR issue. As a result, the issuance of a Safety Evaluation Report by the agency in support of license renewal has been pushed back many months. No decision on license renewal can be made until the extent and the longer-term implications of the concrete degradation is fully understood. NextEra has committed to provide a long-term plan, as well as its technical basis, by March of 2012. This long-term monitoring plan will be based on physical test results of concrete core samples taken from affected areas of the facility, as well as other civil engineering evaluations. While this plan remains under development, the NRC has inspected elements of NextEras technical work in this matter to date. The results of that inspection are due to be published publicly in the next couple of weeks.

As indicated above, there is no indication that the ASR issue has rendered any structure at Seabrook Station incapable of performing its safety function at this time. As such, there is no current need to repair any structures at Seabrook Station. The effectiveness of the long-term monitoring plan, including measures to reduce groundwater intrusion, as well as future structural examinations, will determine whether any future structural repairs are necessary.

M. Costello 2 Thank you for your interest in this matter. We intend to keep the public fully informed of our review and inspection results in this matter going forward. If you have further questions, please contact me at 610-337-5299 or Ms. Nancy McNamara, my Regional State Liaison Officer at 610-337-5337.

Sincerely,

/RA/

William M. Dean Regional Administrator

ML120540097 ADAMS Package Accession No.: ML120530663 Non-Sensitive Publicly Available SUNSI Review Sensitive Non-Publicly Available OFFICE RI/ORA RI/DRS NRR/DLR RI/DRP RI/RA NAME NMcNamara NTM) RConte (RJC) ACununan (NTM for)* ABurritt (ALB) WDean DATE 02/22/12 02/22/12 02/22/12 02/22/12 02/22/12