ML16340B205
| ML16340B205 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Diablo Canyon  |
| Issue date: | 09/30/1980 |
| From: | Miraglia F Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Vrana P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML16340B206 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8010300376 | |
| Download: ML16340B205 (12) | |
Text
.r SEP 3 0 1980
.'-'s.
Penny Vrana 1647 6th Street Las Osas, California 93Ii02
Dear Its. Vrana:
Your i'~avember 23, 1979 latter ta President Carter regarding the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant has been referred to me far reply.
You expressed concern over the praxfvity of the Hosgri fault to the Dfab'io Canyon site and the abi'ifty of the plant ta wfthstand a severe earthquake, and the effects of low level radiation and disposal (storage) of high level radioactive waste.
T am pleased to provide the enclosed responses to these concerns.
In aNitfan, your letter stated that there is no need for nuclear power.
Tiie Rational FnvfronI".,ental Policy Act (HFPA) of 1969 requires the t<uclear Regulatory Ccrrmfssfan to consider both the need for electrical power fn a particular area, and whether there are envfronri,entally p).eferable alternatives to a nuclear power facility to Neet that need.
Pith respect ta Diablo, this analysfs was required to be completed prior to the issuance-af licenses ta operate the facility.
Chapters ll and 12 of the Final Environmental Statement (FES) for Diablo address the matters of'eed for power and
.alternatives ta g.eet that need that yau raised in your letter.
Furthergore, a favorable partfal fnftia'i decisfan
<;as issued on Septerber 26, 1979,by the present Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.
That Poard considered all issues that were brought before it f'r.operating licenses for the Diablo Canyon facility'.,
A copy of the FES as well as other 'ffcansing documents, correspondence and Poard proceedings can be found in the Local Public Dociw~nt Room (LPCP) rI.aintained for Dfabla Canyon.
This LPDR is. located at the Calffornfa Polytechnic State Vnfversfty Library, Documents and flaps Department, San Luis Obfspo, Calffornia 93407.
I trust that this fnfarmatfon fs respansfve to your request.
Sincerely,
Enclosures:
As Stated OFFICE
,SURNAME DL:LB,83 KJabbour:mec
+OELD EKetchen
,,,y 9/
/80
.9/16/80 Frank Nfrag'ifa, Acting Chief Licensing Branch No. 3 Division of Licensing Office af t/uclear Reactor Regula.i
- See previous yellow DL:LB P3 FJNiragli a 9/
/80
, NRC FORM.318 I9.76) NRCM 0240
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'B¹3 Reading HBerkow/WRusse11 NSIC NRR Reading RDeYoung TIC f<s. Peggy Vrana,
.ASchwencer FSchroeder 1647 6th Street-FMiragl,ia SCavannaugh (N
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Los Osos," California 93402 Kgabbour EHughes JLee MFudge Dear Ms. Vr a:
DEisenhut OELD RPurple R. Tedesco Your November
, 1979 letter to President Carter regarding t e Diablo Canyon nuclear plant ha been referred to me for reply.
You expressed concer over the proximity of the Hosgri fa t to the Diablo Canyon site and the ab lity of the plant.to withstand a
evere earthquake, and the effects of low vel radiation and disposal (s
rage) of high level radioactive waste.
I am eased to provide the enclo d responses to these concerns.
In addition, your letter state that there is no n ed for nuclear power.
The National Environmental Polic Act (NEPA) of I 69 requires the Nuclear Regulatory Comnission to consider th the need or electrical power in a particular area, and whether there a e environ entally preferable alternatives to a nuclear power facility to meet th t nee With respect to Diablo, this analysis was required to be comple d
ior to the issuance of licenses to operate the facility.
Chapters 11 and 2 of the Final Environmental Statement (FES) for Diablo address the m t rs of need for power and alternatives to meet that need that you rais in your letter.
Furthermore, a favorable partial ioitial decision v
s issue on September 26, 1979 by the present Atomic Safety and Licensing oard.
Tha Board considered all issues that were brought before it for op ating licens for the-Diablo Canyon faci Iity.
A copy of the FES as well as.o er licensing documen
, correspondence and Board proceedings can be foun in the Local Public Doc ent Room (LPDR) maintained for Diablo C'anyon This LPDR is located at e California Polytechnic State Universi Library, Documents and Maps
- partment, Sa'n Luis Obispo, Californ 9340?.
I trust that this info ation is responsive to your request.
Sincerely,
Enclosures:
As Stated Frank Hiraglia, Acting Chief Licensing Branch No.
3 Division of Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation OFFICE/
SURNAME DL:LB 3 I'
KJabbour/cc OATEP 9//J /80 DL:LB¹3 FMiraglia 9/
/80 ELD gjj 0 9/g /80 NRC FORM 318 (9 76) NRCM 0240
'AU.S,GOVERNMENT PRINQING OFFICE: 1979 289 369
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ENCLOSURE 1
Concern:
Response
The proximity of the Hosgri Fault to the Diablo Canyon site and the ability of the plant to withstand a severe earthquake.
The Hosgri fault, which is located 3 1/2 miles from the Diablo
- plants, was discovered in 1971 and has been the subject of intensive investigation by the Pacific Gas
& Electric Company (PG&E), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Nuclear Regulatory Coranission..
As a principal geologic advisor for the Commission, the USGS in 1975 suggested that a magnitude of 7.5 be assigned as a
potential seismic value for the Hosgri Fault. It is important to note that the USGS did not say that the Hosgri would experience a 7.5M earthquake but from a conservative standpoint that magnitude could not be ruled out.
Comprehensive public hearings on this matter were held by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) over about a two-month period (from December 1978 to early 1979).
Some of this nation's and the world's leading authorities testified and were subject to cross-examination.
The experts from the NRC staff and PG&E went on to say that the plant has been designed to withstand the greater seismic event of 7.5.
On September 26, 1979, the ASLB assigned to conduct the licensing hearings issued its partial initial decision which found that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake is reasonable and meets regulatory requirements.
On June 23, 1980 the Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board for this matter issued a decision to reopen the hearing record to obtain testimony related to a major earthquake which occurred in California's Imperial Valley in October 1979 (shortly after the ASLB's favorable partial initial decision in September 1979).
The NRC staff testimony on this issue was submitted to the Appeal Board in August 1980.
Starting on October 20, 1980 the Appeal Board will hear this matter.
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ENCLOSURE 2
Concern:
Response
Low Level Radioactivity Effects.
In the matter of low level radiation hazards, the Commission has always subscribed to the principle that radiation exposure of the public should be kept as low as is reasonable achievable.
This principle has been a central one in the field of radiation protection for many years.
Operating licenses of nuclear power plants include provisions to limit and control radioactive effluents from the plants.
The term "as low as is reasonably achievable" requires taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and the relationship
, of these to the use of nuclear energy in the public interest.
The Commission has adopted numerical guidelines for design objecti ves and limiting conditions for operation of nuclear power plants to meet the criterion of "as low as reasonably achievable" for radioactive material in effluents from nuclear power plants.
Using these guidelines, the radiation resulting from radioactive release from nuclear power plants during normal plant operation is a small fraction of that received from natural background activity.
The NRC has expended substantial effort in studying the potential health effects of low-level radiation on humans.
Funding has been allocated for research on the effects of specific radioacti ve isotopes and of epidemiology studies, the analyses of current research in the field of radiobiology and epidemiology and the drawing up of preliminary plans to study the feasibility of a large-scale epidemiology investigation on low level radiation effects.
The NRC staff is also participating with international agencies on the control of long-lived radionuclide emissions from the nuclear fuel cycle.
In regard to Diablo Canyon, environmental matters including low level radiation effluents from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plants were the subject of proceedings in a public hearing.
After extensive consideration, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board issued a Partial Initial Decision on June 12, 1978 and concluded that the effects of low level radiation from plant operation will be. negligible and will result in no significant risk or increase of genetic defect incidence in the population of the San Luis Obispo area during the projected thirty years of operation. /4 Cojpy e g P
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ENCLOSURE 3
Concern:
Response
Storage of High Level Radioactive Waste.
A principal source of high level radioactive waste is in spent fuel.
The Pacific Gas 8 Electric Company may elect to submit, in the future, a proposal to increase the storage capacity of the spent fuel storage pool.
Increased spent fuel storage capacity proposals have been previously reviewed and approved for other licensed operating reactors.
The generic problem of interim spent fuel storage has been addressed in a report titled "Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Wandling R Storage of Spent LWR Fue1 (p ~p~ of NUREG-0575 issued by the NRC staff in August 1979.
e staff found that commercial spent fuel generated through the year 2000 can be accommodated in a safe and environmen-p ~g tally sound manner either by modification of storage pools at the reactor sites or by providing independent spent fuel i>
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storage facilities located on the site of a parent facility such as a nuclear power station.
ggpN aw The Commission has licensing and regulatory authority with
~p,)pa'W regard to the disposal of commercial spent fuel.
While the
'g Department of Energy has primary responsibility for developing, / ~~',
constructing and operating waste disposal facilities, the NRC
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has the responsibility to assure that these activities create no unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the public.
On December 6,
1979 the NRC published proposed procedures for the disposal of high-level waste, including spent fuel, in geologic repositories.
On May 13, 1980 the NRC published an advance notice of rulemaking on the technical criteria that would be applied in making the licensing findings prescribed in those procedures.
The NRC has established the Division of Waste Management to deal exclusively with nuclear waste issues.
In addition, the NRC has taken part in the activities of such organizations as the Interagency Review Group on Nuclear Waste Management, the Radiation Policy Council, and the State Planning Council on Radioactive Waste Management.
Furthermore, the NRC is presently conducting a generic proceeding to reassess its degree of confidence that radioactive wastes produced by nuclear facilities will be safely disposed of, to determine when any such disposal will be available, and whether such wastes can be safely stored unti 1 they are safely disposed of.
At this time, the NRC has received statements of position from the Department of Energy and other interested parties.
These activities are indicative of the attention being given to the nuclear waste disposal problem at the NRC.
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FROM:
I Ms..'.P.eggy Vrana
'os Osos, Calit.---
DATE OF OOCVAIENT 11/23/80 LTR:
MEMO.'ATE RECEIVED 2S/80 REPORT)
NOD NRR-3791 OTHER>
ORIG,.
CC:
OTIIERs President Carter CLASSIF'ESCR IPTION 1 IMuH Be Vnetesufiedl POST OFFICE REG. NO.s ACTION NfCfSSAR Y NO ACTION NECESSARY P
FILE CODE:
Rf F ERR f0 TO CONCURRENCE COMAIENT DATE DATE ANSWEREOI BY:
RECEIVED BY DATE
, RE:
PREVENT DIABLO CANYON FROM BEING LISCENCES D. Ross ENCLOSURES:
H.
R. Denton E.
G.
Case H. Berkow/W. Russell R. DeYo'n R. Mattson D. Eisenhut IIEMARKS:
Please place NlGroff on distribgtiod Xor any reply.
Also return original yellow control ticket to IshsGrcff who>
V. S, NUCLEAR REGULATORYCOMMISSION MAILCONTROL FORM FORM NRCGTSS I4 79)
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