ML17083A214

Responds to Re Power Plant Opening,Waste Disposal & Safety Precautions.Nrc Conducting Thorough Investigation of TMI Accident.Recommendations Will Be Applied to All Nuclear Facilities.Ltr Encl

ML17083A214
Person / Time
Site:	Diablo Canyon
Issue date:	12/07/1979
From:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Susan Daly AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
References
NUDOCS 7912280600
Download: ML17083A214 (14)

Text

DEC V

1979 Ms. Sharon Daly 1646 Ben Roe Avenue Los Altos, California 94022

Dear Ms. Daly:

Distribu ion:

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RC PDR Local PDR EDO Reading NRR Reading LWR 81 File H. Denton E.

Case D. Vassallo J. Stolz B. Buckley E. Hylton

Attorney, ELD G. Ertter (07635)

M. Groff E. Hughes B. Moore J.

Yore IE (3)

H. Berkow li. Russell D. Muller R. Mattson D. Eisehhut I am pleased to respond to your September 26, 1979 letter to the Secretary of Energy which was referred to me for reply.

In your letter you asked the following questions with respect to the nuclear power plant in the vicinity of San Luis Obispo, California:

1.

When is the power plant opening2 2.

How will the waste be disposed of2 3.

What safety precautions are being taken to ensure that residents will not be exposed to radiation from the wastes or from the plant itself2 J

We assume you are referring to the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1

& 2 which are located fn San Luis Obispo, California.

At this time under present Cotrmfssfon policies, it would appear that the Diablo Canyon Unit, 1 plant would not receive approval for an operating license until sometime in 1980.

As you may know, the NRC staff fs conducting a thorough investigation of the accident at the Three Mile Island plant.

This investigation includes potential design-deffciencfes fn the plant, plant operator response to the accfdent, including.operator errors and/or misinterpretation of plant instrumentation, and all other aspects of the accident which might lead to information that would improve the safety of nuclear power plants.

Requirements regarding the design and operation of nuclear power plants are now fn preparation based on the recommendations resulting from the President's Commission, the NRC Three Mile Island Special Inquiry Group, and continuing staff investigations.

Shen the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves these requirements, they will be appropriately applied to all nuclear power plants including Diablo Canyon.

In regard to the disposal of radfoactfve waste, waste such as depleted

resins, evaporator concentrates and contaminated clothing will be trans-ported fn containers that conform with the requirements of Part 71 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations "Packaging of Radioactive Materials for Transport and Transportation of Radioiactfve Materials Under Certain Conditions."

Mhenever the Dfablo Canyon plant begins opera-tion, ft is likely that the low-level radioactive wastes generated from the plant operation would be be transported to the operating burial'ites at Beatty, nevada and Hanford, l<ashfngton.

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Ms. Sharon Daly With respect to spent fuel, there is at present no offsite storage facility for radioactive spent fuel ~

The Commission has been quite concerned about the matter of long-term offsite storage of radioactive waste.

Mhile the Department of Energy has primary responsibility for developing and constructing waste disposal facilities, the flRC has the responsibility to license such facilities and to insure that nuclear waste storage and disposal will not endanger the health and safety of the public.

The NRC has been working to develop a

regulatory framework for the licensing of high-level waste repositories.

and has pub'tished for comment in the Federal Register proposed procedures for such licensing.

(43 FR 53869, November 17, 1978).

The NRC has established

.an office with divisional status, the Division of Haste Management, which deals exclusively with nuclear waste issues, In addition, the NRC partici-pated in the activities of the Interagency Peview Group on Nuclear Haste Management which was established by President Carter in March of 1978 and charged with developing a government-wide strategy for dealing with the waste management problem.

The draft report of this, incorporating a broad range of inputs and views from many scientific groups and members of the public, was issued for public comment in October 1978.

It was issued in final form, incorporating many of the three-thousand comments received, fn March of 1979.

The report has been forwarded to the President for action.

It is expected that the recommendations in this report will shape the future handling of the nuclear waste disposal issue.

These activities are indic-ative of the attention being given to the nuclear waste disposal problem at the NRC and at other government agencies.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company may elect to submit, in the future, a proposal to increase the storage capacity of its spent fuel storage pool.

This would be a short-term solution similar to those previously reviewed and approved for other licensed operating reactors.

In regard to radioactive emission from all sources of radiation from an operating nuclear power plant, the Commission has always subscribed to the principle that radiation exposure of the public should be kept as low as is reasonably 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 to within the numerical guidelines adopted, by the Commission to meet this objective.

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.,

In the case of Diablo Canyon, the utility has established at the present OFFICE $ ;..

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time 30 environmental monitoring stations, 22 of <<hich are offsite.

These stations presently provide the means to monitor radioactive releases from the plant during normal operation.

One of the stations is located at the Cal Poly farm.

The Environmental Technical Specifications for the plant describes the reporting requirements for the environmental monitoring program.

It is possible that the number of these stations and the instrumentation installed at these stations may be affected by the final Conmission require-ments resulting from recommendations developed follosdng the Three thile Island accident.

I trust that the above information has been responsive to your concerns.

Sincerely, Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation I

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September 26, 1979 Sharon Daly 16~<6 ren Roe Aveo

'os i~ltos, CA.

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D;. partI!lent 0f L.ner> J independence Avo. and 10tll street S.I'l.

'i"RShing~ On 0 oC o 2000'e r i":r. Duncar.:

Hello X:.'.".I 'v-'

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IPlnte an-sweret3 about tI1e !Lclear,-c~:er Plant very near there V

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'iv cr 'oGI 2'0::er Plant opening".~

e v.aste be disl:o ed 'of'?

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Department of Energy Washington, D.C.

20545 OCT SS 197S Ms.

Sharon Daly 1646 Ben Roe Avenue Los Altos, CA 94022

Dear Ms. Daly:

Your letter to the Secretary oi Energy expressing concerns about the nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo has been referred to this office for consideration.

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Inasmuch as matters pertaining to this nuclear plant are under the cognizance of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, we are f'orwarding your letter to them for.appropriate action by copy of this letter.

Sincer ely, Oyigjnel Simed B5'.

P. Thereault John P. Thereault, Deputy Director Plans and Analysis Division Office of Nuclear Energy Programs CC:

~L. Gossick, NRC

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UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555 OFFICE OF THE SECRETAR Y December 3, 1979 Director Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Service Washington, D.C.

20403

Dear Sir:

Enclosed for publication in the Federal Register are an original and two certified ggpj@EpfOaM~Rrgygt ~i~d:

Docket-No;-50 510 - ---

ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPAIIY-Docket Nos.

50-528/529/530, PACIFIC GAS AND EL C

COMPANY Docket Nos.

50=275 323 REQUEST FOP. ACTION UNDER 10 CFR 2.206 Publication of the above document at the earliest possible date would be appreciated.

'his material is to be charged to requisition number F-131.

Si

erely, I

Samuel J.

Chalk Secretary of: the Commissioh l

Enclosures:

Original 8

2 certified copies bcc:

rds Facilit Branch Of sce o

u sc AfTaI>

Executive Legal Director Office of Congressional Affiars Office of the General Counsel SECY -

CICR Branch

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Arizona Public Service Company (Palo Verde Nuclear Gener ating Station, Units 1-3)

Pacific Gas 5 Electric Company (Diablo Ca:iyon Nuclear Power Plant Units 182)

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1 Docket Nos.

50-528,

-529,

-530 50-275$

-323 50-312 REQUEST FOR ACTION UNDER 10 CFR 2.206 Notice is hereby given that by petition dated October 24, 1979, the Friends of'he Earth requested pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission prepare supplemental environmental impact statements concerning the impact of Class 9 nuclear accidents at the Diablo Canyon, Palo Verde, and Rancho Seco nuclear plants.

This petition is being treated as a request for action under 10 CFR 2.206 of the Commission's regulations, and accordingly, action will be taken on the petition within a reasonable time.

Copies of the petition are available for inspection in the Commission's Public 0ocument Room at 1717 H Street, M.M., Mashington

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C. 20555 and in the local public docement rooms at the Phoenix Public Library/Science and Industry

Section, 12.E.

McDowell Road,

Phoenix, Arizona 85004 {for the Palo Verde Station);

San Luis Obispo County Free Library, 888 Morro Street, San Luis Obispo, California 93406 (for the Diablo Canyon Plant);

and the Sacramento City-County Library/Business f

Im Municipal Department, 828 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814 (for the Rancho Seco Station).

FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Dated at Bethesda,

Maryland, this 8>

day of ~~,

1979.

anie u

er, cting irector Division of Site Sa ety and Environmental Analysis, NRR