ML19207B512
| ML19207B512 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Rancho Seco |
| Issue date: | 07/31/1979 |
| From: | Gammill W Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Harris A, Harris J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7908300092 | |
| Download: ML19207B512 (3) | |
Text
INRC P3R
,,8.,. %A UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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4 WASHINGTON, D. C. 20$55
\\..v July 31,1979 Docket No.: 50-312 Dr. John Harris M re,. Alice Harris 3365 Sierra Oaks Drive Sacramento, California 95825
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Harris:
Your letter of March 31, 1979, addressed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has been referred to me for reply.
In that letter you requested that the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station be shut down irrediately. You also asked if U. S. companies have agreed to dispose of nuclear waste in the U. S.
in order to build nuclear plants in Europe.
Before responding to your request to shut down the Rancho Seco plant, I would like to sumarize the pertinent activities that have occurred since the date of your letter.
I presume that the concern that you have expressed is a result of the accident that occurred at the Three Mile Island, Unit No. 2 (TMI-2) plant on March 28, 1979.
I apologize for not providing you with an immediate reply as you requested, but I can assure you that the NRC did take immediate steps in response to the TMI-2 accident.
As you may be aware, Rancho Seco's nuclear reactor system was designed by Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) and is similar in design to the TMI-2 plant.
The NRC's Office of Inspection and Enforcement transmitted bulletins to operators of B&W plants on April 1, 5 and 21,1979, which required certain changes in plant equipment, operating procedures and operator training.
These changes were specifically intended to preclude a TMI-2 type of accident from occurring again.
Based upon our review to date, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), which operates the Rancho Seco plant, has responded to these bulletins satisfactorily. Also, during the month of April, the NRC staff concluded that additional changes to B&W plants were necessary to further enhance reactor plant safety. SMUD agreed to shut down the plant on April 28, 1979, to complete these changes.
This shutdown was confinned by an NRC Order of May 7,1979, which required that Rancho Seco remain shutdown until certain imediate actions were completed and found acceptable to the NRC.
These immediate actions were completed and subsequently found acceptable, and the plant was allowed to resunie operation.
The NRC's letter which allowed resumption of operation, with the Safety Evaluation of SMUD's actions, is enclosed for your infomation.
N 790830cd7't
Dr. and Mrs. Harris ~
I would like to emphasine to you that the NRC always has the authority to shut cbwn an operating nuclear power plant at any time that it considers that continued operation of the plant jeopardizes public health and safety.
However, the decision must be supported by well thought out analyses which indicate unsafe conditions.
At the present time, the NRC does not have any further basis for believing that continued operation of Rancho Seco jeopardizes public health and safety.
If continuing studies within the NRC once again lead us to believe the plant is operating unsafely, we would not hesitate to crder its shutdown.
With regard to the overall situation in the area of U. S. disposal of nuclear waste generated outside this country, from time to time small quantities of radioactive material are imported from foreign countries into the U. S. for research and development purposes; and these activities may result in some waste generation. However, no high-level wastes from foreign light water reactors have been imported into the United States for storage or management; and there currently are no comitments to receive such wastes.
The U. S. also offers fuel reprocessing services in Department of Energy facilities for some research reactors, including foreign facilities, and periodically speiit high enriched research reactor fuel is imported.
The reprocessing of this fuel does, of course, involve the generation of small amount of nuclear waste which is stored in Department of Energy facilities.
The NRC is aware of two shipments of such foreign radioactive materials through Portsmouth, Virginia, in May 1979. These shipments consisted of three casks of spent research reactor fuel from Germany and the Netherlands which is to be reprocessed at the Department of Energy's Savannah River facilities.
On October 18, 1977, in a move designed to help resolve uncertainties facing U. S. utilities, the Administration announced that the Federal Government will take title to and accept spent nuclear reactor fuel for storage.
Although this policy is directed primarily toward domestic utilities, the U. S. also intends to extend the offer to foreign users on a limited basis when this action will contribute to meeting U. S. nonproliferation goals.
It is expected that foreign spent fuel will be a small part of the total spent fuel stored in the U. S.
A copy of the Department of Energy Announce-ment of this policy is enclosed. No spent fuel has yet been imported into the U. S. under this arrangement, and no specific commitments have yet been made for such imports.
352 10B
Dr. and Mrs. Harris '
I once again apologize for the delay in providing you with a response to your letter, and I trust that this infomation satisfies your concerns.
Sincerely, f
Wm William P. Gamill, Acting Assistant Director for Operating Reactor Projects Division of Operating Reactors
Enclosures:
1.
Ltr. to SMUD dtd. 6/27/79 from NRC 2.
DOE Announces New Spent Nuclear Fuel Policy 852 109