ML19208C073
| ML19208C073 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 07/25/1979 |
| From: | Jay Collins NRC - TMI-2 OPERATIONS/SUPPORT TASK FORCE |
| To: | Buskirk W LEHIGH-POCONO COMMITTEE OF CONCERN |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19208C074 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7909240645 | |
| Download: ML19208C073 (6) | |
Text
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,0, UNITED STATES y }g h
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION f/.2 y WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
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JUL 2 51919 Mr. William Buskirk, Jr.
LEPOCO Lehigh-Pocono Co=mittee of Concerns 14 W. Broad Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018 4
Dear Mr. Buskirk:
I am pleased to respond to your letter of July 6, 1979 concerning al-ternatives to liquid releases from the Three Mile Island (TMI) facility to the Susquehanna River.
Before addressing your specific concerns, I wish to assure you that all radiological waste management operations at TMI are reviewed by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff members located onsite, in order to assure that the health and safety of the public is protected.
To-date, no highly contaminated water from within the Unit 2 containment or prisary system has been processed or released. Prior to any pro-cassird or release, Metropolitan Edison will be required to evaluate cit.ernate methods of water cleanup and disposal or discharge. The plans and alternative analysis developed by Metropolitan Edison will receive a detailed review by the NRC in order to ensure that liquid waste processing and disposal or discharge operations will be within the limits specified in our regulations. All of the written material associated with this re-view will be made available to the public.
On May 25, 1979, the Co= mission directed the hkC staff to prepare an en-vironmental assessment of the proposals to decontaminate and dispose of radioactively contaminated waste water from the TMI facility. A copy of this directive is enclosed. The public will be given an opportunity to comment on the staff's assessment before alternatives are approved by the NE0.
The NRC has approved a TMI procedure which permits the release of liquids containing low or nondetectable levels of radioactivity. The water that has been released using this procedure has originated mainly from Unit 1, which was not involved in the accident. The procedure requires the NRC to be notified prior to such releases and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is provided with a summary of releases on a daily basis.
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JUL 2 519/9 Mr.. William Buskirk, Jr.
It should be noted here that release limits for all radionuclides, in-cluding tritium, which (as you correctly point out) is not removed by ion exchange and filtration systems, are being met before discharges to the Susquehanna are permitted. A su= mary of the liquid releases and resultant environmental impacts and doses to the public from March 28 through May 11, 1979, is enclosed. These releases have resulted in doses to the public which are far below the applicable anr.ual design objective dose limits of 3 millirem to the whole body or 10 millirem to any organ, as found in our regulations, Appendix I to.10 CFR Part 50.
A; a result, the levels of radioactivity in the Susquehanna are indistinguishable from existing background levels at public water supply intakes from the river.
This has been confirmed by independent mee;< -ments made by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rad t as Com=onwealth of Pennsylvania.
S ir.c erely,
,h/
John T. Collins, Deputy Director THI-2 Support Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
As Stated
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s The staff is directed to prepare an Envirorc.antal Assessr. ant recr.-ding V'
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.r,t proposals t.o decontaminate and dispose of radioactively :.:ontr.winated waste s
teter 'from the Three Mil'e Island facility.
The Assess. rat trill be divided ir.to several portions.
The first portion of the Assessa:. ant trill deal tdth the-p1opused oecontamination of intenaedihte-level waste mtar r* sing the EPICOR-II systc-m at 174I. The Assessmant should include discussica of pM2mtial risks to the public health and safety, including occupational ex;=asures and the risk of aceidental releases, and a discussion of alternatives ts the EPICOR-II system.
Pending completion of this portion of the Assessment an:i opportunity for public col. ment, the staff should direct the licensee not to r:perate the EPICOR-II system.
Testing of the EPICOR-Il system witincet using contaminated waste may pro'ceed.
Except for discharge of waste wate-- decondrinated by the existing EPICOR-I deccatamination systemE and discharge :of industrial waste waterE as consistent with the facility operating licenses, ao discharge of waste water shall be permitted until completion of a se:.ond portion of the Assessment cealing with any such p'roposed. discharges.
T=is portion sha'Il in-clude a discussion of alternatives to discharge into the Susquehanna River.
The decontamination and disposal of high-level waste water uil'1 be the subject of a subsequent Assessaant.
However, the Director of the Office of Nuclear '
Reactor Regulation may authorize measures deemed necessac y to cope with an 1012 M O E
Pri:.arily pre-accident waste water from Unit 1 which has been partially con aminated by water from Unit 2, with an activity level of less than 1 cicrocurie per cc. prior to treatment and with ar. activity level apprc:
ca:ely 10-7 microcuries per cc. in the ciscnarge ca nal after *= % n:.
U k'aste water slightly centaminated (apprcxim ely 10-7 citrocuries ;3er cc cue c.o leakage frcm secondary plant service support sysW=s.
The discna of chis industrial waste water is necessary to c.airna.in TMI Unit 2 in a safe condicion.
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If the Diram.r of the 0..~ ice of Nuclear P.eec :- nr.;uir. tic. bc--
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public health and saf ary requires the use of Ma li?ICOP.-II syste:n,
- rioi- +c t.::mpletion of the fit st portion of the Assessme.c., he sitall r.c i~ aport
' o ::.2 haission and the Cc:aaission t.ny than permit use of tfie systc.
The si:df r.hould i;4om the Co...;;ission pt.:. aptly regarding its < sr;-fu=it-d sch:dule
.~or en.0leting each portion of the Assessr.ent and f6r cocpIeting ite nt. tis e
.'.s s.s.w ant.
For 1.he Ccanission 1
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WUEL J. kHILK Sec. Lary of thd Certainion -
i Da..ed at h'ashington, DC, i
-hi s 'iS ~ day of iD* 1979.
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I6 lb A L1 a 1012 MI
i-l C0i4 PARIS 0h5 0F DOSES TO Fuuli4UM INDIVIOUAL DRINKING TilEATED SUSQUEHANNis itivi......i2.1 JU...isT.iziG 'V TF.i s
Columbia
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Intake Actual Upstrerin Controi_
Environmental Dose from Actuai Ceicuiated From Sample "Measureraents in iteiease Data l
Pathway Downstream Dose The Invironment Downstream Dose 45 Day 1
and Critical 3/28 to 5/il 3/28 to 5/11 3/28 to 5/i1 i;.tural Nuclide Organ 1979 1978 19/9 19/9
Background
mrem mrem mrem mrem oj;gir,7,3,,
Tayrosd
<0.04
<0.05
<0.04 0.0n none D
9 0.002 0.002 0.002 3 x 10-5
.0004 3n g
Et g
131 Thyroid
< 0.02
<0.02 40.02 0.004 lione g
Eatin9 Wnoie
-5 5 x 10-5 4 x 10-5 4 x 10-5 '
.0000i 5 x 10
- Fish, H
Body
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-7
' oa ting, 131 Whole 4 7 x 10 < 2 x 10 1 x 10-6
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3 x 10 lis.ie Body
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- Allowable Technical Specification dose for the period 3/28 to 5/11/79 is 0.6 mrem for aii pathways and nuclides.
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' NITS I AND 2 LIQUID AND CASE 0US RELEASES IDENT OF MARCil 28, 1979
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d t1 o b Incident CUMULATIVE mr l
Period 2nd Quarter 2nd Quarter Total Due q' 7Cq,,
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To Incident i<
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March 28, 1979 April Ie 1979 May 1, 1979 March 28, 1979 b ]d a (Uj to to to to March 31, 1979 April 30, 1979 May 31, 1979 hay 31, 1979 is32E-7uci/cc(*}
4.39E-8uCi/cc( }
6.21E-9uCi/cc(
2.33E-8uci/cc(*}
).II Ci "
0.274 Ci(C) 4.0E-2 Ci(*}
0.314 Ci("}
1.24E-07uCi/cc(*}
2.06E-8uCi/cc( )
7.83E-10uCi/cc 1.77E-8uCi/cc(*}
3.1063 Ci 0.1283 Ci 5.05E-3 0.2395 Ci 6.6IE-7uci/cc(*)
1.62E-6uCi/cc( }
7.29E-7uCi/cc 1.14E-6uCi/cc(*}
0.55 Ci 10.12 Ci 4.7 Ci 15.37 Ci incentrations in the effluent averaged over the period.
t result of the TMI Unit 2 accident on 3/28/79.
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