ML19211D143
| ML19211D143 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 12/12/1979 |
| From: | Gossick L NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| To: | Heinz J SENATE |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8001160552 | |
| Download: ML19211D143 (2) | |
Text
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I' d pa asco Jg UNITED STATES e
g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION y
E WASHINGTON. D. C. 20555 DEC 121373 g; *.... y The Honorable John Heinz United States Senate Washington, D. C.
20510
Dear Senator Heinz:
I am pleased to respond to your memorandum dated November 16, 1979. ~
Enclosed with your memorandum was a letter from Dr. Robert H. Kough.
Dr. Kough requested infomation regarding "a code of ethics for operators to keep them on the job at the risk of their own lives in case of a nuclear plant accident."
To the best of our knowledge, no written code of ethics exists.
However, we do require that nuclear power plant control rooms be designed so that they will be habitable during the most severe design basis accident.
Under our requirements, no operator would receive more than 5 rem whole body exposure for the duration of such an accident.
In addition, the outside air supply is filtered and can be shut off to prevent airborne
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contaminants (radioactive or non-radioactive) from entering the control room. Adequate supplies of self-contained breathing apparatus are also available for use in each control room during such emergencies. Consequently, we have reasonable assurance that a nuclear p-ar plant will be manned during foreseeable accident conditions.
Please advise me if I can be of further assistance to you in this matter.
Sincerely, Y,
,f a
L Gossick Executive Director for Operations 175(148 80011608Y b
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v-PenncIvcMa Society of internei I?.edicine l
Telephone (717) 236-8131 Harrisburg, PA 17101 Medes! Sureau Buil ding,217 State Street e
e Denartment of Henatolnoy/ Oncology r,eisinger Medical Center Danville, DA 17821 October 31, 1979 Senator John Heinz Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Heinz:
Some of us in medicine believe that there is a need for a code of ethics (the FTC disagrees) to cover those situations not covered by law.
For hundreds of years physicians have felt that ethical behavior required them to stay on the job during epidemics and disasters at the risk of their own lives.
My question to you is: 00 THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OPERATORS HAVE A CODE OF ETHICS TO KEEP THEM ON THE JOB AT THE RISK OF THEIR OWN LIVES IN CASE OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT?
The question came to mind when I heard a tribal chief tell how he knew there was a nuclear accident at one of the western nuclear power plants by the fact that everyone was leaving the plant before th_e changing of the shift!
The question is not an idle one: Just who will work to the very last to try to abort a meltdown if we have another accident just a little worse than TMI?
Sincerely A y urs,
/
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RoberI H. Kdugh, M.D!
President /
Pennsylvania Society of Internal Medicine RHK/mba 10/ 31 175(149