ML19242B804

Notifies That Local Newspapers Frequently Discuss Operational Problems & Radiation Releases at Plant.Requests Stricter Supervision & Control & Suspension of Cp.Forwards Newspaper Articles

ML19242B804
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim, 05000471
Issue date:	07/14/1979
From:	Bartlett R AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
References
NUDOCS 7908090424
Download: ML19242B804 (4)

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S)moa/d: 9//a.uaofa.w/4 anw July 14, 1979

Dear friends:

' deck after week the Boston and Plymuuth newspapers gove deiatls about operational problems at Nuclean Plant Pilgrim here in Plymcuth.and on radiation releases.

We hope that you can mandate stri eter superisionand contol of Pilgrim I -

And that you willsay NO to Pilgrig,II Sin erely your,,

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rnishap,jrnfclear power plants were

.4 og experiencing the sales problerns.

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@b. By Jerry Ackerman I

Globe Staff For the natien's four reactcr makers - Westin'g-3;,3g*

house,. General Electric, Combustion Engmeering and 4,

To be sure, the Three Mile Island nuclear power the Babcock & Wilcox division of J. Ray McDermott &

h plant accident could hardly help promote sales of more Co., Inc. - a full appreciation of this was slow in com-h reactors.

ing.

h But in fact, times already were tough, and thmgs in "Everyone thought that the downturn was tempo-ig the American nuclear business could not have gotten rary," adds Theodore lieuchling, an Arthur D. Little, p

much worse than they already were.

Inc. vice president specializing in energy issues. "Now 6

Even before the Pennsylvania acezdent, theworst in

• here is no widespread agreement on what the electne k

nuclear power's history, the nation's four reactor manu.

'ndastry's growth will be."

7 facturers were rolling up nearly order cancellations at a'

, One nuclear-company executive, who in 1974 was a M

rate nearly three times than of new orders.

government energy specialist, recalls:

s The nuclear industry in 1973 received 41 new reactor -

"When thOmbargo hit was expected that, well, this

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orders and in 1974 another 26; but ordert since Jan.1,,

is really going to propel nuclear, because it would be a.

y 1975 have totaled only 13 - and there have been 37 can.

substitute for oil. Instead, the opposite happened. The b

eellations.

.. A f g ' g : high pnce ofoil caused so much conservation that peo-

{p Beyond this, there have been more than three dozen ple not only shut off thei-lights and turned down their p.[

" deferrals," or postponements, including in the past six heat, they kept it down."

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' rnonths Boston Edison Co/s Pilgnm 2 reactor and two The Three Mile Isllnd accident, of course, is taking j

y other units p;anned by New England Power Co. in h ; Rhode Island.

a momentary toll in th nuclear industry. It now ap-g pears that months. even years, will be required to h,

Even the industry's entics agree nu~'*ar safety hu thrash out the doubts raised at Three Mile Island about i,

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had little to do with these w*oes, although times might reactor safety, operatmg procedures and the govern-p be a little better had Three Mile Island not happened.

ment's ability to regulate.

g A deeper reason, industry sources and outside ana-

"Until) cme of these problems (posed by the acci.

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g lysts say, lies in America's reaction to the 1973-74 Arab dent) are resolved, I can't see anyone ordenng another p

oil embargo.

q reactor for at least two more years," says Norman C.

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Faced with higher energy costs across the board, the Rasmussen, the MIT nuclear engmeenng professce and N

g nation made 1974 into The Year Amenca Turned Off,

. Northeast Utilities Inc., director whose name has been p

slic:ng in half an almost constant 20-year electricity associated with nuclear safety.

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sales growth trend of 7 percent a year.

But ironically,in the face of this adversity, the reae-i 4

tor industry remains quite ahvecin a position to wait j

p for better days. Indeed, until Three Mile Island, many G

inside and out thought this might be "the turnaround q

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year," as ope secunties analyst put it, particularly with i

g the indications last wmter that oil pnces were about to

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skyrocket.

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Despite the cancellations and deferrals, the four re-h yj si f

actor manufacturers' domestic order backlog is es timat-p

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ed, to be worth as much as $20 billion, with enough work

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t last through 1983, (eM c-ayg Z

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NUCLEAR, Page 68

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JOHN P G.TGGl] Ennow V P k Genere basse j

KiCilAa3 C WKIRsLXM v P Wrteang We i.MID WGEa d P & Busines M. anger of the atom a, s., c

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% Whud, OWSed settpSMlaefy Gf MNAn D47!s TAYLOR. Chumas ed the soard d

" " o issue since the Vietnam War has divid- [

l cd America more than nuclear energy It i

has provoked. huge demonstranons. It l

has led to civil disobedience It has M,

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.j h, @ %y*p( y' M f spawned lawsuits. It has roused pas. M[}

sions all across the country.

uf There are those who see nuclear power as crucial g

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to solving the energy ens s and would push ahead p,**

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with new and bigger plantc. There are those who see gy:r..

nuclear power as the road to doomsday and would 7,_

g. 2 ;- A-w h not only forbid the construenon of new plants but M

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,, also shut down a.ll exisung ones. And th.ere are vast a

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energy in the atom but who are concerned about ra-

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,s diauon, especial.y since the accident at Three Mile -

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Island.

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The facts are simpIr There are 72 exisung nucle-dD ar power plants in the United States unhues have

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r construction permits to build 94 others. and 34 more l

are in the engmeenng stage. If all the plans were ap-l proved we would nearly tnple tne number of plants j

M in the country.

We beheve that nuclear power has failed to meet l

sts promae. so widely trumpeted in the 1960s, of g,,

y-j cheap, rehable and safe electncity. But a sound en-e,

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ergy pohey steers a course,between extremet We h J, ' ' "'~W '

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I should neither push ahead with all the new plants

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nor shut down au the entsung ones. Sound poLey re-i l

quires the following-jq p

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1. The safety of all exisung plants should be up.

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graded in accordance with recommendauons of the

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presidental commission studying Three Mile 3

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j ;s land. Plants that cannot meet suca standarcis should

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2. The operaung permits of the 94 plants with V}h%;N,/f.

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j construction permits should be he!d hostage by the e

j federal government unuT1he stnetMafety stan-N

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dards resulung from the Three Mile Island study are debated and approved by e Nuclear Regula-gggtg ggg7b[t Crisis demaI y

tory Commission. And they should be built then onlyfthev are c!early supenor to au sther feasible an eight-part series, The Globe

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y comoinations of energy sources an,d egnserva' ion.

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3. No new construction ' permits shod:Ste issued l unless it can be demonstrated that there is a c! ear ble or inple the national production of nuclear pow-need for the additional energy and that nuclear er on the ihmsy excuse that money has already been I

l power is a last resort. If othergds of plants are invested and that it is too late to stop. It is never too ~

feasible thev should be built insteaP late to change pohey; what is required is that the

-T trrakt au moWEecnitaffsources, such as so-tougd!6ITons be faced andYs~wered, and that we

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lar, are developad our rehar+e on nuclear powe: deal forthnght!y with the consequent.es.

should be reduced. Nuclear power in its present here are safety measures that can be

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form is on!v a temporarv sourea cf ene gy.

taken now. The Kemeny Commission In NewYaEs5ch'a pohcy would mean the

• has already commented utfavorably on j

followmg the twun reactors at Seabrook. N H and some aspects of the personnel perfor-a the third Minstene unit m Connecucut. which have mance at Three Mile Island. And public h

constructon permits, could have to be jusuhed confidence requires some real changes in the federal

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anew; and Boston Edison should not get a construc-ro!e in operaung such plants. Even before the Ke-non permit for a second Pi:gnm facibty untd new meny report is out, the Nuc' ear Regu;atory Comma-f safety standards are cedered.

sion could estabInh a special emergency team to fly y

We bebeve such a pohey would be good for New immediately to n the event of an aces-p England in the long run. and that the region could dent.

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y adjust to it in the short run. There are alternatives:

In the longer vt. NRC personnel should be sta.

p natural gas nght now, and hydro-e'ectne power lat-tioned on a full-t:me basis at each of the 48 nuUar l

g er on. if n invest heavily in them now. And above coripteres around tne country

• hat iouId repre-g all, there is conservat.on.

sent no heavier an obhganon than the placing of De-Obviously, such a pokey would njure uuht.es partment of inergy offtetals in Se effices of many

-Q that have spent large sums on planned new piants od companies to supervise 2e operations of the oil under the old ground rules. It would be entirely ap-allocauen system.

C3) 0 propriate for the federal government to compensate Nagging doubts about nuclear safety dictate that

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them for any losses they incur.

the regulatory and permit piecesses funcuon or 'he p

What would not be apprepnate would be to dou-basis of President Car'ers oft. repeated but neveryM.p -*-

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C4 s, m New England vs the United States...'

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• storage facdity sae by tu eno ut ;;;e "per*nanent Ne or early LW0s, procably ta New Mesico,Even ent4cs are reasonao t.ou can be found. Indeed, tnat is cruc;al to the ac-f.nal ceptabibty of nuefear power. Whtever ine l

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}0 plan. it is unportant to retain the opuon of rwover-I p

f becomes desir.

tag wastes for reprocesstag i tant 8

Meanwhde. President Carter tu acted waeiy in y hmmw purmng a poucy des.gned to mtnamaze the danger(

of nuclear probierauon by eiecung to forgo the re.

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processtag of spent fuel from power plants in orderto ruuver f:

ase t. stas;u.i s.,,,

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naum that mag *t be f ashioned into nuclear esp o.

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. i== u w saaa>am By Win Breecer reactors. us.ag platomum, represent the

""*dN' ",emme gygg most uncertata pobey quesnoa Pres 4dgnt Carterhas alrndy c Wanaan J04UI LtaYthL Fees D5" 4

rt and he finauy woes his Asia f

_iMEEMWENWEREM River demonstracoa pt e hrst congreseional battle ta that ef fort just af.er thehm Mile l

chine

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aM wiuu ttmg eum l

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the Presidents leadership in the matter by se

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I ht parucular propet asse.

At the same ume, both Cong*ess and the Aden-j g, <7

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istrausa must continue the bu4e sewnuf:e and_

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d r devel-I techalaalwork awessary (or possible bree e f i uoaaum m

. opment. Given the extensae use o p u su prqwte (unwsa, as is theoreucally possabie.we huan

%1e ne omt. pedi. rem ts na '

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.f hashb secur.e.saan must be idanufted and set as.

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-ds action. In the fourth of,deprnd on the deves'pment of che large i

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=<= of wh>ch so*ar and f==oa power aress.b.e tSy wd1 not be l

5 discusses cruelear power.

. most promising. Bus it as puf lfdl the reeds of industry. It 1

. developed in tune to u the rehance l nts only

• would be foobrdy, eyes whde hop ngon breeders willbe vahzed principie of accepung nuclear p~a."

wt, the nLclear bumnas is hke the od abahty.

7eTicefxth, new nuclear approvals must depend d

t business its av matenal uran 4um, is te hmite%meatw in th as a last resort.

By Jah la one re Lke on regarous study of other domesuc (uel scurees weshar 60 co(natursi gas, hydroelectnc power or even wooUnlessIEerTTsTeUCTsupene how many plants there are but probably m 40 to l

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yeeruhe wech ehranenAt that potst either reprocessing or the fr

' Baas b over those other sources of energy, permismon o k w.t Mares

~ !a the futare, regu.ators must also evaluate the will take over, t,r ue nuclear indus d.

thWear eint should_bg.,wytthbe us a s, impact of conservatoa sa assesard potenual de-wid graduauy mehe nauon za unavoidably dependent om ander Leiear iware '

a mand for new power It eas nactiy sach a revwo,

the nuciear piants it has now.

then tot M3 by the Massachusecs ?.,nergy Office, for in-stance, thas produced qu power provides 13 percent of our eice-f"U#

Nee tncy naNnady

.J percent taEngland Cnues have not put forward s

's Pr.grtm tmmg far compieuon of'30ston Edrsonnelear. plans to P!yniosta Those quescons mu

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• evidence w. warrant shutttrg them l

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answelre i~n~ h chnstructwo permat hunngs sc conym For the Icag-term future, however, such oep.m.

3 uled tn beginlater this month.The review must also tame into account,but not down.

dence 3 avoidan;a. Ustag the concept of last rescrt.

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.l u ' it is hard to hebeve. hat the nauon is mcap f h her nu.-

nuessanly be governed by.the essae o w etThe choice be-wm

,l clear plants actuaHy d:splace ott

!t mately.

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rwee2 nuclear energy and excessive oil imports wi sources water, sunLght, steam and, u a l

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not be easy. Netther is intnnucady deurso e.

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d each day to fusacar "~d to beliese that sensible conserva-a%

the 14 mdbon barrels of od new burne F

generste electncity is almost exactly the amount ths.

non cannot sign 4ficantly greatly redwe the need 4t-It is abo har "I

f-a dan-nanoa should eummate kom imports to meet l

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One of the gres -trengthsof the United States is ly cathng of 6 milbon barress. Nciear power cou setf-i energy fu-that it has the opup of a hieraJy br gnh r increased od si make up that difference.The rev ew does have other quesuona is consad.

ture us the nut century with neit eimports nor greatly mcrea y

uons about cicar sz.N,~

er. Whde Three Mde l stand raised ques weigh the g,-

,)(D nucjear safety, regulators must a;soheaath and uf ety hazarcs anaociated with ot

nauve power.

v Let's eteresse at erty soJrtRDe !ncst promment 4 terin much of the coun:ry. must pass its own a7 rous (NEXT.The htmts of coal) eum J med.'$

Nay scien-eram on health and safety gmtons.d put too muchWR GmG&*

t als fear massare coal burntng wi Q*ss ung a careo. dios.de into the atmosanere. crea

'T e nhouse effect" ist mignt me t po ar

[, Limit OPEC imports.

ad l recaps 1

2. Ration gasoline.

,i er.d b d low 4ytng coastal rmonsw interests of safety a 4 efficiency ther'

3. Subsidize conserva, tion.

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4. Tax windf all profits.

saa' atm be major ettons to standarda, u ma in

5. Limit expansion of nuclear.

features of plant des 6gn as possible.

Finaay, h promem of selocung a s4s repu.issmusQe soived Protaems of gasm

6. Go slow on ccat L Expedite s.ynthetic fuels.

groundwater. sui dapersten aad secunty have cut torsbr aucitaar S. Develop biomass and solar.

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doe s on :he pot.m.41 for storne m u 4th But the Department of Energv is sud pursusng itseMy and now says c

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