ML19249D357
| ML19249D357 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 08/14/1979 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Perez A AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19249D358 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7909240349 | |
| Download: ML19249D357 (2) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES y
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August 14, 1979 Ms. Angel A. Perez 26-43 18 Street Astoria, NY 11102
Dear Ms. Perez:
Your recent letter to Chairman Hendrie concerning the accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 2 was referred to this office for response. We appreciate your concerns and assure you that every effort is being made to ensure the continued protection of the health and safety of the public not only at the Three Mile Islar.d Nuclar Station, but also at all nuclear plants.
We have taken or are taking a number of actions with respect to all nuclear power plants as a result of the Three Mile Island accident. Specifically, full-time inspectors have been assigned to each operating plant utilizing Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactors like those at Three Mile Island.
In adddition, the licensees of all these plants which were not already shut down have voluntarily shut down their plants. We have issued confirmatory orders to the licensees of all Babcock & Wilcox reactors like those at Three Mile Island to assure that necessary plant modifications, additional training and revised operating procedures will be effected prior to resuming operation.
Licensees of all operating plants utilizing pressurized water reactors have been instructed to take specific actions with regard to the status of certain equipment, plant procedures, operator actions and facility designs.
Licensees s
of all operating plants, including those utilizing boiling water reactors, have been instructed to provide us with additional information with regard to their facilities in light of the Three Mile Island accident.
In addition, substan-tial effort is being expended within this agency to evaluate the factors which contributed to the Three Mile Island accident and to prevent a similar occur-ence in the future.
We will carefully review all the information ebtained and developed as a result of the Three Mile Island accident and take whatever further action is deemed appropriate.
With respect to waste disposal, the Nuclear Regulatory Commision was given regulatory authority over the storage and disposal of all ::ommercially-generated radioactive wastes upon its creation in 1974 by the Energy Reorganization Act.
To implement this authority and to provide guidance to the Department of Energy the industry and the public, we are developing new or revised regulatory standards and guidelines for such storage and disposal. Thes= standards and 1002 042 7909240 3g h
Ms. Angel A. Perez August 14, 1979 o
guidelines will require conformance with a fixed set of minimum acceptable per-formance standards (technical, social and environmental) for waste management activities while providing for flexibility in technological approach. These starAards and guidelines wil be designed to assure public health and safety and protection of the environment.
In addition, the Department of Energy has been pursuing a program designed to accomodate the anticipated need for disposal of high-level waste or spent fuel that is expected to accumulate as the nuclear power industry continues to grow.
This program includes, among other things, plans to develt i several operations for disposal of high-level wastes in stable geological formations. The purpose of these facilities would be to demonstrate the acceptability of a specific geologi-cal formation for permanent disposal of high-level and transuranic wastes. These facilities would be treated as perma:.ent disposal repositories. The Department of Energy is now awaiting Presidential direction of policy and plans which will occur following completion of studies-recomended by an interagency task force formed by the President. There are several methods of hign-level waste disposal which are technologically feasible. The Department of Energy is expected to continue to investigate options to determine whether superior disposal alternatives can be developed.
Sincerely,
[
Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation 1002 043