ML19254D570
| ML19254D570 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 10/09/1979 |
| From: | Varga S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Baldassari J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7910290089 | |
| Download: ML19254D570 (2) | |
Text
{{#Wiki_filter:kR Mcg o UNITED s TATEs E -{ NUCLEAR RE'GULATORY COMMISOON
- E WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 OCT9 M
+.*** Mr. Joseph A. Baldassari 571 N. Pleasant View Road Sanatoga, Pennsylvania
Dear Mr. Baldassari:
Your letter dated April 16, 1979 to the Nuclear Regulatory Cu.iission's Region I office has been referred to me for reply. Your letter discussed the d. ersion of water from the Delaware River to the Limerick Generating Station, Unit Nos. I and 2. Your letter stated that the dependence on cooling water from the Delaware River poses an unacceptable risk to the people living around the plant. In responding to this concern, I would like to point out that the cociing water required to safely shutdown the nuclear rewtors in the event of an en ergency o an accident will not depend on water frca the SchuyRill River or water diverted from the Delaware River. The NRC requires tnat a plant's design include a reserved supply of water (called the ultimete heat sink) which can cool the plant for 30 days without the addition of water from other sources. The proposed ultimate heat sink for the Limerick facility is a spray pond. The embankments which form the pond, and the pipes and pumps which bring the water into the Limerick facility, must be designed to withstand the effects of natural phenomena like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Loss of tha normal water supply, be it water from the Schuylkill or Delaware River, will not prevent safe shutdown of the facility's reactors. During most of the year, the Limerick facility will obtain makeup water for the cooling tomrs from the Schuylkill River. The cooling towers cool the water from the main condensers; a main condenser, in turn, coadenses the steam discharged by a main turbine. The facility could not generate electricity if there were prolonged periods when makeup water is not available. The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has established when the Linerick facility can obtain water from the Schuylkill River. The DRBC req 2 ires that the flow in the Schuylkill River at the facility be greater than 550 cubic feet per second and that the temperature of the water be below 59 degrees Fahrenheit. With these limits, based on historical data for the Schuylkill River, we calculated that the Limerick facility would not be able to generate electricity for 47 days during a typical year unless an alternate source of makeup water, such as the diversion of water from the Delaware River was provided. The interruption in electrical generation due to low flows in the Schuylkill River would also occur if the turbine generators were pomred from a coal, oil, or gas-fired boiler. Prior to the issuance of the construction permits for the Limerick facility, the NRC evaluated alternatives to a nuclear facility at the 1221 282 7910290Off
. OCT 0 19& Limerick site. NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board (ASLAB) concluded that all other potential sites in the region for an electrical generating station had similar water shortage problems, therefore the shortage of makeup water at the Limerick site did not prevent the construction of nuclear units. Fu rt her-more, the ASLAB ruled that the environmental costs and benefits weighed in favor of constructing the Limerick facility. We trust that this infonaation is responsive to your concerns. Si d rely, n e Steven A. Varga, Ac(ti 19 Assistant Di rector for Light Water Rea: tort Division of Project Management 1221 283 4}}