ML19256E376
| ML19256E376 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | New England Power |
| Issue date: | 10/24/1979 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Kasanow H AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7911020238 | |
| Download: ML19256E376 (9) | |
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MY Dockets (ENVIRON)
'W NRC PDR gh OCT 2 41979 LPDR(3),
g NRR Reading 24 EP-1 Reading 3:$
2, HDenton
_M Docket Nos. STfl 50-568 ECase d
and STN 50-569 DVassallo op OParr WM Sfliner
$1 RVollmer mW JCutchin, OELD m.q Fifth Graos :t the Wheeler School RBallard/PCota
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c/o lir. Ilarry Kasanow WRegan 216 Ilope Street DMuller i259 349 Providence, Rhode Island 02906 f1 Slater
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Dear Fifth Grade (hopefully sixth by now):
Let me apologize for our long delay in answering your letter of April 5,1979.
The ilRC staff resources have been strained in recent months because so many staff members have been assigned to high priority task forces working on a number of aspects of the..;cident at Three flile Island (Ti1I).
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In your letter you urge the Nuclear Regulatory Conmission (flRC) to prevent j
the construction of the NEP 1 & 2 nuclear power project proposed for cj Charlestown, Rhode Island. While we appreciate your views on nuclear power, xi we must point out that ilRC's authority with regard to the nuclear industry is M
to assure the protection of public health and safety and the environment.
It is not within our Tegal mandate to prevent or promote the use of nuclear power.
The fiRC reactor licensing process is described in the enclosure to this letter, gr-
- 9 Our review of the application for construction permits for NEP 1 & 2 is not e
complete.
We have issued a draft environmental statement. We have aisc issued a safety evaluation report on the proposed project, but this report predates the Three Mile Island accident. This accident is currently being studied by members of the llRC staff and by various other groups as well. Upon conclusion of these studies our position on the proposed llEP 1 & 2 project would have te be re-evaluated before proceeding with our review of the application.
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However,ourreviewoftheIlEP1&2applicationhasbeensuspendedbecause of a separate development. The proposed site for flEP 1 & 2 the former Charlestown flaval Auxiliary Landing Field, is presently owned by the federal government. The General Services Administration, the agency charged with the responsibility for disposing of the site (which the U. S. Navy no longer needs),
~71 has decided to offer the site to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Town of Charlestown, rather than
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selling it to the New England Power Company for use as a site for a nuclear power station. The New England Power Company is now appealing this decision 4n vndor,, enuet
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-Mj Fifth Graie at the Wheeler School y.
- fdMll, 4l We also wish to correct one factual statement in your letter. Nuclear power Om does not provide one-third of the U.S. energy needs.
It presently contributes
~7 about 13 percent of our electrical energy needs.
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r Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regu'.. tion
Enclosure:
Licensing of Muclear Power Reactors S
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THE REACTOR LICENSIftG PROCESS
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%j The fluclear Regulatory Commission (flRC) is responsible for, among other sa things, the licensing and regulation of nuclear power plants.
Before
~d a nuclear power plant can be built at a particular site, the applicant-M must obtain a construction permit from the f(RC. As a major part of th.e application for a construction pennit, an applicant must file a Preliminary Safety Acalysis Report (PSAR). This document presents the
- .g "ft design criteria and preliminary design information for the proposed
.O reactor and comprehensive data on the proposed site. The report also Sj discusses various hypothetical accident situations and the safety "j
features which will be provided to prevent accidents or, if they should 3
occur, to mitigate their effects on both the public and the facility's employees.
In addition, the applicant must submit a comprehensive
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Environmental Report providing a basis for the evaluation of the environmental impact of the proposed plant.
Further, information must be submitted by the applicant for use by t.he Attorney General and the f1RC staff in their reviews of the antitrust aspects of the proposed plant.
An applicant for a construction permit for a nuclear power plant may tender the required information in three parts.
One part is accompanied by the Envircnmenta' Report (ER) and site suitability information and a
another part by th-
'SAR.
Tendering of the first part may precede the tenaering of the otner by no longer than six (6) months.
Whichever
.y of the above parts is tendered first must also include the fee and other general and financial information. The third part, cor3isting
.: 4 of antitrust infonnation, is tendered 9-36 months prior to the other information in order for the Attorney General and the f(RC staff to begin the antitrust review.
44 Some tim-during the period that the applicant is preparing its application 9
for a construction permit, usually about 6-12 months prior to tendering, the f(RC staff holds a general introductory meeting in the area of the proposed S
site in order to familiarize u
.ublic with the safety and environmental d
aspects of the proposed application, including the planned location and type of plant, the regulatory process, and the provisions for public j
participation in the licensing process. Additional public meetings of this kind, that is, those which are conducted specifically for the convenience of public observation and participation, are held during the course of the reactor licensing process.
When an application is submitted, it is first subaected to an acceptance review by the flRC staff to determine whether it contains sufficient infor-i mation to satisfy the Commission requirements for a detailed review.
If the application is not sufficiently complete, the staff makes specific 1
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, e,g requests for additional information. The application is fomally accepted g.j by liRC only if it meets certain minimum acceptance criteria.
In addition, sJ when the PSAR is submitted, a substantive review ano inspection of the
-y applicant's quality assurance program, covering design and procurement,
- q is conducted. Guides for the preparation of the documents have been c3 developed by the f1RC Staff to aid applicants in preparing acceptable
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applications.
.l As soon as an application for a construction permit is received by fiRC, M
copies are.placed in the fiRC Public Document Room.
As soon as the ER or PSAR or early site information is received, copies are also placed 4
in Public Document Rooms local to the proposed site.
Copies of all future Zj correspondence and documents relating to the application are placed in these ti locations and are available to every member of the public.
Also, a
.fj press release announcing receipt of the application is issued by the f1RC.
Upon docketing (acceptance) of the applicant's application for a con-struction pemit, copies are sent to Federal, State, and local officials and a notice of its receipt is published in the Federal Register.
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The application is reviewed to detemine that the plant design is consistent with flRC requirements.
Design methods and procedures of calculations are examined to establish their validity.
Checks of actual calculations and other procedures of design and analysis are made by the staff to establish the validity of the applicant's design and to determine that the applicant has conducted his analysis and evaluation in sufficient depth and breadth to support required findings with respect to safety.
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During the staff's review, the applicant is required to provide such additional information as is needed to complete the evaluation.
The p,incipal features of the staff's review can be summarized as follows:
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1.
A review is made of the population density and use characteristics of the site environs, and the physical characteristics of the
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including seismology, meteorology, geology and hydrology, to detemine c;
that these characteristics have been evaluated adequately and have M
been given appropriate consideration in the plant design, and that the site characteristics are in accordance with the siting criteria (10 CFR Part 100), taking into consideration the design of the facility including the engineered safety features provided.
2.
A review is perfomed of the preliminary facility design, and of proposed programs for fabrication, construction and testing of the plant structures, systems, and components important to safety to determine that they are in accord with fiRC requirements and that any departures from these requirements have beer identified and justified.
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Evaluations are made of the anticipated response of the reactor to ij various postualted operating transients and to a broad spectrum of 9
hypothetical accidents. The potential consequences of these hypothetical N
accidents are then evaluated conservatively to determine that the h
calculated potential offsite doses that might result, in the very unlikely 3
event of their occurrence, would not exceed the f1RC guidelines for. site a :eptability.
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A review is made of the applicant's proposed plans for the conduct of plant operations including the organizational structure, the
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technical qualifications of operating and technical support personnel, the measures taken for industrial security, and the planning for emergency actions to be taken in the unlikely event of an accident that might affect the general public. An important aspect of this review includes an assessment of the applicant's proposed programs for quality assurance and quality contr.ol to assure compliance with the Commission's requirements. These reviews fom the basis for determining whether the applicant is technically qualified to operate the plant and whether it has established effective organizations and plans for safe operation of the plant.
5.
Evaluations are made of the design of the proposed systems provided for control of the radiological effluents from the plant to determine that these systems can control toe release of radioactive wastes from the plant within the limits specified by fRC requirements
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and that the applicant will operate the plant in such a manner as to 1
reduce radicactive releases to levels that are as lcw as is reasonably achievabl:.
W-This review is conducted by members of the flRC staff and its consultants Ni over a period of about one to two years. The staff and applicant interact frequently during the course of the review in working type meetings. At
.y these meetings information is exchanged, problems are discussed and resolved
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and staff positions are clarified.
Intervenors and other interested members d
of the public are generally invited to staff-applicant meetings as observers.
The review process includes the consideration of programs proposed by an applicant for a construction permit to verify plant design features and to confirm design margins. The review process includes consideration of basic research and development programs necessary to assure the resolution of safety questions associated with safety features or components. The applicant must identify any research and development work that will be conducted to confim the adequacy or to resolve any safety questions z.2 associated with the design of a particular facility, along with a schedule
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for completion of that research and development work.
All such safety.
questions must be resolved prior to operation of the facility.
After comple. tion of consturction, nuclear power plants are subject to operating -
license procedures and requirements.
Data obtained from research and
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development programs on particular facilities and from the Commission's 3l'$
safety research program are factored into these licensing reviews. 3 5 3 1259
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d When the review and evaluation of the application progresses to the point q
that the staff concludes that acceptable criteria, preliminary design y;2 information and financial information are documented adequately in the M
application, a Safety Evaluation Report is prepared. This report represents
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a summary of the review and evaluation of the application by the staff relative to the anticipated effect of the proposed facility on the pub.lic health and safety.
- J The Advi.ory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), an independeht statutor, m mittee established to piavide advice to the f1RC on reactor
.a lf safety, reviews each application for a construction permit for a J
nuclear power plant. The ACRS is composed of a maximum of fif teen membe s
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who, though not fiRC employees, are appointed by the fiRC for terms of Vi four years each. The members are experienced, technically trained individuals selected from various technical disciplines, having applicable 4
experience in industry, research activities, and in the academic area.
The ACRS also makes use of consultants in specialized technical disciplines.
As soon as an application for a construction
^rmit is docketed, copies of the PSAR are provided to the ACRS.
Each application is assigned to an ACRS subcommittee, usually made up of four to five ACRS members.
During the course of the review by the staff, the ACRS is kept informed of the staff's requests for additional information fron the applicant and of meetings held, so that the subcomittee is aware of any developments that may warrant a change in the plant.
In those cases where the plant is a " standard design" and the site appears generally acceptable, i
the subcomittee review does not begin until the staff has nearly completed its detailed review of all the safety-related features of the
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plant.
Where new or modified concepts or special site considerations are irvolved, the ACRS subcommittee begins its formal review earlier
.d in the process, selecting appropriate stages in the staff review to begin a series of meetings with the applicant and staff.
g flormally, before the full Comittee considers a project, the staff 3
provides its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) for the Committee's infomation.
This staff report and the report of the ACRS subcommittee form the basis for Committee consideration of a project.
Special attention is given to those items which are of particular safety significance for the reactor involved and any new or advanced features proposed by the applicant.
The full Comittee meets at least once with the staff and with the applicant to discuss the application. These meetings are open to the public. When the Comittee has completed its review, its report is submitted to the f4RC in the form of a letter to the Chairman, which is made public.
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The staff prepares one or more supplements to the Safety Evaluation Report to address the safety issues raised by the ACRS in its report and to include any other infomation made available since issuance of g
the original Safety Evaluation Report.
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.md Either concurrently with or separately from the radiological safety ra review, an environmental review is performed by the staff and its 3
consultants to evaluate the potential environmental impact of the proposed plant, as well as to provide comparisons between the benefits to y) be derived and the possible risk to the environment. After completion
..~j of this review, a Draft Environmental Statement (DES), containing
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conclusions on environmental matters, is issued. The DES is circulated 3
4 for review and comments by the appropriate Federal, State and local' agencies as well as by private individuals and organizations. After receipt of all comments and resolution of any outstanding issues, a Final Environmental I_
Statement (FES) is issued and also is made public. The SER and its
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supplements and the FES constitute the staff's primary evidence at the
.J subsequent public hearings.
Q The law requiree that a public hearing be held before a construction 0
permit may be is sue ' ior a nuclear power plant.
Soon after an application is docketed the NRC issues a notice of the hearing which will be held after completion of the NRC staff safety and environmental reviews.
t In addition, the hearing is noticed in several newspapers in the vicinity of the proposed plant and a public announcement is issued by the NRC.
Opportunity is afforded for members of the public to participate in the hearing. Members of the puolic may submit written statements to the licensing board to be entered into the hearing record, they may appear to give direct statements at the hearing, or they may petition for leave to intervene as full parties in the hearing. At an early stage in the review process, potential intervenors are invited to meet infomally and discuss with the staff their concerns with respect to the proposed 2
facility.
The public hearing is conducted by a three-member Atomic Safety and
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M Licensing Board appointed from the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel. The board is composed of one lawyer, who acts as chair-g person, and two technically qualified persons.
The hearing may be a combined safety and environmental hearing or, in the case of a split
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application, separate hearings. The board considers all the evidence which has been presented, together with findings of fact and conclusions of law filed by the parties and issues an initial decision.
If the initial decision regarding NEPA and safety matters is favorable, a con-struction permit is issued to the applicant by the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The board's initial decision is subject to review by an Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board and the Comission.
NRC regulations provide that the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation may authorize limited construction work to be carried out prior to the issuance of the construction permit.
This authorization is known as a Limited Work Authorization (LWA).
The regulations provide for the authorization of two types of work.
One type may authorize site preparation work, installation of temporary construction support facilities, excavation, construction of service facilities and certain other construction not 4
subject to the quality assurance requirements. The second type of LWA
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may authorize the installation of structural foundations.
An LWA may be granted only after the licensing board has made I
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$1 jSj National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) findings required by the ljj Commission's regulations for the issuance of a construction permit
-e and has determined that there is reasonable assurance that the proposed
~II site is a suitable location for a nuclear power reactor of the 23 general size and type proposed from a radiological health and safety ',
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standpoint. The second type may be granted if, in addition to the
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_a) findings described above, the hearing board determines that there are
?dj no unresolved safety issues relating to the work to be authorized.
The law requires that antitrust aspects of a nuclear power plant license a:
Tj application must be considered in the licensing process. The antitrust T;
information submitted by the applicant is sent to the Attorney General for advice on whether activities under the proposed license would create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws.
Upon receipt, the Attorney General's advice is promptly published and opportunity is provided for members of the public to raise antitrust issues.
An antitrust hearing may be held based on the recommendation of the Attorney General or on the petition of an interested party.
In any event, the NRC must make a finding on antitrust matters. Antitrust hearings are held separately from hearings on environmental and safety matters.
When the construction of the nuclear plant has progressed to the point where final design information and plans for operation are ready, the applicant submits the Final Safety Analysis Report in support of an application for an operating license.
The FSAR sets forth the pertinent
-I details on the final design of the facility, including final containment 2[
design, design of the nuclear core, and waste handling system. The FSAR also provides plans for operation and procedures for coping with emergencies.
Again the staff makes a detailed review of the information.
Atendments
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to the application and reports may be submitted from time to time.
The il staff again prepares a Safety Evaluation Report (re the operating license) a and, as during the construction permit stage, the ACRS makes an independent evaluation and presents its advice to the Commission.
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.9 A public hearing is not mandatory v.ith respect to an operating license e
application. However, soon after acceptance for review of the operating license application, the Conmission publishes. notice that it is considering issuance of the license. The notice provides that any person whose interest might be affected by the proceeding may petition the NRC for a hearing.
If a public hearing is held, the same decision process described for the construction permit hearing is applicable.
Each license for operation of a nuclear reactor contains Technical Specifications. which set forth the particular safety and environmental protection measures to be imposed upon the plant, and the conditions of its operation that are to be met in order to assure protection of the health and safety af the public and of the surrounding environment.
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. a 63 ul fj Through its inspection and enforcement program, the itRC maintains vp surveillance over construction and operation of a plant throughout its
';.1 lifetime to assure compliance with Commission regulations for the ffj protection of public health and safety and the environment.
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