ML19263D665

Opposes Export of Nuclear Reactor to Philippines.Requests Public Hearings.Believes Life & Property Will Be Endangered. Cites Reactor Design,Siting & Environ Problems Associated W/Plant

ML19263D665
Person / Time
Site:	05000574
Issue date:	11/30/1978
From:	Bello W AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	Engelken R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION V)
References
NUDOCS 7904130114
Download: ML19263D665 (3)

Text

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-yovember 30th 1978. Campaign for a Nuclear Free Philippines, 2619 Regent St, Berkeley, Ca 94704, j{g).j]7f/ q{

Mr. R .H. .Engleken ,

Region 5 Director, U.S.A.

NRC, ~m...__.

1990 North California Blvd.

Suite 202, Walnut Creek, Ca 94596.

USA.

Dear Mr Engleken,

We would be grateful if you could transmit this letter to Mr Joseph Hendrie, the Chairperson of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to whom the contents and requests for clarification are directed.

We are writing to you in connection with the Westinghouse application for a license to export a nuclear power plant to the Philippines, an application for which now awaits your decision. We believe that the life and paperty of millions of Philippine citizens , and, with them, d usands of Americans resident in the Philippines, are endangered by this plant.

Before making this important decision, we urge you to consider the following points:

1. The proposed Philippine nuclear power plant is located near "- .

three major American establishments, Subic Naval Base, Clark Air -

Force Base, and the Bataan Export Processing Zone, the latter of which is dominated by American investors.

The propo sed plant is plagued with all sorts of siting, reactor design, and environmental problems. Of special relevance is the NRC's own staff critique of the plant. Briefly, your own staff have found that a) the orientation of the turbine generator offers unnacceptable safety risks to the reactor cores b) the plant is to be located near the Subic Naval Base where U.S. fuel and ammunition (probably including nuclear weapons) are sna red c) the area has a long history of intense seismic activity, the proposed plant being located 10 miles from a volcano which is considered active according to NRC standards.

These circumstances which endanger the lives and property of U.S. citizens as well as of Philippine citizens, make it imperative for the NRC, according to the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act and by its own admission (NRC Staff Analysis of Health and Safety Considerations in Reactor Exports and Assistance Programs, p.1),to do a detailed health and safety analysis of the poposed plant.

2. Congressional hearings on Export Import Bank's financing of the Westinghouse-Philippines transaction have documented the expected negative impact of this sale upon sodal and economic conditions in the Philippines.

i While the applicability of the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 to U.S. exports is a matter of controversy, it would seem that an NRC export licence would be presumptuous and premature until the l

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Executive and Congress have clarified the applicability of NEPA to reacor i exports. We believe that the socio-economic as well as environmental

' impact of any nuclear export substantially assisted by U.S. funds

! should be assessed prior to licensing. The environmental impact l

assessment for this plant has not yet been done.

I con 6td l

7904130119

page 2.

i ~3. fhe alleged bribery of a close associate of President Marcos by 1 Westinghouse to facilitate the export of the reactor with Eximbank monies is presently under investigation by the Department of Justice. Confirmation of Westinhouse bribes to Egyptian officials in November 1978 emphasize this points immediate relevance to your decision. Apart from the generic issues mentioned above, it would be irregular for a license to be granted while such an investigation is under way.

4. The Marcos government, which, by its own admission, has detained over 60,000 political dissenters since the declaration of martial law in 1972, has been identified as repressive by numerous human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists. 50,000 Philippine citizens have risked imprison-ment under matial law to express their cppostrion to the construction of the plant.

We have documentary evidence of the arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, and torture of one local opponent,' Ernesto Nazareno, and of continued military raids and repression in the barrios in Bataan.

Therefore, ExImBank support for the financing ofthe Westinghouse-Phillipine transaction appears to be in violation of the Human Rights Amendment of 1977, which prevents aid to repressive regimes unless it can be shown to to directly benefit the needy. Again, it is irregular for the decisions of any governmental agency or agencies to result in the violation of a duly enacted law of Congress. This is the case for the NRC in considering a reactor export permit supported by Eximbank.

We also believe that the violation of human rights is diractiv pertinent to your decision on the export license. How much faith would you have in the NRC's regulatory process if the U.S. Government's regular habit were to arrest and torture nuclear intervenors? The same applies when the claims are made that the NRC has no jurisdiction and that reactor safety is a matter of national sovereignty for the Philippine authorities.

In fact, this is not a good excuse for the NRC to evade its responsibilities as the NRC already applies non-proliferation criteria to reactor exports as a matter of policy, which demonstrates that " observing" national soverignty " is not an immutable principle for the NRC. Of course, the meaning of national sovereignty is suspect in this case anyway, given the prima facia evidence that Westinghouse bribed Filipinos to secure a reactor export deal with the financial aid of Eximbank.

For all of these reasons, we urge the NRC to suspend any decision that would grant an export license to Westinghouse for the Philippines nuclear power plant or any of its components until:

1. The NRC has done a detailed health and safety analysis of the proposed plant as it would do for a similar project within the United States:

2. The applicability of NEPA is clarified and an environmental impact statement for the plant is prepared in accordan cewith the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969:

3. The Justice Department has completed its investigations of the charges that Westinghous e bribed Filipinos:

4. A review of the applicability of the Human Rights Amendment to

the Foreign Assistance Act of 1977 to U.S. assistance to this project is undertaken by Congress.

I cont'd Y

pase 3. '

Above, we have listed several points at which we believe the proposed Westinghousereactor export to the Philippines to be in violation of the law. Beyond these considerations, however, our study of the total impact of the proposed nuclear power plant, not only upon U.S. and Philippines citizens, but also, upon the indigenous pecoles of Canada and Australia (potential uradum suppliers for the plant whose land rights may be violated to secure uranium to fuel the reacor), as well as the native people of Micronesia, who may be burdened with the wastes from the reactor, not mention all living beings on earth, who will be endangered from radioactive contamination of the biosphere, leads us to a complete and principled oppostion to the licensing of this or any other nuclear export to the Third World. Our international principles of unity are enclosed for your information.

Finally, we have been inform ed by the Bataan Movement of Concerned Citizens that over 1,000 Filipinos have risked their lives in taking a stand by writing to you to not license the reactor export.

We understand that they have requested you to nottelease their individual names. You may, however, release their messages of opposition to the reactor. We trust that you will respect their courageous opposition to the reactor in the face of the martial law regime.

We have complied a great deal of evidence which is relevant to your decision. To make an informed rather than an ignorant decision, we believe that the NRC should hold public hearings on items 1-4 la -

the near future, before any action is taken.

We appreciate your consideration of these matters and hope to hear from you in the near future, Yours faithfully,

$ c Walden Bello.

enc 1: Principles of Unity TANOD account of torture of E. Nazareno.