ML19282D141
| ML19282D141 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/23/1979 |
| From: | Hendrie J NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Rickard C GENERAL ATOMICS (FORMERLY GA TECHNOLOGIES, INC./GENER |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19259B902 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7905150005 | |
| Download: ML19282D141 (1) | |
Text
j "" "' %g UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[T.erFi WASHINGTON D. C. 20555
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s N..$ <...f April 23, 1979 CH AIR M AN Mr. Corwin L. Rickard Executive Vice President General Atomic Company P.O. Box 81608 San Diego, California 92138
DearMr. Rick!rd:
k Thank you for the copy of a statement on Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Its Application in Reactor Safety and Licensing, which you submitted to the House Corrmittee on Interior and Insular Affairs. We appreciate the support expressed in your letter of March 13 and your interest in participating in future peer reviews.
In response to your expressed hope that the NRC "will give continued support and expedite further improvement of" risk assessment tecnniques, I would like to bring you up to date on recent NRC developments in this area.
In response to the report of the Risk Assessment Review Group (the " Lewis Committee"), the NRC issued a Commission Policy Statement and provided detailed Commission instructions to the staff regarding the continued use of risk assessment techniques and results. Also, some significant testimony on this subject w v given before Congressman Udall's Subcommittee on Energy and the E.,ironment.
Copies of all these items are enclosed.
The material contained in these enclosures describes the Commission's position with regard to risk assessment and its use in the regulatory process.
We are undertaking a program, consistent with the comments of the Lewis Committee, to develop the methodology so as to improve our ability to make better risk assessments in the future.
Thank you again for your interest,
- iqcerely, R
&Ls_ephj. Hendrie e
Enclosures:
1.' Policy Statement 7 9 0 5 1 ~^ C 7 2.
Instructions to Staff 3.
Chairman Hendrie's Testimony, 2/26/79 SN6_
4.
Commissioner Bradford's Tes timony, 2/26/79
January 18, 1979 NRC STATEMENT ON RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE REACTOR SAFETY STUDY REPORT (WASH-1400)
IN LIGHT OF THE. RISK ASSESSMENT REVIEW GROUP REPORT The Risk Assessment Review Group, chartered by the NRC in July,1977:
[
to ". provide advice and information to the Comission on the final lf report of the Reactor Safety Study. WASH-1400," and related matters, _Tew submitted its report to the Comission on September 7,1978.
The Rev Group, chaired by Professor Harold Lewis of the University of California at Santa Barbara, 2/ was formed in response to letters from Congressman I
Udall, Chairman of the House Comittee on Interior and Insular Affairs, expressing misgivings about the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400), and in particular about the " Executive Sumary" published with the Main Report.
It was expected that the Review Group's report would " assist the Comission in establishing policy regarding the use of risk assessment in the regulatory process" and that it would " clarify the achievements and I,
limitations of the Reactor Safety Study."
In August,1972, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Comission informed the Chairman of the Joint Comittee on Atomic Energy that the Atomic Energy Comission had undertaken an in-house study "to provide a basis for submitting recomendations to the Congress regarding the extension or modification of the Price-Anderson Act."
A draft version of the study' report.was circulated for coment in -April,1974...; 0n October 30, 1975, the Nuclear Regulatory Comission 3] announced that the final report had been completed.
Criticism of the document following release centered on the method of treating peer coments on the draft report as well as on the substance of the report.
The NRC press release accompanying publication of WASH-1400 praised the report, describing it as a " realistic assessment..., providing an objective and meaningful estimate of the present risks associated with the operation of present day light water reactors in the United States," gave several comparisons to show that the risk from nuclear power was much less than from other man-made activities, and included a statement that "the final report is a soundly based and impressive work....
Its overall conclusion is that the risk attached to the operation of nuclear power plants is very low compared with other natural and man-made risks." 4_/
In view of the importance attached to the Reactor Safety Study, within and outside the Comission, both prospectively and after it was made public, the Comission has reexamined it's views regarding the Study in light of the Review Group's critique.
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3 UNITED STATES
- p* *fcoq NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION w AssincTon. o. c. rosss
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January 18, 1979
\\;4W*/
es,s OFFICE OF THE
$ECRETARY.
MEMORAtiDUM FOR:
1.ee V. Gossick Executive Director for Operati i
FROM:
Samuel J. Chilk f)
Secretary of the Commissior V,'
SUBJECT:
STAFF ACTI0 tis REGARDItiG RISK AirSESSMEtiT REVIEW GROUP REPORT Attached is a policy statement issued by the Commis: ion on January 18, 1979.
In addition, tt.e Commission has provided tiic following instructions for the staff.
send copie's'of the Risk Assessment Review Group Report (SUREG/CR-1.0400) and of the' January 18, 1979 Commission policy statement to all known domestic and international recipients of the RSS.
In the future, copies of the RSS Executive St.mmary and the complete RSS will be distri-buted only when accompanied by a copy of the Review Group's report and a copy of this statement.
Quantitative risk assessment techniques and results can be used in 2.the licensing process if proper consideration is given to the results of the Review Group. The staff should use the following procedures re-garding the use of quantitative risk assessment techniques and results pending development of further guidance:
In comparisons of risks from nuclear power plants with a.
other risks, the overall risk assessment results of the RSS (i.e., curves or tables of the probability of occurrence of various consequences) shall not be used without an indication of the wide range of uncertainty associated with those estimates. Any such use should note the difficulty of placing high confidence on estimates that are well below the values set by experience.
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