ML19309E366
| ML19309E366 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 03/24/1980 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Leonard J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19309E367 | List: |
| References | |
| 800304, NUDOCS 8004210356 | |
| Download: ML19309E366 (2) | |
Text
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EAR 2 41980 Distribution Docket (Attach original of incoming correspondence) - Docket No. 50-289
- NRC/PDR (Xerox copy of incoming and place behind outgoing PDR copy)
- Local PDR NRR r/f SPE/D1I r/f 31I Site r/f RVollmer Siiner JohnCollins Noliu PChee, Argonne National Laboratory DEisenhut RTedesco RReid DDilanni CNelson HSilver ram /LA
- Place these three copies in one envelope and forward to DSB-016.
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Mrs. James Leonard 51 East Caracas Avenue Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033
Dear Mrs. Leonard:
I am writing in response to your letter to Comiss.
$ndrie regarding the releases of krypton-85 from the Three Mile Island reae.r.
I regret that this answer to your letter has been delayed. The accident and its consequences have created a substantial increase in the agency's workload, which has pre-vented me from responding to you as promptly as I would have liked.
Metropolitan Edison Company recently submitted to NRC a " Safety Analysis and Environmental Report" (November 1.!,1979) in which the company evaluated alter-native methods for the disposal of the krypton gases.
The report states that the " optimum choice from an envirorsnental impact standpoint when potential accidents are considered is atmospieric dispersion through controlled purging of the reactor building atmosphere.' This gradual venting, the report esti-mates, will result in releases below levels allowed for nonnal nuclear power plant operation, as set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I). This venting might result in a maximum dose of less than 1 millirem of whole-body radiation.
In its Statement of Policy and Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programatic Environmental Impact Statement of November 21, 1979, the Comission stated that the staff would prepare a programatic environmental impact statement on the decontamination and disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from the accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2.
The statement emphasizes the Commission's inten-tion to coordinate its act!nns on this matter with the President's Council on Environmental Quality and to provide the opportunity for public coments. The
_programatic environmental impact st0tement will focus on the environmental issues and alternative methods associe.ted with the perfonnance of these cleanup activities. Public meetir.gs will also be held in the Harrisburg-Middletown area to discuss the scope of thi impact statement.
In response to your questio') about nuclear wasi.e management, the goal of.the U.S. Nuclear Waste Managen.ent Program is to praide assurance that, existing and future nuclear waste from rr litary and civilian activities, includicq spent fuel from the once-tirough 1.uclear power cycle, can 'oe isolated from the bio-1l sphere so as to pose no sigtificant threat to nu* lic health and safety aM the o
environment. The U.S. Nuc1!ar Regulatory Comission is responsible for providing I
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Mrs. James Leonard l the framework of criteria and regulations that will ensure that the disposal methods developed for all types of radioactive waste are consistent with the achievement of this goal of safe, long-tem w'aste disposal.
The NRC's authority to license and regulate the storage and disposal of radio-active wastes is derived from three statutes: the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. To implement this authority and to provide guidance to the U.S.
Department of Energy (D0E), the industry, and the public, the NRC is develop-i I
ing new or revised regulations for such storage and disposal. These regulations will require confomance with a fixed set of minimally acceptable perfomance standards for waste management activities while providing for flexibility in the technological a'pproach.
The DOE's responsibilities concerning radioactive waste disposal are limited to
.high-level wastes and only those low-level wastes produced as part of DOE's pro-grams. Their responsibility does not include comercially generated low-level wastes.
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With regard to your comments concerning the possible future operation of THI.1, the Commission has ordered that a public hearing be conducted to determine whether the facility should be operated and, if so, under what conditions the re-start would take place. Prior to start of the hearings, the NRC staff will con-duct a review of technical infomation concerning the restart of Unit 1.
As part of this review, the NRC staff will conduct meetings with the licensee in the i
presence of the public, and the public will be given the opportunity to raise questions and to make statements. During the hearing, the technical issues that l
are appropriate to assure tN public health and safety will also be addressed.
In addition, the Hearing Board may consider the psychological impact of future operation on the nearby comunities. A copy of the Conmission Order that outlines the issues to be considered is enclosed for your infomation.
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With regard to Unit 2, the licensee has not yet submitted to the NRC a proposal l
1 for overall plant recovery, although the licensee is conducting feasibility studies.
It is not possible at this time to detemine when such proposals for recovery may be submitted or how much time will be needed for the required reviews er,.1 approvals in connection wits Unit 2's recovery.
I would note, however, that the licensee's authority to operate Unit 2, except for those actions necessary to keep the reactor shut down, was suspended by Order of July 20, 1979.
I appreciate your concerns and assure you that every effort is being made to l
ensure the continued protection of the health and safety of the public, not only at Three Mile Island, but also at all nuclear power plants.
Sine rely, i
arn1d R. Dantnn. Dirpetnr l
' Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation o==*
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