ML19309E371
| ML19309E371 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 03/24/1980 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Lyons E AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19309E373 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004210363 | |
| Download: ML19309E371 (2) | |
Text
.
b NRC PUBUC P[ gA UNITED STATES
. DOCUMENT ROOM NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION o
(
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555
%*****/
D MAR 2 41980 Q9 f e D' S sO v"r Ms. Evelyn Lyons 516 North President Avenue Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603
Dear Ms. Lyons:
I am writing in response to your letter to Commissioner Hendrie concerning the holding of public hearings on the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
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 work-load, which has prevented me from respondi:ig to you as promptly as I would have lixed.
The Commission has ordered that a public hearing be conducted to detemine whether Three Mile Island Unit 1 should be operated and, if so, under what conditions the restart would take place. Prior to start of the hearings, the NRC staff will conduct a review of technical information concerning the restart of Unit 1.
As part of this review, the NRC staff will conduct meet-ings with the licensee in the 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 are appropriate to assure the public health and safety will also be addressed.
In addition, the Hearing Board may consider the psychological impact of future operation on the nearby communities. A copy of the Commission Order that outlines the issues to be consid ed is enclosed for your infomation.
As for Unit 2, the licensee has not yet sent to the NRC a proposal for 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 and ap-provals in connection with Unit 2's recovery.
I would note, however, that the licensee's authority to operate Unit 2, except for those actions neces-sary to keep the reactor shut down, was suspended by Order of July 20, 1979.
With regard to your concern about the release of contaminated water, except for releases to the Susquehanna River o' liquids containing only low or non-detectable levels of radioactivity, su'.h releases are not currently pemitted.
Before such releases take place, NRC ' fill evaluate the impact and the evalua-tion will be made available to the ptblic.
By this course of action, we will assure that a thorough assessment is completed prior to release of the con-taminated liquids and that the healti and safety of the offsite population will be protected.
800.4210363
Ms. Evelyn Lyons The Comission recently authorized use of the EPICOR-II water treatment system for processing the waste water stored in tanks in the auxiliary building. We do not currently permit the discharge of water processed by the EPICOR-II system.
The disposal of the water processed by EPICOR-II will be addressed in a separate environmental assessment, as required by the Comission's Statement of May 25, 1979. Copies of the environmental assessment will be made available for public coment. As Metropolitan Edison has not yet submitted a proposal on the dis-posal method of the decontaminated water, we have yet to prepare the environ-mental assessment. We anticipate that several months will pass before any decisions are made on disposal of the water.
As a result of releases containing only low or nondetectable levels of radio-activity, the levels of radioactivity in the Susquehanna are indistinguishable from existing background levels at public water supply intakes from the river.
These levels have been confirmed by independent measurements made by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In its Statement of Policy and Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic 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 Comission's intention to coordinate its actions on this matter with the President's Council on Environmental Quality and to provide the opportunity for public coments.
The programmatic environmental impact statement will focus on the environmental issues and alternative methods associated with the performance of these clean-up activities.
Public meetings will also be held in the Harrisburg-Middletown area to discuss the scope of the impact statement.
I appreciate your concerns and assure you that every effort is being made to keep the public infonned about TMI clean-up activities.
Sincerely, h
Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
Comission Order dated August 9,1979 l
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