ML19317H520

Responds to to President Carter Urging Startup of Nuclear Power Plants.Action Plan Is Being Prepared Re Steps to Be Taken for Protection of Health & Safety Prior to Startup

ML19317H520
Person / Time
Site:	Crane
Issue date:	04/11/1980
From:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Brimo J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
References
NUDOCS 8006120435
Download: ML19317H520 (7)

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APR 11 1980 I

Mr. Joseph A. Brimo THIS DOCUMENT CONTAIMS

• 2103 Hopkins Avenue POOR QUAUTY PAGES 5

Redwood City, California 94062

Dear Mr. Brimo:

This is in reply to your letter of January 26, 1980, to President Carter about pennitting the startup of nuclear power plants that are ready to operate.

A statement by President Carter on December 7,1979, about the Report of the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island (the Kemeny Commission) included the following:

" Finally, I would like to discuss how we manage the transition period during which the Kemeny recommendations are being imple-mented. There are a number of new nuclear plants now awaiting operating licenses or construction permits.

" Licensing decisions rest with the NRC and, as the Kemeny Commission noted, it has the authority to proceed with licensing these plants on a case-by-case basis, which may be used as circumstances surrounding a plant dictate. The NRC has in-dicated, however, that it will pause in issuing new licenses and construction permits in order to devote its full attention to putting its house in order.

I endorse the approach the NRC has adopted, but I urge the NRC to complete its work as quickly as possible, and in any event no later than six months from today.

"Once we have instituted the necessary refonns to assure safety, we must resume the licensing process promptly so that the new plants which we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil can be built and operated."

The Nuclear Regulatory Ccamission is committed to protect the public health and safety. The Three Mile Island accident resulted in a need for changes in the approach to safety. The Nuclear Dagulatory Commission has found that actions recommeaded by its own staff and by the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island in the areas of human factors, operational safety, emergency planning, nuclear power plant design and siting, health effects, and public information are necessary and feasible.

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GnGR FARM 21t'l19 MB NRAM O24 D U.E GOVEWENT PAtMTING OFricR 1979-209 369 v.

APR 11 1980 Mr. Joseph A. Brimo.

At this time we are preparing for review and approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission an Action Plan that will specify the precise actions to be taken. It will include new or improved safety ob-jectives, detailed criteria for their implementation, and various implementation deadlines. As soon as the Action Plan is completed and approved, the resulting regulatory requirements will be trans-mitted to all utilities concerned.

It is recognized that there will be a significant effect on the availability of power generating capacity if those plants now in the final stages of construction do not receive operating licenses by the dates previously anticipated, and every effort is being made to avoid unnecessary delays. With this objective, the Commissioners approved on February 28, 1980, the issuance of an NRC license to the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Unit 1 to load fuel and, under specified conditions, to operate at low power levels for testing. Several other similar cases are under consid-eration.

Sincerely, Cr5- ' "; ed P/

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E.G Can Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation DISTRIBUTI0h NRC PDR @ 50-327 Docket LPDR HRDenton EGCase PFine MASB R/F h*

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oare >. 4t!!.l80 4/4./.80 4A /80 N c romu 3:e (9 F6) NRCM 0240 DU 5 GOVERN"ENT DQtNTING OrFICE; 1979 2s9 369

t Mr.- Joseph A. Brimo 2103 Hopkins Avenue Redwood City, California 94062 Identical-letter sent to:

- Mr. Ed Coleman Herbst & Associates, Inc.

P. O. Box 90989 Houston, Texas 77090

'4r. James W. Cox S30 Kingswood Drive Rock Hill, South Carolina 29730 Mr. Howard C. Cook 625 N. Monroe Street Traverse City, Michigan 49684

- Mr. P. '. Haga-4638 Wadi.am Lane Jacksonville, Florida 32210 Mr. and Mrs. William B. Jones P. O. Box 233 Lake City,. Michigan 49651 Mrs. M. Savage 9474 E. Lake Road Otisville, Michigan 48463 Mrs. Bill Semon 5286 Circle Drive, R#4 Traverse City, Michigan 49684 Mr. Gordon H. Spittel 3625 Langrehr Road Rockville, Maryland 21207'

- Mr. Frances Wery and Mrs. Genevieve Wery 3217 W. Saginaw-Lansing, Michigan 48917 Mrs. Margaret H. Westover 8544 N. Irish Road Otisville, titchigan 48463 a__

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cient urantum cr. thortum nudear.nacte The snadr. idissa by tha abstruse n'ame cydes, which wouM auminate os W W of the Intsrsanomal Fuel Cyde gestuados, npeaceamag and truen. <

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saca to han C1 den 60penest of stairJe re. report wc provide a seesch for EW processing and the fast breeder reactor to dear nonproliforma poucast. M hm nducethedangeratproluer coaof andser many adopted la late February, tbs staty l

weapees, wul madue that taere isn't any mperior anm feared eat re.

alternann to the Wutonium fast breeder w ts. hicA esperate weapons, any oder tachancal s@um m sady d gram plutoniunt from trantum fusi. and conceh est some nadoes with large elec-j tast breeders,, whidt produce. Incre pluia" trical poweg naads and no omar ausrnaows nian thaa esy burn, cnuld allour many ase-are juseDri la gotar aAead wick the fast nudeer nanoaa-to acquire the boma Th' b,reeder and reprocmanag, adeerispectab rwe prnre==a ytsd substandal quascone at t t, say,gg,,A 4,,,;) 4 plutoghen, the essmanal lagredhatml tydro-T mangt the report ts primaruy a tachab Ai

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• ' sy orgnatstag es 86aana, stwy? ta' Tu numa unmemate stiset coud.ba to'

.E1 sought world. wide enconesat.cf M haznpse E3. efertsL to discourage coer

• deciana to delay reprocessag and bneder connaies froso taking up plutonium tartM-

' reactors. The study brought tegveer bom ogy. -It saowe omer countries tant the 43.

noeC.m.enunast and Soviet blot samas, as faded." notes an American nuclear 3'ea-lah wou mo eisanice a=ca mra i,t.s,c.e v.,s a= =. per-WorW stass.a. Carter *d""m"=racoa ch e.rs tha.t the breeder is some2!ag they.

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,g w m.pmunn lost tas key batue late last year

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' Nuclear Power'3vsathe Sun %

i T,.a m,ga'g't an'g.""m'**Tal"al es s a,.s n,meus r.s. me us.

mrareye a w e.ee moonu senanau aput of e.ngy during the w,a,,, u,est. a wanta to cancei m.

Academy of Sciences has produced a next three decades, whou eng," notas cae western observer l

lengthy report on the,nadon's energy. The study admitted that there are berg.

opuans' owr the,next threef decades. problems with nuclear power, alch as

. The' study also couW hamperDM lA as is the nad thoes theio[ stud.. clear proliferados and the limits of in-to ingosa :

nonymuferam j

" Energy in TrgnaJoe 1985-2020!* But, the level of safety, the danger of me ice and cert I

',, les - paneled by dWMous.expertst d!genous urantum supplies. Sti!L tt nacent The nutraints are regatred by con-e

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. holding divergent political and ecxP,' cotcludse that" accelerated electrif1-l gnmensat lepianan but > same. nacona. {

nomic views-the study attempts.to ' cation (usingcoal'and teclear powerl such as Franza, have objected.-4 *4M mottify moet sides in the energy de-could conetbuten significantly to re-The conciancano6M make negadacons /

g bate. As a res11t, difterest commenta-llering future Culd fuel problema."

'mors difikult forme wkts year, ).

tors have been able to read the report, Regarding notae energy, though a g

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encrely d!!! erect ways, This blind-men-and elephant ' syn-ttechnological brealtthrough.i not en-empnamang the hasartis at plutonium. Tu drome is common enough ta sac!t re"jurely ruled out;"only certata headng wul tershtes tas swanness of tas need for applicadens are economicar in the nonprolderanos safes *2ards." declarse one '

i porti We ourselves went through it near term, it saysJ < '

'speman It also could apport 11.5 andest- \\

fw recently when we wrote.that the Domesce oli and gas development ors to restrtet nuclear reprocessing plaats to

" thrust" of the Kemeny Commission should be further encouraged. the re.

cancias mas need 2em w twmac-

,,, a, we,3y Mdg ih, report was that t:uclear power was an port notest but alternamn energy t

acceptably safe totm of enegy,' only sources must* be explotted.:t the traned Kingdom han buin nucteer fust re-to have one cccurission member. Utttted Staten is to avoid serious eco-procesang plants But west Germany wants Russell W. Peterson of the Nadonal nomic disrupuon in the comicg de-to and es rne developed Third world na-t Audubon Soctery, write that the Com-cades. Research is needed on a vart-tions, men u Pakistaa, also an eagw to mismon meant no such thing. If the ety of fronts including controlled nu.

scouta e plutama technes7< *,',

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Commsamon thought nuclear power cl*ar fusion, geothermal energy, solar was unsafe, why didn't it say so in the' power and synthetic fuelc. But the first place?

. study makes quite clear that the only Similarly, the NAS energy, study! feasible.!mmediate acton that can be i

provides latttude lof di!!ering intere takenis*ta' developing the nacon's i

pretations. It wants conservauon, for vast coal reserves an' acceleraung example, but everyone does, and the the construccon of nuclear' power question is how. The report stresses plants.

the importance of using market forces. but also

• petits of he useful 3 0 There is a-danger, due to the

- vagueness of some of the conchtnons, ness of g'svernment tmposed controis. ' that the report will afard opportunity Dttferent readers can stress different for delay, accompanied by a call for parts.

. yet antxhor prolonged study. Though Hiatis significantis that the panel not every single paneitst may agree, f was agreed on two important areas of the meamng that comes through in the energy policy: nuclear power and crial report is that there is no tirne for de-

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} are the ontylargo e: ale alternacves to11 !ay in the development of the nacon's oil and gas in the near term, and solar two best alternative sources of en-(

power cannot aconorrucally supply a ergy.

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