ML19318C591
| ML19318C591 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 05/27/1980 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Lawe D AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8007020055 | |
| Download: ML19318C591 (3) | |
Text
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MAY 2 71980 N
N Ms. Deirdre Lawe 94-14 221 Street Queens Village, New York 11428
Dear Ms. Lawe:
This is in reply to your letter of April 10, 1979, to President Carter about the safety of nuclear power plants.: I am sorry for the long delay in responding, but we have been very busy with the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident.
You asked what would happen if a meltdown ever occurred.
In a report of January 1980 on Three Mile Island by a Special Inquiry Group of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the following appears on page 303 of a draft of Volume II, Part 2:
"Blriefly, the following discussion indicates that had a core meltdown occurred in TMI-2, the consequences would likely not have been catastrophic. The reactor building probably would have survived the accident, and the large majority of the radioactive material released from the fuel in the accident would probably have been retained within the reactor building and not released to the surrounding environment.
"Present knowledge about the physical phenomena discussed in this section is subject to considerable uncertainty. Although important meltdown accident research is underway in the United States and Europe, much study is still needed in the areas of fuel melting and liquefaction, fuel-water interactions, and fuel concrete interactions.
"We believe that had a meltdown accident occurred at TMI-2, the likely path followed would not have led to disaster; however, considerable additional research into meltdown accident phenomena is needed to reduce the uncertainties associated with these phenomena and to provide a better basis upon which to consider such accidents."
Nuclear power plants are designed to prevent accidents, with protective systems provided to place and hold the plants in a safe condition if deviations from nonnal operation occur.
In addition, engineered safety features are installed to mitigate the consequences of many postulated accidents.
- Further, considerations of safety are involved in evaluating the suitability of proposed sites for nuclear power plants.
8'0070 2 0055 I g
Ms. Deirdre Lawe MAY % 71980 Studies have indicated that, if emergency actions such as sheltering or evacuation were taken within about 10 miles of a nuclear power plant, there would be significant savings of early injuries or deaths from the most severe atmospheric releases of radioactive material.
Radioactivity deposited on the ground could enter the food chain and could be ingested; the downwind range within which significant contamination could occur would generally be limited to about 50 miles from the pcwer plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has endorsed the use of Emergency Planning Zones having a radius around a nuclear power plant of'about 10 miles for airborne exposure and about 50 miles for contaminated food.
The accident at Three Mile Island has shown that there is a need for improvements in the approach to safety. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that actions recommended by its own staff and by the President's Connission 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.
Interim measures have been taken, and under review is an Action Plan that will include other safety improvements, detailed criteria for their implementation, and various implementation deadlines.
Every effort is being made to ensure the public health and safety at all nuclear plants that are currently in operation or that may start operating in the future.
Sincerely, MY w
Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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