ML19326B180

Deposition of II Oster on 710208 Before Aslb.Endorses Issuance of CP

ML19326B180
Person / Time
Site:	Davis Besse
Issue date:	02/08/1971
From:	Oster I AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:
References
NUDOCS 8003060974
Download: ML19326B180 (4)

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80080607 3

's D ckst No. 50-346 3 .h a t Stntem:nt by Irwin I. Cater to bn presentsd to the U.S. Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on February 8, 1971 For the past two weeks I have been attempting to reassess my position in regard to the Hearings on the Davis-Besse Nuclear power plant. Although at times I had considered discussing aspects of the situation Mth members of the Regulatory Staff and/or the Commission, prudence dictated otherwhe lest some ulterior motive (s) cheuld be read into my decision. I realice that attempts will be made to " find" reasons other than the central one which I will 'present- and I can only urge everyone concerned (as well as those only mildly interested) to accept my explanation at face value. It will soon become apparent that the following has not been calculated to please but rather to be objective and realistic. It represents the result of some very serious deliberationc and was not arrived at easily.

I would be remiss in rtt pointing out that my failure to be present during most of the sessions during the week of January 25th was prompted not only by a very heavy load of commitments to various teaching and research responsibilities but by the beginnings.cf the above-mentioned reappraisal i of the situation. I will now attempt to describe my present position.

As some of you may remember I had become drawn into the present con-troversy because I had thought that the utility in question was engaged in an attempt to deny the potential for danger inherent in the utilization of radiation and they in turn believed that such concern should not necessarily be expressed by a geneticist. Be that as it may, cnc in' spite of a degree of  :

I bitterness which has developed on all sides and which I would sooner forget, I 1

we now find ourselves as Interveners at the current Hearings.

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Needless to say, certain discrete events of the past several weeks h2va played a significant role in influencing my line of thinking; however, thare should only be regarded as bontributory rather than direct causes.

Ths seriousness with which the AEC Regulatory Staff headed by Mr. Thomas Englehardt has considered all the issues raised and the care which the Brard chaired by Mr. Walter Skallerup has sought to hold a fair and just hnering (as exemplified by the decision on the applicant's request for a tcmporary construction permit) are amongst many of the other things which hava impressed me. Moreover, when it became apparent that Dr. Dean Parker, a long-time sciantific colleague, who incidentally also happens to work with fruit flies like myself, and I would find ourselves at seemingly opposite ends of the scientific spectrum, my decision to withdraw as an Intervener from this Hearing and as a future witness for the Lloyd Harbor Study Grcup began to be formed.

Since views on the biological effects of ionizing radiation held officially by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and I do not differ in essentials I can-I' ,

not'with a clear conscience see how my scientific expertise can be utiliced to rasolve what I consider to be one of the major issues of these Hearings, nemely, whether the benefits to be derived from the proposed plant outweigh tha potential risks, no matter how large or small. From a purely personal point of view, my concern has never been with the quantitative aspects of tha situation. Whi,le I still feel'that even one life is sacred and hac no price, it has become painfully obvious to me that this evaluation must be 1 rasolved on o:her than purely scientific grounds by society as a whole, I cnd not by a single or a group cf individuals, no matter how sincere and  ;

1 intsnse their feelings may be. i 1

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- 3-S In view of this line of reasoning it necessarily follows that I should endorse the recommendations of the Regulatory Staff concerning the proposed application for a construction permit as being entirely consistent with what has transpired up to now in these Hearings. I have become convinced that the present plant will be built in conformity with the majority of soc 3 aty's current views on life and living.

Respectfully Submitted Irwin I. Oster Bowling Green, Ohio February 8, 1971

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