ML19329F347

Public Health Review,Midland Plant,Units 1 & 2.

ML19329F347
Person / Time
Site:	Midland
Issue date:	11/30/1970
From:	HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, DEPT. OF, U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH
To:
Shared Package
ML19329F330	List: ML19329F341 ML19329F343 ML19329F347 ML19329F350
References
DER-NFB-70-8, NUDOCS 8006250433
Download: ML19329F347 (9)

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7[0' PUBLIC IIEALTl! REVIEW

}fIDLAND PLANI UNITS 1 AND 2

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'U.S. DEPARTME'lT OF IIEALTif, EDUCATION, A'ID WELFARE Public I!calth Scrvice Environ =cntal l!calth Service 15ureau of .Radiolo;;ical !!c tich Division of Environmental Radiation f Nucicar Facilitics Branch November 1970 l .'G77 8 0 0 6 25 0 Q'33 l

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. e g PREFACE

.. l Thin re port in ono of n uc rlies eli Innod to .asmu r t : .. s h., v.i inli n ..: '

evaluations by the Public !!calth Service of the environmental effectu

.of nucicar facilitics. The evaluation is based on a detailed technical review of design information for the facility as well as the " Environ-mental Report" submitted to the Atomic Encray Commission under the conditions of the National Environmental Policy"Act of 1969. Reviews of individual facilitics are performed by the Nuclear Facilitics Branch of the Division of Environmental Radiation, Bureau of Radio-logical IIcalth. The Branch, as a part of this revicu process, has developed and referenced several technical, documents to support the discussions prcsonted. In addition, for this facility, the Food and Drug Administration has reviewed certain aspects of the plant's operations pertaining to the use of process steam for manufacturing consumer products.

The evaluation presented in this report is directly responsive' to the requirements placed on Federal agencies by the National Environnental Policy Act and as such is intended to state the position of the l Department of llealth, Education, and Welfare on the environmental 1

cffects of the operation of the facility. The report is also intended, in the traditional role of the Public !!calth Service, to provide informa-l tion to the particular State health department involved for use in condneting their radiological health program for the facility.

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IttIRODUCIION AND CONChUSIONS This report summarizes the Public HeaIlth Service's evaluation of the environmental effects of the Midland Plant Units 1 and 2, proposed for construction near Midland, Michigan. This evaluation is based

,. on design information( and an Environmental Report ( provided

{ by the Consumers Power Company in support of an application for a construction permit. Two pressurized water reactors (PUR) of contem-porary' design ( ) will be used. Each will operate at an ulticute output of 2,552 hut, or 650 MRe. The plant will be located on the south shore of the Tittabawassco River ncai Midland, Michigan and will utilize a la rga pond for condenser cooling water. Commercial service for Units 1 and 2 is scheduled.for November,1974, and Noveraber,1975, respectively.

A distinguishing feature of the facility is that it is the first plant designed to supply process steam for an industry. About 25 percent

' (4,050,000 lb/hr) of the plant's steam energy will be supplied to the Dow Chemical Company for manufacturing cinomicals and pinatics at its Midland Plant. The acceptability of the Dow Company's proposed use of process steam which may potentially contain low concentrations of l radioactivity has been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ,

I This revicw included considerayion of sito suitability, radioactive waste production and management practices, the proposed environmental l

l surveillance program, the documented emergency planning activitics,

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• and the rac lation problems presented by the furninhing of proccan steam from the plant to the Dow Chemical Company's Midland operations.

The principal conclusions of this review are as follows:

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1. ' The noin factor in siting the Midland plant appears to be the I

l proximity of the Dow C.hemical Company plant hhich will utilize process 4

secam produced by th'c nucicar generators. There appears to us to be no major compromiscs, made on the site to accomplish this feature; i therefore, the site is concluded to be suitable for the facility as i

planned. ,

t 2 The radioactive waste treateent system planned for the Midland plant should be capabic of reducing ,cffluents to the lowest practicablo Icvel providing judicious use is made of all system components. This con-

, clusion is con'ditioned,*however, on the fact that the plant should have a minimum of 60 days holdup of gascous wastes and management

, should proclaim a philosophy of properly maintaining and using all

! liquid waste systems'.

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! ' 3. A document certifying the safety of the products of the Dow plant i

utilizing p'rocasa secam should be submitted for the review of Federal agencies which have regulatory.or other vested interests regarding the consumer utilization of these products.

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4. Plant operating procedures concerning radioactivity Icycis in process steam and the monitoring systems to be used is not completc l enough to permit evaluation of potential hazards. A more detailed l .

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3 operational plan which describes the monitoring system should bc developed and provided to the Food and Drug Administration.

- - - 5. The proposed envirocuental surveillance program is generally adequate for assessment of environmental and public health effects from any radioactivity discharges that occur as a result of operating

{ the facility.

6. ' Emergency planning for the. facility is, in our judgment, incompletc at this stage of the application. Detailed plans nccd to be developed that clearly show relationships between the operator and the Michir.an Department of !!calth for all non-routine releases of radioactivity to the environment. -

7. If the above conditions are met, it is our opinion that radiological effects relative to the environment and the public due to the operation

. of Units x and 2 of the Midland pla 't will be minical.

• i RADI0 ACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT l '

l When Mid?.and's waste management system was finalized it incorporated the best waste treatment systems availabic at that time. Recent technological advances have been made, however, in the design of waste treatment systems and in the manne,r in which they arc operated./td

As a reasonabic alternative to. installing a "ncar zero release system,"

I we have concluded that the applicant should: 1) operate the present .

liquid waste system 100 percent of the time and 2) operate the gaseous waste treatment system with a minimum holdup time of 60 days. The l

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. 4 applicant should also c1carly state, as official . company policy, its commitment to use these waste management systems to their full capacity at all times to maintain all discharge levels at as low a level as' practicabic. In this respect, it is noted that the "cican" liquid waste system has no evaporator, but does have the capability to divert the waste to the " dirt'y" waste system which does.

Such a design places a high reliance on plant procedures to achieve a lowest procticable levci. Such a commitment would be consistent with the changes proposed by the Atomic Energy Commission in 10CFR20 and 10CFR50,(5) and would publicly acknouledge the company's realtration of the necessity for maintaining and improving the quality of the environment.

PROCESS STEA!! SYSTD1 ,

Most of the steam delivered to the adjacent Dou Chemical Company plant will be condensed and returned as heated fecdwater after use in the

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various chemical pro.cosses. The f. team not condensed will be rcplaced by Dow with treated makeup water. A tertiary nator cycle with a heat exchanger between the secondary and tertiary ' systems is discussed in Amendments 15-19 of the PSAR. This system is designed to prevent any

. radionuclides found in the secondary system due to primary to secondary Icakage from being transported to the Dow plant. The applicant plans to use an on-line continuous gamma monitor that will alarm in the control room if the Icvel of radioactivity exceeds 3 x 10-6 Ci/ce, on the process steam line to thd Dow plant. There will also be a e

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3 conti.nuous monitor on the secondary secam system. These monitors

- are to help insure that radioactivity is not released to Dow at concentrations in the secam significantly greater than the back-ground beta-gamma Icycis of Lake Huron water.

There is no indication as to whether or not the above course of action is initiated automatically, nor how long it will take to switch from one heat exchanger to the other, nor hou much radioactivity could possi,bly enter. the tertiary system during this time period. More j

. information relating to this monitoring system is needed to permit a l -

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, - full evaluation of this operation.

i The process steam will be used by' Dow in the manufacture of consumer products. The Food and Drug Administration should be provided with a

, listing of the compounds

• which will como into contact with the process steam. -

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\ ENVIROE4 ENTAL SURVEILLANCE PROGSAM The applicant's environmental surveillance program is generally of sufficient scope to allow an adequato evaluation of the plant's environmental impact. One additional documentation, however, that we believe should be included is a detailed plan for the sampling of non-aquatic foodstuffs. We believe that the applicant should document the extent to which he, or some other Federal or State agency, vill sampic such items.as milk anId ghe,various crops groun in the area.

l An investigation should also be made as to whether dairy cattic may e

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. -) s obtain drinking water downstream of the plant in :;nch a way t.h.it I-131 may reach and c.xpose the population. In aihtition, we rair.nent <

that the applicant indicate the degree to which he plans to coordinate his proposed environmental surveillance programs with that of the Michigan Department of Health. Such coordination is essential for health agencies to be able to verify the continuing adequacy of their environmental surveillance. .

DERGENCY PLANNING The emergency planning information presented by the applicant in the PSAR appears to be quite comprehensive, especially with respect to the coordination with the Dow Chemical Company and the local police and civil defense authoritics. The State Department of IIcalth has the responsibility for evaluating offsite conditions and directing

, all actions to protect 'the public in the event of non-routinc releases of radioactivity. The arrangement between tho' company and the State Department of llealth has not been cicarly delineated in regard to this aspect of the emergency plan.

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. y REFERENCES

1. Hidland Plant--Units 1 and 2, " Preliminary Safety Analysis Report with Amendments," Docket Nos. 50-329 and 50-330, Pub lic Document Room, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C.,

January 13, 1969. ,

2. Hidland Plant--Units 1 and 2, " Applicant's Environmental Report, Construction Permit Stage," Ibid., July 24, 1970.

3. "A Pressurized Water Reactor Nuclear Power Station," Unpublished Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfarc, Public Health Service, Bureau of Radiological IIcalth, Division of Environmental Radiation, September 1,1967.

, 4. Rancho Seco Nuc1 car Generating Station, Unit 1, " Preliminary Safety Analysis Report," Docket No. 50-312, Public Document Room,

- U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C., November 1967.,

5. " Standards for Protection Against Radiation," Rules and Regulations of the U.S. Atomic Encrgy Commission, Code of Federal Reculations, Titic 10, Parts 20 and 50, The Federal Register, Vol. 35, No. 63, .

April 1, 1970.

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