ML19331E072

Contention Alleging That Class 9 Accident Will Cause Massive Flow of Radioactive Matls Into Saginaw Bay River Which Provides Drinking Water to Area.Urges Full Disclosure Per NEPA

ML19331E072
Person / Time
Site:	Midland
Issue date:	08/27/1980
From:	Marshall W MAPLETON INTERVENORS
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
ISSUANCES-OM, NUDOCS 8009050423
Download: ML19331E072 (2)

Text

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .- Q 7y NUCLEAR FIGULATORY COMMISSION ',. -' ^ - V" Q L>

ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BCARD N.

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Ivan W. Smith, Chairman .~ .. .

Dr. Frederick P. Ccwan i- . v :'->- -

Gustave A. Linenberger \I'A .,-

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In the Matter of ) E."'.,

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% ,j CCNSUMERS PCWER COMPANY ) Docket Mos. 50-327 VM

) 50-330 OM (Midland Plant, Units 1 and 2 )

In the event of an accident at the Midland Nuclear Plant which is being built on the Tittabawasse River, in the city of Midland, Michigan, massive quantities of radioactive materials especially in the event of a Class 9 accident, will find their way into the river which flows into Saginaw Bay, the drinking water supply of the Midland-Saginaw area population.

Medels to assess the consequences of the possible massive con-tamination by the radioactive releases on the health, water supplies and economic costs for new water supplies or water sources have not been sufficiently er adequately addressed in the Midland situation. Even Wash-1400 indicates the contamination of water supplies has nce been considered in detail. Assumptions that rivers and lakes will be contaminated for only short periods of time, in a Class 9 accident, is a major flaw of the Wash-1400 presentation.

The NRC's NEPA environmental reviews have not included any eval-uations of the consequences of Class 9 accidents at the Midland Nuclear Plant, hcwever, as a result of the Class 9 accident at 3 Mile Island and the Risk Assessment Review Groups conclusion that estimates of the absolute probabilities of Wash-1400 are not reliable, the NRC has no theoretical or practical basis cc justify excluding the safety of environmental assessment of Class 9 action for the Midland Nuclear Plant. Since the NRC has itself concluded that the TMI accident was a Class 9 acci-dent.

We therefere urge you to order a review of the Midland IIS cc include ccmplete public rulemaking for the inclusion of Class 9 accidents at the Midland reactor plant. Ccncerning Midland, sister plan of TMI, which is now under construction, in a let-ter dated March 20, 1980, the Honorable Gus Speth, Chairman of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, writing from the executive office of the President in a le :er to the Ecnor-able John Aherne, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, l said in part "the results of our review of impact statements l F4 c.recared bv. the NRt for nuclear power reac crs are very disturb- l ing. The discussions in these statements cf potential accident, l

and their environmental impact are fcund to be largely perfunc- j c) crv, remarkably standardized, and uninformative to the oublic. -

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c Despite the broad diversity of size, desi:n, and location of c3 the nuclear reactors licensed by the ccmmission over the years, on c) virtually everv IIS contains essentially identical, bciler cla =

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] language' writ:en in an untaring formac.'The typical IIS l>1doe's;[

August 27, 1980 Page Two not consider or analyze the possiblility of a major accident even though it is these Class 9 accidents which have the poten-tial for greatest environmental harm and which have led to the greatest public concern. Moreover, for those accidents which are typically discussed in EIS the potential impact of human health and environment are presented in a cursory and inadequate manner, with little attention to the public understanding."

In addition to the above, the Mapleton Interveners urges the Atomic Safety , Licensing Board to fulfill the requirements of NEPA in full disclosure of the Midland Plant's Nuclear hazards.

Futhermore, we desire a review of the untenable location of the plant within the large population center and next to the lar e Dow Chemical Complex.

N Wendell H. Marshall h

President, Mapleton Interveners Route 10 Midland. Michigan 48640 L.