ML19340D323
| ML19340D323 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Allens Creek File:Houston Lighting and Power Company icon.png |
| Issue date: | 12/18/1980 |
| From: | Gotchy R Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19340D319 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8012300271 | |
| Download: ML19340D323 (9) | |
Text
O s
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of
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HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER COMPANY Docket No. 50-466 (Allens Creek Nuclear Generating
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Station, Unit 1)
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NRC STAFF SUPPLEftENTAL TESTIfiONY OF REGINALD L. GOTCHY RELATIVE TO RADI0 ACTIVITY IN THE COOLING LAKE
[ Bishop Contentions 12 and 21]
Q.
Please state your name and position with the NRC.
A.
My name is Reginald L. Gotchy.
I am employed at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission as a Senior Radiologist in the Radiological Assess-ment Branch.
Q.
Have you prepared a statement of educational and professional quali-fications?
A.
Yes.
It is attached to this testimony.
Q.
What is the purpose of your testimony?
A.
The purpose of my testimony is to respond to Bishop Contentions 12 and 21 which state as follows:
TO1230027[k
s Bishop Contention 12 Water containing radioactive materials will seep out of the cooling lake at Allens Creek and into the Evangeline Aquifer, which supplies drinking water for area residents. Applicant has not accurately estimated the amount of radioactive materials that will be ingested by area residents due to this con-tamination of their drinking water by this seepage.
Bishop Contention 21 The cooling lake at ACNGS will contain radioactive material, and the amount of radioactive material will increase over time, presenting an unacceptable hazard to humans.
Q.
Will the routine power operation of ACNGS result in the release of fission and activation products to the cooling lake?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Has the NRC Staff estimated the probable nuclide releases to the lake.
Q.
Yes.
In accordance with 10 C.F.R.150.34a, an applicant for a pennit to construct a nuclear power reactor is required to include a preliminary description of the design of equipment to be installed for keeping levels of radioactive materials in effluents to unrestricted areas as low as is reasonably achievable. The term "as low as is reasonably achievable" means as low as is reasonably achievable taking into account the state of technology and the economics of improvement in relation to benefits to the public health and safety and other societal and socioeconomic considerations
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and in relation to the utilization of atomic energy in the public interest.
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. s Appendix I to 10 C.F.R. Part 50 provides numerical guidance on design objectives for light-water-cooled nuclear power reactors to meet the re-quirement that radioactive materials in effluents released to unrestricted areas be kept as low as is reasonably achievable.
To meet the requirements of 10 C.F.R. Part 50.34a, the applicant has provided designs of radwaste systems and effluent control measures for keeping levels of radioactive materials in effluents to unrestricted areas as low as is reasonably achievable within the requirements of Appendix I to 10 C.F.R. Part 50 and the requirements of the Annex to Appendix I dated September 4,1975, elected in lieu of performing a cost-benefit analysis as required by Sect. II.D of Appendix I.
In addition, the applicant has provided an estimate of the quantity of each principal radionuclide expected to be released annually to unrestricted areas in liquid and gaseous effluents produced from normal operation including anticipated operational occurrences.
The Staff's detailed evalution of the radwaste system and the capa-bility of these systems to meet the requirements of Appendix I are presented in Chapter 11 of Supplement No. 2 to the Safety Evaluation Report. The quantities of radioactive material calculated by the Staff to be released from the plant are also presented in Chapter 11 of Supplement No. 2 to the Safety Evaluation Raport and in Sect. S.S.4 of the FSFES with the calculated doses to ipdividuals and the population that will result from these effluent quantities.
At the time of the operating license, the applicant will be required to submit Technical Specifications which will establish release rates for radioactive material in liquid and gaseous effluents and which provide the routine monitoring and measurement of all principal release points to assure that the facility operates in conformance with the requirements of Appendix I to 10 C.F.R. Part 50.
Q.
How did the Staff calculate the radiation dose that an individual would receive from liquid effluents in the cooling lake?
A.
After the quantities of radioactive material that will be released to the cooling lake are calculated, estimates of radiation doses to man via the most significant pathways from ccaling lake activities are cal-culated based on conservative assumptions regarding the dilutions of effluent gases and radionuclides in the liquid discharge and man's activities using the cooling lake.
In general, radiation doses calcualted by the staff are intended to apply to an average adult. Specific persons will receive higher or lower doses, depending upon their age, living habits, food preferences, or recreational activities. The basic features of the calculational models and the suggested parameters for the estimation of radiation doses to man from effluent releases are set forth in Regulatory Guide 1.109, " Calculation of Annual Dose to Man From Routine Releases of Reactor Effluents For the Purpose of-Evaluating Compliance With 10 C.F.R. Part 50, Appendix I."
Q.
What represents the potentially significant exposures pathways to the population from activities at the cooling lake?
A.
The specific pathways that were considered by the Staff are (a) drinking water from the lake, (b) eating fish and other invertebrates from the lake, and (c) various shoreline activities including boating and swimming in water containing radioactive effluents.
Q.
Will the Allens Creek cooling lake be used as a drinking water supply?
A.
No. However, for conservatism individual doses via this pathway are evaluated at the 40-year cooling lake equilibrium concentrations using standard dose models and an assumed daily consumption of 1.2 liters.
Q.
Do the dose calculations assume a buildup of radionuclides.
A.
Yes.
Doses from shoreline activities result primarily from the buildup of radionuclides such as CS-137 deposited on the shore. These radionuclides are initially mixed with the effluent and then settle out of the water.
Deposition along the shore will result in the greatest potential for in-dividual exposure and this buildup is calculated in the models.
Q.
Does swimming in the water result in a dose higher than the dose from shoreline activities?
A.
No. Swimming does not result in a higher dose because of the smaller concentration of radionuclides in the water and the higher shielding effect of the water.
. 8 Q.
What was the result of the Staff's calculation of radiation doses to man from liquid effluents in the cooling lake?
A.
The Staff's calculation of annual individual doses from liquid effluents in the cooling lake at equilibrium is set forth in Table S.5.13 of the FSFES and Table 11.4 of Supplement No. 2 to the SER (March 1979).
These tables show that the maximum annual dose to the total body from all liquid effluent pathways is 1.4 millirems per year from the proposed Allens Creek unit. The annual dose to any organ from all liquid effluent pathways is 1.8 millirems per year.
Q.
Do these calculated maximum dose commitments to an individual from ACNGS operation comply with the requirements of 10 C.F.R. Part 50, Appendix I?
A.
Yes. As indicated in Table S.5.14 of the FSFES, the above calculated doses are well below the Appendix I design objectives of 3 millirems /yr/ unit to total body and 10 millirems /yr/ unit for individual doses to any organ from all liquid effluent pathways.
Q.
Has the Staff calculated the amount or effect of contamination on local drinking water supplies if radioactive materials would seep out of the cooling lake?
i l
A.
No. The Staff has not done any such calculations because the effect of radioactive contamination on local drinking water supplies will be in-signi ficant, Since the annual calculated dose to assumed individuals l
drinking water directly from the cooling lake are well below the design l
l t
. s objectives set forth in Appendix I, any dose received by an individual drinking water from a contaminated drinking supply such as a well, wcald also be within the Appendix I design objectives and, therefore, acceptable.
In fact, however, the dose received by an individual drinking contaminated well water, if contamination does occur, would have to be much less than the calculated dose to an individual drinking cooling lake water directly.
This reduction would result from the following physical mechanisms:
(1) ground water would additionally dilute the radionuclides in the cooling lake; (2) radionuclides would be partially leached out (i.e. removed) as they moved from the lake to the ground water; and (3) depending on the travel time to the nearest drinking water supply, the radionuclides would undergo radiological decay. Thus, these factors would combine to reduce individual doses to even less than the calculated drinking water doses of 0.1 mrem /yr to the total body and any organ doses of this magnitude are regarded as insignificant.
Q.
Will the radionuclides increase over time as a result of buildup in the cooling lake?
A.
Yes, but the buildup of these radionuclides over time has been evaluated and included in the calculations of doses.
Q.
Since the calculated doses associated with the operation of ACNGS are within the Appendix I design objectives, what does the staff conclude with respect to the health risks?
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A.
Based on current health effects models, the Staff concludes that health risks to present day populations from cancer (less than 1 predicted),
and to future populations from genetic effects associated with the nomal operation of ACNGS at Appendix I levels are insignificant relative to naturally occurring events. Therefore, radioactivity in the Allens Creek cooling lake does not represent an unacceptable health hazard.
s
DR. R. L. GOTCHY s
Professional Qualifications 1
s My name is Reginald L. Gotchy.
I am a Senior Radiobiologist on assi9nment with the Radiological Assessment Branch in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
In this capacity. I am responsible for coordinating the technical review and evaluation of the environmental radiological impact of nuclear facility operations.
I received a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Washington in 1958, an M.S. in Radiation Health from the Colorado State University in 1966, a Ph.D. in Radiation Biology from the Colorado State University in 1968, and attended the University of Washington Graduate School 1958-1959 as an AEC Radiological Physics Fellow.
I have 19 years of professional experience in health physics, industrial hygiene, radiation physics, radiation biology, environmental sciences, project coordination of research and development programs, and development of AEC and NRC standards. This experience has included operational and safety responsibilities, and review and coordination of facility operations under contract to the AEC.
I have been emoloyed by the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, the U.S. Public Health Servf.e, Reynolds and Electrical Engineering Corpany, the AEC Nevada Op.rati u s Office, and the NR Office of Standards Development prior to my assigmant in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in 1975.
I was an adjunct professor of Radiation Health Technology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1969-1972).
I am a member of Sig a Xi (Research Society of North America), the American Nuclear Society, the Health Physics Society and the International Radiation Protection Association, and the Radiation Research Society.
I am a past member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
I am certified by the American Board of Health Physics, and served as a member of the Panel of Examiners (1972-1976).
I remain active in the development
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of examination questions and updating my professional standing by periodic l
post-graduate work and training.
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