ML19345B950
| ML19345B950 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 11/18/1980 |
| From: | Snyder B Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Roberts H AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19345B951 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8012020817 | |
| Download: ML19345B950 (2) | |
Text
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.'F ' 18 P30 JCollins Docket No. 50-320 DBrinkman w/t)fcoming MDuncan w/ incoming HThompsonw/goming Ms. Heidi Roberts qc-
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Dear Ms. Roberts:
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I am writino in response to your letter of March 30, 1980, requesting infor-mation on nuclear waste disposal. I r6gret that this answer to your letter has been delayed for so long. The accident and its consequences have created a substantial increase in the agency's workload, which has prevented me from responding to you as promptly as I would have liked.
The goal of the U.S. Nuclear Waste Management Program is to provide assurance that existing and future nuclear waste from military and civilian activities, including spent fuel from the once-through nuclear power cycle, can be isolated fmm the biosphere so as to pose no significant threat to public health and safety and the environment. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC) is responsible for providing the framework of criteria and regulations that will ensure that the disposal methods developed for all types of radioactive waste are consistent with the achievement of this goal of safe, long-tenn waste disposal.
The NRC's authority to license and regulate the storage and disposal of radio-active wastes is derived from three statutes: the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the Energy Reorganization Art of 1974, and the National Environmental PcHey Act of 1969 To implement tais authority and to provide guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the industry, and the public, the NRC is
'l developing new or revised regulations for such storage and disposal. These regulations will require confonnance with a fixed set of minimally acceptable perfonnance standards for waste management activities while providing for flexibility in the technological approach.
The DOE responsibilities concerning radioactive waste disposal are limited to high-level wastes, and only those low-level wastes produced as part of DOE.'s programs. Their msponsibility does not include comercially generated low-level wastes.
NRC has prepared a Draft Programatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for public conmient on the decontamination and disposal of radioactive wastes result-ing from the T?ree Mile Island, Unit 2, acci hnt. The PEIS, a copy of which is enclosed for pour infonnation, focuses on the environmental issues and alter-native methods associated with the perfonnance of these cleanup activities. I am also enclosing a copy of NUREG-0732 " Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About Cleanup Activities at Three Mile Island, Unit 2."
Questions 91 through 120 discuss radioactive wastes.
8012010 117
Its. Heidi Roberts s,.
In. response to your request for a list of nuclear plants, I am enclosing a copy of NRC's 1979 Annual Report which contains a list of nuclear units in operation, under construction, or planned.
You had a question about the effect of radiation on people. The Department of Energy has prepared a booklet entitled "Living with Radiation," publication number ERDA-76/89. The booklet costs $5.25 and is available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161.
For information on your other questions such as how a reactor works, I suggest you consult your local public library.
I appreciate your concerns and assure you that every effort is being made to ensure the continued protection of the health and safety of the public, not only at the Three Mile Island Station, but also at all nuclear power plants.
Sincerely, 4
Bernard J. Snyder, Program Director Three Mile Island Program Office Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosures:
1.
PEIS 2.
NUREG-0732 3.
1979 Annual Report l
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