ML19350B840

Forwards 810305 Ltr to Emphasize Importance of Matter of Irregularities at Facility,Per 801223 Ltr.Shareholders Resolution Encl.Response Requested

ML19350B840
Person / Time
Site:	Zimmer
Issue date:	03/10/1981
From:	Iosso C AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:	Ahearne J NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
References
NUDOCS 8103230835
Download: ML19350B840 (5)

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fROD,(UTIL FAC.,.D0mT'U;..,,2 THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH . , i .

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 4g t K

g 475 RNER$ tot oRNE. ROOM 1020. NEW YO% NL 10027 p Telephone 212-870 210 t t .c (beradtdssemb0g vMission Councie i

March 10, 1981 - N O D The Honorable John Ahearna, DOCW For=er Chairman, now me=ber ll- US --

Nuclear Regulatory Ccemission 1 MAR 19 W81

• I 1717 H Street Washingten, DC 20419 $ 0 d e Secntsf "$

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Dear Mr. Ahearne:

6 S Ic 61 l W The enclosed letter relates to material transmitted to you on December 23, 1980 by the Office of the Special Counsel under the provisions of 5 U.S.C.1206 (b)(2).

This =aterial by a Mr. Thomas Applegate and his representative, the Government Acco'untability Proj ect, consisted of documents alleging considerable irregularity at the Zic=er nuclear reactor in Moscow, Ohio, under construction by the Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company and also partially owned by the Amerienn Electric Power Company and Dayton Power & light. The control number given this material is 10-1-70041.

In forwarding you this letter copy from the Rev. John Fife to %. W.S. White of American Electric Power, we wish to underline the importance of this natter in-volving the Zimmer plant. As the letter notes, the United Presbyterian Church's General Assembly Mission Council is one of two national church agencies that have filed a shareholder resolution dealing with the difficulties at that reactor. For your information, I have enclosed a copy of this resolution, which treats the Zimmer '

question on its third operative clause. You may note that the resolution as a whole does not take an absolutist anti-nuclear position; such a position has been

, taken in a similar resolution with Dayton Power & Light by a United Methodist Church agency.

Naturally, given our concern with the companies involved in the construction of the Zim=er facility, we cro very concerned that the lkelear Regulatory Commission do a vigorous and careful job in its review process. Faile discussions such as we have had with AEP top management may continue concerning the necessity of Zimer's construction, we do not believe that such serious questions should remain concerning the dangers of that construction.

We would welcome any res ou or appropriate NRC Staff might have to this letter or its attachments reports by NRC investig MJ on te' specifically request any recent statements or r Nuclear Power Station.

p p a h J l Yours sincerely, -

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g 88""*g" I Christian Iosso, Staff Committee on Mission Responsibility 4_/ Through Investment

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THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH y g IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 4 M i eg41 m wewoe owt. noou r= w.a.2: w o.2:or so20. gnew vonx. n.v. tootr h[@.c i gamaumm%wacaec March 5, 1981 Y t

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DOCKETED USNRC Mr. W.S. White --

.4 Chairman of the Board g. g I 9198f p, g American Electric Power Company 0 Mice of m Two Broadway Semco 8 New York, NY 10004 6

Dear Mr. White:

'3 As you know, the appropriate agencies of our Church have decided to submit a shareholder proposal again' this year, dealing mainly with the items we discussed back- in late October. At that time we expressed our appreciation for that opportunity to meet, and the possibility of a fur-ther meeting was mentioned, which might fccus on more specific issues.

It is this subject that I would like to broach here, based on our further reading and data gathering on the Zimer reactor in particular, which raises a number of specific questions in our ninds.

Understanding that our company is one of three owners of the Zimmer plant, and that Cincinnati Gas & Electric is actually managing the construction, it seems that our management would be in the best position to be self-critical about the alleged defects in the plant's construction.

. As we understand these defects, they include: ,

, 1. defective welds on appro::imately 20% of the prefabricated piping originally received in D77.

2. a radioactive waste drain clogged with concrete accidentally poured into it during construction.

3. sand and mud obstructing the plant's feedwater pumps and intake flues carrying water to the cooling tower.

4. pumps used to rectify this last flaw in construction quickly burn out.

. 5. overly rough control rod seals, fine metal fragments within the rods, and control rod blades which exceed the 280" gauge specifi-Cations.

6. 10 watertight doors and door frames that leaked when tested at the place where the metal door frame was imbedded in concrete.

7. electrical cable trays stacked three high in the same design used at the Brown's Ferry, Alabama, reactor, with insufficient compensatory fire protection measures and faulty vertical welds on the trays.

In addition to these alleged defects, there have been reports that responsible radiographers studying the above prefabricated piping welds were dismissed, while a variety of questionable activities were engaged in by workers on the plant site. These activities are said to have

included: diversion of labor and materisis for a variety of personal uses, various outright thefts of material, widespread time-padding, lax worker supervision, and various accidents such as an unreported Cire and argon gas leakage. j s Wa understand that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has conducted a prelbinary investigation of a number of these charges in the Fall of 1978 and a further site visit in the spring of 1980, but are unaware of improvaments or even sufficient examination in a number of these instances. As you are probably aware, a number of individuals and public interest groups are continuing challenges to the NRC on these matters. Given the relative newness the GE Mark II. reactor design, it is particularly important that questions on the above points be fully addressed.

This letter, then, is a request for discussion or written respons'e on these matters specifically involving the Zimmer reactor. We under-stand that it may be difficult to arrange such a high level meeting as we had last October, bit we would appreciate hearing and discussing your position on this matter before the Annual Meeting on April 22nd.

Yours. sincerely, John fe, airperson Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment l

JMF/gd cc: Mr. Joseph Dowd Dr. George Morgan l Nuclear Regulatory Commissiou /

l Office of the Special Counsel N

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AMERICAN ELEdrRIC POWER .

WEREAS American Electric Power (AEP) operates 2 nuclear reactors and has  !

recently acquired an ownership share in the Zimmer nuclear reactor plant being constructed near Cincinnati by the Cincinnati Gas &

Electric Company; *

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WHEREAS we believe that our society should strive to meet future demand for electricity by developing alternative energy sourcea and promoting energy conservation.

WEEREAS several electric utilities '(Puget Sound Light, Pacific Gas and Electric and New England Electric System) have begun programs to reduce the need for more power plant construction in favor of invest-ments in energy conservation and alternative. energy; WEREAS

- the accident at Three Mile Island heightened public awareness of the many technical, health, environmental and commercial dangers associated with nuclear energy including: medical controversy about the desir-able legal limit on nuclear plant radiation emissions, lack of a methoc of safe, permanent storage for radioactive vastes and a lack.

of government and utility preparedness to cope with the financial and social consequences of nuclear reactor accidents; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the shareh' o lders:

1.

Request the Board of Directors to take urgent steps to develop conservation and alternative energy programs to meet customer demand for electricity and send a report on such programs to shareholders by September 1981;

2. -

l Commend.last year's decision to suspend indafinitely the study of potential sites for a nuclear power plant in Nelson County, Virginia, and urge the Board to explore the policy implications of that decision.

3.

Request the Board of Directors to review plans for the completion of the 7he reactor, to see whether such completion can be justified on financial, environmental and public safety grounds, given questions about ita construction and increases in energy conservation and el.ternative energy use; with a section on this review added to the Iforcaentioned r port, consistent with reasonable cost and the safeguarding of proprietary information.

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j AMERICAN ELECTRIC PCu'1 SUPPORTING STATEMENT j s As churches, tnd as investors, we urge American Electric Power to find safe. '

additional supplies of energy through residential commercial and industrial energy l conservation and efficiency programs and development of alternative energy sources, rather than further dependence on nuclear power .

A growing number of studies show that the health risks of nuclear energy include increased rates of cancer, leukemia, and genetic damage due to exposure to low and high-level radiation. At the same time,.thare is a virtual halt in the planning of nuclear reactors due to the serious-economic risks involved: the tying up of large amounts of capital for 10-15 year periods, the unknown cost of permanently

. disposing of radioactive wastes, and the high cost of decommissioning nuclear reactors.

A careful consideration of these riska sad C.arnativc=. seams especially warranced in the case of the Zimmer reactor, due to its proximity to Cincinnati, and the resig-nations by quality control and engineering personnel in~ protest over poor quality control, including the employment of welders in sensitive areas who had not passed the appropriate competency tests for wefding at a nuclear reactor.

If you agree, please nake your proxy for this resolution; otherwise it is auto-matica11y cast against it.

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