ML20003C957
| ML20003C957 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Crane  |
| Issue date: | 11/19/1980 |
| From: | Morris A LANCASTER, PA |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| RTR-NUREG-0683, RTR-NUREG-683 NUDOCS 8103180889 | |
| Download: ML20003C957 (4) | |
Text
.
s Dly of.Sancasitt l [ *Nh Jle hennsy$'ania j
& c 1[o11l1 120 CY bug cSL,fR O. % 1559 17to3
[c:411Nu1 p ' 'CI)x 'N.
c11ayoz 717-397-3501
,ki November 19, 1980 r
p EIAg y W
U. S. Nuclear Pegulatory Commission IA C YIM*:4r 3
Washington, D.C.
20555 ATTN:
Director, Three Mile Island g,)
- c,"
Program Office Gt RE: Cornents on the Draf t Programatic Environmental Im;act Statement Related to Decontamination and Disposal of Radioactive Wastes Resulting from March 28, 1979 Accident Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 2 Docket No. 50-320
Dear Mr. Snyder:
We believe the EIS is deficient in the following four areas:
1.
Cumulative radioactive discharges. We believe that the EIS should include a detailed discussion of the cumulative radio-active discharges to be expected in the Susquehanna River in the next decades.
Particular a'.tention should be given to the cumulative radioactive dis'.harges to be expected from nuclear power plants operatin! ind soon to be operating. Only against this background can the effect of any future discharge from TMI Unit 2 be evaluated fairly. Our concern involves both the total Curies present in. the water, plant life and animal life and the radioactivity levels, past, present and future.
2.
Disposal alternatives.
In paragraph 5.2.2.2 of the EIS, eight process water disposal alternatives are mentioned, but several of these are discarded summarily. We believe the following alternatives should be elaborated upon:
(a) Release to the air via natural evacoration from a pond.
We disagree with the statements coacerning the viability of evaporation as a disposal technique. Our own experi-ence with evaporation of water reservoir sludge indicates U280
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l
November 19, 1980 Page 2 that natural evaporation from a pond would be feasible (evaporation of approximately 1 million gallons per year from a 53,000 SF pond, 265' long by 20' wide by 7' deep). However. even if one accepts the statements and conclusions concerning equivalent evaporation and rainfall accumulation, it must be recognized that they apply to the volume of water rather than the amount of tritium. Depending upon the time of year evaporation 5egins, weather conditions and similar factors, the tritium levels should be reduced to 35-50*' of the original amount in a 12 month period.
If radioactive decay is also considered, a storage period of 2-3 years would re-duce the tritium level to below 10% of the original amount.
(b) Solidify with chemical agents and ship to licensed burial ground.
No increased risks are specified for this alterrative, and no details are given as to possible methods of handling and transportation. These details should be provided, and subject to comment.
(c) Solidify with chemical agents and retain on site in solid form as a concrete slab.
Again, no increased risks are specified, and no details are given about handling. Any problems known to the NRC staff should be specified in detail, and subject to comment.
3.
Psychological stress. We believe the EIS seriously under-estimates the psychological stress which will be experienced by water users downstream of TMI if processed radioactive water is released to the river. We believe that 20% to 40%
of the people in Lancaster will experience significant long-term psychological stress if accident-generated water is i
released to the river. Because of City concern and customer a
i reduction, pumpage from the Susquehanna facilities was reduced from 12 MGD to 8 MGD after the TMI accident. We feel that the release of accident-generated water would result in a long-term decrease in customer use of our water. A recent University of Pittsburgh study indicates that long-term psychological stress has been underestimated by previous studies of the accident and its af termath.
(See the attached article con-cerning the study). We strongly urge that local release to the river of processed water be rejected as an alternativc.
4 l
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission November 19, 1980 Page 3 The psychological stress which would be experienced by a large proportion of local residents would be unacceptable.
4.
Costs of alternatives. We assume that at some point the costs of various alternatives will be considered. Estimates of the costs of the alternatives should be specified in detail, and should be subject to public comment.
We support the rejection of the "no action" alternative. The in-definite use of the TMI site as an uncontrolled waste sto:
.a or disposal facility is totally unacceptable.
The above matters should be addressed directly, clearly, and in detail and the Commission's draft comments on such matters should be su'oject to public comment.
Sincerely, W E.%e5 Arthur E. Morris Mayor AEM/dj enclosures
[vb
$ ?
k m
t
.k.... ~. -.. -
. I.
t i.
T i.~.
s 3Iav Affeat Seafood hiddhry I
e i~,,
- a. s,e
.y
..m.
v
. ~.
!6 HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. (AT) - Dumping nu.. no decision on dumping had been made. -
' clear waste from Three Mile Island.irao the "It's our view that the water could be released p uehanna River would have a disaste:ous effect. in.to the Su quehanna River,'.'sa2d Bernard Sn d
,of the NRC. 'However, there are competing co:y er l
- on e struggling seafood industry i h P an hasbake Bay, a federal hearm, n t e upper part N.
7.!.5... posal..erations here.,(and) this is whe ofChesa g on the d:s cation ofpgulations needs to be tempered.
I n told
..r m..,
y.y fr a
. "We re sensitive to the concerns of the peop!e in ne warning came from some of the more than fthis area. I'm personally'very sensitive to thst. I
- J30 residents, fishermen and politicans who jammed. have spent the last 25 years on the Chesapeake Bn a high school auditorium here to criticize the propos-... I love to eat crabs, and I intend to do (so) in th'i
'al to dump treated water from the crippled Pennsyl., ifuture."
3 vania nuclear plant into the river.a Snyder also noted that several studies hsyc "We don't need this contamination."'said flow 2 "shown the dum, ping would have no detrimental effeet ard Sexton, a: commercial nsherman. "We already.on the bay or river.
l
- have enough problems. A lot of guys like me around. t ne Susquehanna empties into the bay here and l here are striving to make this bay and our communi- ' *esidents all along the southern portion of the ri
, ty more of a place tct come to for seafood."
h.a grown concerned over the impact of the nucle-Ares nshing has been lean in recent years. Sex. araccident further upstream.
,t
,a ton noted...
Many residents here have stopped drinking thb ~
sion and other federal agencies.gulato.
Ofncials from the Nuclear Re Commis. tap water which is drawn from the river.
spent our hours-
"We are concerned because it is our drinki::g Wednesday night discussing the dumping
. water." nid Havre da Gree Meyer C",rk *.',.t..
- ite of t$e. g w4cr fram the nuclear p. plan..
D;r-ant - tne gomery before the hearing. "But it ',,:ms to me s
wor-t commercial nuclear accident in there shouldn't be this sense of' futility, of frustra.
U.S. history in March 1979 - could be one safe clean. tion. After all, the federal government, the state and up method, the ofnefals said. They emphasized that. the utlity are continuing to monitor the water."
v.. ' -
%.. a :.M..*:/
t L
Long-terneD.tf.trepression Prev. lent y
s a
a;3.,,
.r..
+
. i.
In"Mo'thkNLining>Near TMIl Plant =
.. ~. C :' ~
.,, M'a A;.v _; 3.-
erating station.W.'z..'.
. PITTSBURGH (APNMany b_,hers of yuung
. r.
e; mot
,$..w children living near the scene of the nuclear acca.
Research will c.ontinue over;the next three years,-
dent at Three Mile Island suffered long. term depres. ' to measure the duration of the m?ntal problems. The ~
sion:-according to a study which contradicts previ. study was commissioned by the National Institute of t
~
ous findings that mental stress resulting from the, Mental Health at a cost of about $375,000.
accident was short.livedJ' f'.
i Ms.' Bromet was nrincipal researcher on the' i
ne Kemeny Commission, a blue-ribbon panelm study by the universitfs Western Psychiatric Insti.
that investigated the March 1979 power plant acci. tute and Clinic.
.. ~
. dent, said last October f.*the most severe health er.
Pennsylvania's Welfare Department called the li
'fect of the accident'was severe mental stress, which study "the most authoritative and detailed" of any was short-lived."-.
.u L..
...a 1, :
so far completed on the health dects of the nation s
- f.s '.
"I think our study shows that they were.,.. wrong." worst commercialnuclear werplantaccident. ~.
1
. Dr. Evelyn Bro ~ met of the University of Pittsburgh,' he' control group for comparison was 3t2 l
said at a press conference nursday. "nare were" mothers of young children living within five miles of iI..
' Jong-term effects."a RIJ'
'. ~ a nuclear power complex at Sluppingoort, Pa., sev-here were nearly twice as Eany. W /--. cases of anxie. eral hundred miles away fro
- i-
! i and stress among mothers living.within a fiveC Fourteen percent o'f them reported clinicallev.
N.
E le radids of the damaged reactor compared to elsofdepression,while5 g / K > mothers in a control group living near,anotter nucle. $ essional help, she said.., percent of f
,-y n, ; f... >...
,d-Tar power plant reactor in Pennsylvania,- Ms. Bromet gf,;.f,.g. g;.p.,., 4,. g ff w
$sait. She'siid mlny9f't3e'62i moth'ers'stddle'd'e~ peri-
~
....... ~.,,
gw
- enced sleeplessness loss of appetite, indecision and].
x
.i.
{other signs of ps j;
ological de
' year after the ace ent. e# pression during the.
~.......
. " Twenty-five percent of the mothers at nree.
Mlle Island showed clinical levels of depression or.
V"H anxiety during the year following the accident,".MS%
Bromet said, adding that 12 percent of those with' problems sought professionalhelp.
ML Bromet said the problems experienced by.
~ Dil motWs diminished with time. But compared to
.g two other Middletown. area groups tested, the moth-ers exhibited significantly fu'gher levels of anxiety '
and depression.
The other groups wereMor'k'ers*at the n6clearM power plant, who faced possible radiation exposure,
and loss of work and mental health patients, who generally are mor,e susceptible to stress.
s Pregnant women and children'under five livmg.
within five miles of the plant were the only people Gov. Dick Thornburgh urged to evacuate dunng the aw mi the Gener21 pen Inmn-m -
-