ML20008E212
| ML20008E212 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Yankee Rowe |
| Issue date: | 10/06/1980 |
| From: | Meyer J, Barry Miller, Ed Miller AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| To: | NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8010240417 | |
| Download: ML20008E212 (5) | |
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I %, 'h ROWE NUCLEAR CONVERSION CAYSAIGN 3
Box 3-2-1 i
W ev eg es 23
- Rowe, Ma., 01367
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4 sf October 6, 1 Chairman and Commissioners Nuclear Regulatory Commission 11th Floor DOCKETNUMagn Washington, D.C., 20555 m o.auritrac.. ( $ M ]
Dear Commissioners,
on October 2nd,1980 250 citicens who live near the Tankee Atomic plant in Rowe came,to the Mohawk Trail Regional High School, in the hopes that Yankee Atomic Ilectric Company officials would answer their questions about the plant.
One month before this meeting, on September 2nd, our group sent the enclosed questions to the company headquarters in Westborough, Ma.
We also sent a copy to the plant superintendent, Herb Autio.
We requested thetpresence of a member of the Board of Directors, to answer questions as the meeting.
On September 27th, we recieved the enclosed response. Included.
was a statement that the power company would not send a representative to the meeting.
On September 29th, a delegation frem our group went to the ce=pany headquarters in Westborough, urging them to reconsider their decision, and to please send somedne to the meeting. We felt that for our own, and the public's, full understanding of the answers we needed to discuss and clarify the responses with the company., The answers given us, as you can see, raise additional questions.
told en this day that "it would not be productive" to have a YankeeWe were Atomic representative at the meeting.
Any additional questions, we were told, would only be answered in writing.
Numerous phone calls by area residents and local elected officials were responded to similarly.
We are some of the 250 people who attended the public meeting last thursday.
Most of us tbe 10 =ile evacuation cone, surrounding the plant.as with those"at the meeting, live i At the meeting, 5 of theE6 questions were ruled " inadequate", by voice vote.the p The exception was question #3, ruled " inadequate" by a 3 to 2 margin.
People are angry and hurt by the fact that the co=pany would not attend an open meeting with the plant's neighbors.
Yankee Atomic Electric Company does not have the concerns of theWe feel that the people in mind.
We have two requests of the N.R.C. :
1 Relv in cettine the coeteration of the Yankee Atecie Eleet' ie Coecanv; r
Flekse infern us as to what rights we have to ask questions of the company, and recieve adequate answers about the operation of Yankee Atomic in Rowe.
We would like to know what voice we are guaranteed, through your agency and others, in making the i=portant decisions that affect our life here in Frankilin and Berkshire Counties.
outlined in our letter to Tankee Atomic.Specifically, we want a say in the issues 2.
We recuest e rublie bearine. with te Nuclear Reculaterv Commissie bere in Franklin Counrv, l
Massac usetts, before tne olant tcis fall; re-ocens February, due to a turbine accident.As you are well aware, Yankee Rowe has A nu=ber of issues have been raised about the centinued opsration of this 20 year old nuclear plant. This is a formal request for a hearing, to l
decide whether Tankee Rowe should be allowed to re-open or not.
Please get back to us in the next week or so.
Yankee Rowe, according to the co=pany, is scheduled to re-open by Nove=ber 1st.
We look forward to hearing from you and =eeting you, and Thank you for your concern.
sincerely,
. 44p V$,
the Rcwe Nuclear Conversien Campaign (413) 350-5362
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f JAa Open1 Attar am Our.Neignoors-l By MERBERT A. AUTIO
! Yankee Atoaue has been a resident of the tawa of Rowe should an accident ever happen, our coployees and for over 20 years. hen day over 100 of yow fneds and the public would be protected. In July se submined our i
oo m
" heighbors come from their bam== as Rowe and surveund-mMaed emergency pean to the Nudear Regulatory Caen-h
)ng coenmuntues to work at the Yankee planL We who his missaan for their mvww. Sale and local agences have pere and work at Yanka apprecate uw wonderful quauty -
also subauumd ther emnergency plans to um Feeeral cc 4
4f life in the Deerfield River Valley. Many of us have beag Emergms'y M[a'W Asw Once mmmesmw
- since 1964 when construcues Bret started en the -
pant.
ertved, au p;ans wn! be fmdaad and testedL g
In November. Yankee censoretas its 20th birthday. We Schools, hospatals and nursang homes roarive speaal at.
kho operate the plant am very proud of our 2 years of tentaan in all ernergency peans. Protecuve aceimaa weisth-
- Safe sernce. In those 20 years our piant has produosd over et caused by floods, hurncanes, tornadoes er puetaar
,40 blusen lulowatt hours and saved over 35 rnilhaa barrels emergences, am specised for these specal faculth if the event is sensus enough, evacuauon of these specal fa.
sof ou and mtunoes of douars for the people of New Eng-c1htaas win be performed by accal and state evo defense pand-agencaes.
- Recently we received a copy of a letter eaarabannt a list sol quesuons about Yankee. These quescoes and our an-Yankee Rowe carnes $100 million of habihty tenum lswers may be of laterest to many people in the vaDey. For,
plus aa additional 3340 mdhon of industry nest sqsurance.
- tats reason we are sonens our answers to local newspa--
combined to yieid a total private insurance protacsame of
.pers. We hope they wiu prtnt these answere la4 heir en-
- s500 mdhoe. On top W that, we also pay ow sever====s ltartty so that everyone who is antarented can read them, for an addtional 800 mulace worth of tasurance for a total of 3500 aductL As more nuclear plants become operouom.
l Now for the spassuems al. this srnall arne.mt of government insurance wol be eu-
- Questnet. I
- Yaakee Atemic in Rowe is 20 years aid this manated and the total private insurance coverage wtD be Jeovember.1s this plant wearing ois?
increased beyond 85e0 miussa. -
l Answer 1: The Ufe expectancy of any power plant is
- about 30 to 40 years. Yankee Atoense has an operadas b, Quesuon 5
- Is there a soluuan to the problesas of safe scense whach extends through 1997. We sf acerely hope the long term storage for r*meHvo wasta?
. plant operates unto then and perhaps beyond Yankee is Answer 5: The answer to this quesuon is an unequivocal
- the uurd oldest commercial nudear plant in the Unsted
- Tes." Virtually every scenufac study smce 1957 has con-istates. The oldest is tt 9uppingport, Pa., wtuch started duced that safe radioactive a aste storage as pracucal As loperauon so 1957 and is. Ioperaung.
recerluy as 1979 tM Amencan Physical Sooety published
- YankeeRowehasbee hut down smce February of this a mport staung that there are no technological barners to
'vear to repaar the staan. 'roine, a non.nudear part of the safe storage. Ramoacuve waste disposal thus becomes a 8 blant. These turbines art cornman to au electnc plants pohucal problem rather than a tectuucal problem. Con.
pat burn 00, coal or gas. We expect that Yankee Alonue gress has delegated the responsitH2ty of high level waste willbe operaung agam an November.
storage to the Department of Energy. Congress seems i,With the maintenance, improvements and attantion we about ready to enact lepslauco gavmg the Departznant of lkre giving the plant. Yankee should be able to operate for Energy necessary -funcng, authonty and guidance to some years to come. In the past 20 years of operacon.
tauld a demonstrauen pdot facility in fmany accompitan Yankee Rowe has outperformed many of the newer the tasic.
).4 ants, leadmg credance to the adage that with nuclear There are na waste disposal plans for our site in Rowe.
plants, as witn people "the older you get the better you The only waste storage at Rowe as low level waste tempo.
,9et."
rarily stored pnor to shipment to a waste repository m South Carodna or Wastungton state. We also store used Queouos 2: What plans exist for the decomanan=nmg of fuel at the Yankee plant in water storage pools. We do not e
l Yankee Atoauc? How much willit cost? And wno pays for consider these used fuel elements as waste smce these 5t?
Tuel elements sull contam large amounts cf useful fue!
- Answer 2: There a*e no definate plans for decomnus.
wtuch can be recycled snto cew fuel. Unul the federaJ gov-ssoitmg the Rowe plant at this uma. As previously stated, ernment decides to resume such recycling, we wtH have to the operating license for the plant extends untd 1997 and store the used fuel on site or shzp the used fuel elements to we hope to operate Lne plant at least that long.
a gasernmerit repository.
However, the Noclear Regulatory Commission (NRCl Stanng tne fuel under water is common practice au can revoke the hcense at any ume. If that were to happen, over the world. The longer a fuel element is stored, the the plant wou;d have to be decama"=M We would lower the radio activity that is conta2ned inside. It is our expect to d2smance the plant completely and restore the hope that the government wdl soon decide to resume recy-site to a natural site, suitable for any use.
cimg of tats used fuel so that we can utdize this valuable Pnor to dismant2tng, an environmental impact resource. The cost of waste disposal as paia by the users of statement would normany be prepared by the NRC. Their electnc2ty, just IAke au the other costs of produang elec.
usual practice is to publish such statements for pubuc tricity. These disposal costa are relauvely small, amount-comment before decommissiontng could proceed.
ing to about 3 percent of the total cost of electncty We have esCmated the cost of decommissionmg the trK:uding an allowance for ulumate disposal by the fecer-plant at about $30 mdhon in today's douars. We would aJ governmerit of high level waste from nuclear fuel pro- -
expect this decomrnassionmg cost to be paid by the users cess, rig.
of electnety from the plant, just as they pay the cost of It is highly unlikely that our Rowe site will ever be used bu11 ding the plant and the other costs of producing the for waste disposal purposes. It is our understanding that electnoty, such as fuel, maintenance and taxes. This is any such waste repository would have to be on govern-true of any product - the user pays the cost of producing ment land. There is, however, a real need for a low 4evel the product.
waste depository somewhere in New England. The south-The eersmansesentag cost, when averaged over 4D the ern and western statec are not somg to accept our New electnety produced by the plant, is only about 5 percent Erigland wastes forever, whether they come from hospe.
of the cost of electrtetty from Reue 22he cost et power tals. factones, or power plants, from the Rowe plant has been so low that over the past five years alone it has saved the users approximately 568 Quescon 6: What are the effects of nuclear radanaa en rntulon. Today,if we had to shut down Yankee and bund g our health?
pew plant to replace the power, we would have to spend Answer 6: There are no rnessurable effects on our about 3240 m11 Don. So you can see we all have an economic health from the radiauon that we are exposed to. Natural trecenuve to keep Yankee operating.
enwronmntal backsmund kvels am about 120 miU1rer as each year. A smgle chest x-ray involves about 50 mini-Qvetlen 3: In the event of a permaamat shutdown at mms W radtauon. H p stad by the Yankee gate m Yankee Rowe, win Yankee guarantee job escartty for au en a day, W days a year, m co@ get as much as 3
(
Its empkyees, millarern additional, wtuch ts obviously insigntfacant Answer 3: hankee Rowe is staffed with highly skilled e
at escessive radioactJvity personnel who are la great demand. ' Die competence of was micased fmnt W Rowe plant in Im and IM, and n nun a a sisnc h.R these people as continually mamtained through futraamng 1s not possible for Yankee to ne the source of those tempo.
uon tmotk tra rary elevated levels in mdk. Simdar groundJens charges wem ma y
sam peopk at the Mstone Nuclear.
for other nucjear plants parucularly in New England.
Hundreds of Yankee <ramed profess 6onals are assuming ant site in necucut TM Ennmnmental Pmacuen leadership roles an the nuclear.ndustry au over the coun-Agency was asaed by Congressman Dodd to mvesugate.
try. In a job market wbert demand for the type of person PA eMided that fanal fmm weapons testing ernployed by Yankee conunuauy ex1sts, our people ws!!
was, tra fact, um cause of elevated radioacuvity levels in always be successfuny empacyed. A job "guarantae ' ts e ntHk. If an.vorm wants to have a copy of the EPA leuer e
neither appropnate nor recessary w wim harp.v to provee Wrn wnh a copy.
Question 4: In case of a nuclear aceteent, what is the la conclusion. we w ho Ine in the flowe area and *0rk at Yankee are extremely prcud of our.N pears of safe. reha-4
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._.j The October 6, 1080 letter has been written and signed by:
John 1.. Meyer Charlemont, Ma.
Ellen M. Miller Charlemont, Ma.
Eambi H. Miller Charlemont, Ma.
Al Giordano Rowe, Ma.
Liz Laronsohn North Adams, Ma.
Christine M. Engin Conway, Ma.
Rev. Js.mes Moore Conway, Ma.
Rev. Douglas Wilson Rowe, Ma.
Prudence 3erry Rowe, Ma.
Alan Suprenant Ashfield, Ma.
Bertram Hardwick Plainfield, Ma.
Joan Wattnan Pittsfield, Ma.
'Elisa Waingot Willianstown, Ma.
Karen Eppler Williamstown, Ma.
Alfred 2. Ell Clarksburg, Ma.
Thomas A. Wilson, D.D.S., Shelburne Palls, Ma.
Molly Scott Charlemont, Ma.
Judith Eibshman H eath, Ma.
Richard Filorano Charlemont, Ma.
Ellen Kauf= ann Buckland, Ma.
Marc Kauf= ann Buckland, Ma.
Dr. Willian 7 3ahnson Charle=ent, Ma.'
Joan Lea.ver Buckland, Ma.
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ROWE NUCLEAR CONVERSION CAMPAIGN BOX 3-21 Rowe, Ma., 04367 To:
Yankee Atomic Electric Company Executive Offices 20 Turnpike Drive Westborough, Ma.,01581 From: Concerned c.itizens in Franklin and Berkshire Counties Re:
Unanswered Questions
Dear Friends,
We are neighbors of the Yankee Atomic plant in Rowe. We live in the Berkshires and in the Valley, sharing this beautiful place. We love this land and our lives here. We work hard, and hope for a long, healthy and peaceful life for ourselves and our families.
Since Three Mile island, we have become increasingly concerned about the nuclear plant in our back yard. It is now time for us to raise our deep concerns in a public way.
YANKEE ATOMIC in Rowe, Massachusetts has been shut down since January. Before it re-opens this November, we'd like answers to these unanswered questions.
1.
Yankee Atomic in Rowe is 20 years old this November. ls this plant wearing out?
- What is the life expectancy of a nuclear power plant?
- Has any commercial plant ever functioned longer than 20 years?
- Was it not announced at the beginning of the plant's life, that its life ex-pectancy was 20 years?
- Yankee Rowe has been closed since January. The last two times Yankee attempted to start up, there were accidents. Are these accidents related to the old age of the plant?
- Can we be assured tt.at there will not be more accidents when the plant attempts to re-open?
2.
What plans exist for the decommissioning of Yankee Atomic? How much will it cost? And who pays forit?
- Will the Yankee Atomic Electric Company guarantee that the high cost of :
decommissioning this plant be paid by the owning utilities and stockholders'- '
not the consumer?
- Will all plans for decommissioning the plant be made public immediately?
- Will citizens be given a voice in the important decisions surrounding decommissioning?
3.
In the event of a permanent shutdown at Yankee Rowe, wlIl the Yankee Atomic j
Electric Company guarantee job security for allits employees?
l
- If the plant is closed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?
- If the plant is closed by a major,Three Mile Island type of accident?
- If the plant must close because of its old age?
- If the plant is closed by public opinion?
4.
In case of a nuclear accident, what is the evacuaffon plan?
- Our schools, hospitats, nursing homes and bus!nesses are all especially i
vulnerable in such an emergency. How will we safely evacuate these places?
l
- How effective are current plans,which in some cases move citizens closer to the plant?
h
- Will the Yankee Atorric Electric Company accept full financial responsibility, P
over and above the limited government insurance, for any losses of our property j
or business?
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Is there a solution to the problems of safe,long term storage for radioactive waste?
- Will waste disposal plans for this area be made public?
- How much waste is stored in Rowe? How safe is it? For how long?
- Who is responsible for the costs of nuclear waste disposal at Rowe? The consumers? The stockholders? Taxpayers?.
- Will the Yankee Atomic Electric Company guarantee that Rowe, Massachu.
setts will not be used for a New England-wide nuclear waste dump?
- What are the effects of nuclear radiation on our health?
AS NEIGHBORS of New England's oldest nuclear power plant, we want a say in deciding the answers to these important questions. We also have concerns.
WE ARE CONCERNED for tne quality of our lives here. We're concerned that in 1977 and 1978, cows' milk in Franklin County was contaminated with Strontium 90 and Ceslum 137. While the company intists this was due to Chinese bomb fallout, research shows there was not a bomb test within 3 months of the readings.
Rather, the contamination came exactly at the times when faulty fuel problems plagued the plant, causing releases of radiation. The fuel problems soon after required l
shutdown of the plant. This information became public knowledge only after it was subpoenaed by the Greenfield Court during an anti-nuclear protest trial.
WE TRUST that the company still stands behind this statement:
"NO PART OF OUR OPERATION HAS EVER BEEN KEPT SECRET. O ALWAYS BEEN QPEN TO EVERYONE AND WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN G OUR REPORTS TO WHOMEVER MIGHTREQUEST THEM."
~ Plant Superintendent, WendellJohnson,1964 In the spirit of this statement, we've arranged for a PUBLIC MEETING to address these and other important questions. Please send at least one member of the Board of Directors of Yankee Atomic Electric Company to provide answers to these questions.
Since many of these questions involve company policy, it is absolutely necessary th we talk with a member of the board which maies these policies. We promise that this forum will not be a debate, but an open and honest question and answer session.
PUBLIC MEETING THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2nd,1980 Mohawk Trail Regional High School Auditorium Rte.112 t
Buckland, Ma.
i l
7:00 p.m.
Of course, we will be happy to speak with you anytime, but for the benefit of.
i everyone, we expect to see you on October 2nd, i
Sincerely, The Rowe Nuclear Conversion Campaign Box 3 21 Rowe, Ma. 01367 R.S.V.P. (413) 339-5362 or (413) 625 6196 f
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