ML20028D862

Petitions NRC to Revoke Facility OL Until Both Main Recirculation Pumps & All Other Parts of RCS Are Operating at Full Capacity

ML20028D862
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	12/15/1982
From:	Gogol E CITIZENS AGAINST NUCLEAR POWER
To:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML20028D858	List: ML20028D860 ML20028D862
References
NUDOCS 8301200034
Download: ML20028D862 (2)

Text

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CITIZENS AGAINST NUCLEAR POWER

. 407 S.

Dearborn,

Rm. 930 Chicago IL 6060 5 (312) 864-7897 December 15, 1982 To: Harold Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC 20555 PETITION FOR EMERGENCY RELIEF REGARDING THE LaSALLE COUNTY ATOMIC PLANT Mr. Denton:

I was today informed by the NRC's Roger Walker that LaSalle Unit 1 has been in a cold shutdown for the last week and a half as a result of a stuck discharge valve on recirculation pump A, rendering this pump effectively inoperable.

I was shocked to learn from Mr. Walker that your office is planning (within a time period described as possibly being as short as one day) to alter the LaSalle operating license in order to allow the further operation of LaSalle Unit 1 with this condition unremedied.

Such an action, if taken, would represent the height of irrespoasibility on your part. With one of the two main recirculation pumps inoperaole, half of the reactor core cooling capability is lost. With the reactor in this condition, operation at 100% power could easily result in overneating of the

. core and subsequent meltdown, with the likely result of a catastrophic release of atomic radiation.

While operation at drastically reduced power levels may be possible with only .

one of the recirculation pumps operable, it would be still be insane to allow such operation. Running the reactor with only half of normal cooling capacity is analagous to driving a car at high speeds with only half its normal amount of brake fluid. In particular, an accidental increase in the reactor power above the level which can be adequately cooled by one recirculation pump, could easily result in a core raeltdown. If you're not sure you can cool the plant down in the most extreme situation possible, you shouldn't be operating it - at all!

I was appalled when Mr. Walker further told me that the inoperability of this valve was of "no safety significance". If the reactor was running at full power and this valve accidentally slammed shut, the resulting transient could quite possibly initiate a sequence of events leading to an extremely severe accident.

Besides the inherent danger of operating a reactor with a partially disabled '

cooling system,. there is another reason for immediately repairing the stuck valve before the reactor is again t'trned on: minimization of worker radiation exposure. It is possible that repaAr of the valve will require removal of uranium fuel and draining of water from die reactor. If so, the longer the reactor has operated before this repair is undertaken, the greater will be the Page 1 of 2  ;

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radiction levalo in thm crco of thu brokin volvn, cnd the high:r thm work r radiation exposure. The standard of "as low as reasonably achievable" worker radiation exposure clearly mandates tnat this repair be carried out before any further reactor operation. )

CITIZENS AGAINST NUCLEAR POWER tnerefore petitions you:

1. to immediately revoke LaSalle Unit l's operating license until botn main recirculation pumps and all other parts of the reactor cooling system are capable of operating at full capacity;

2. to order a full investigation and open public hearings into the causes of this exceedingly dangerous condition.

Citizens Against Nuclear Power is a Chicago-based organization of citizens, with members concentrated in the Chicago area but also extending all over Illinois and the Midwest. Substantial numbers of CANP members reside within 10 miles of the LaSalle plant. While these people are most directly threatened by the actions Mr. Walker described, all of us are at risk. Atomic radiation released to the atmosphere by an accident will not hit an invisible wall at 10 miles and drop to the ground. The consequences of an accident at LaSalle are massive and unacceptable.

Furthermore, there can be no compelling reason to permit the further operation of that reactor. It is a well-known fact, repeatedly stated during the recent hearings on Commonwealth Edison's latest rate hike request, that the company has a great deal of excess capacity above and beyond that required to maintain a prudent reserve. And keeping LaSalle closed down would also result in lower rates to the ratepayers by keeping the $2.4 billion spent on the plant out of the rate base at least temporarily.

Sincerely, Edward Gogol Coordinator Citizens Against Nuclear Power cc. Cong. Tom Corcoran Cong. Harold Washington Cong. Sidney Yates Environmental Control Division, Attorney General of tne State of Illinois NRC Region III Commonwealth Edison Company Page 2 of 2 7122A f