ML20084F166

Forwards Correspondence from Tj Patchford Re Inquiry on Seepage of Nuclear Waste from Congressman W Lehman to Congressman M Mccormack

ML20084F166
Person / Time
Site:	Turkey Point
Issue date:	04/20/1976
From:	Cautus H ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ADMIN.(PRESENTLY DOE)
To:	Kammerer C NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA)
Shared Package
ML20084F146	List: ML20084F148 ML20084F155 ML20084F166 ML20084F189 ML20084F203 ML20084F207 ML20084F215 ML20084F222 ML20084F256
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NUDOCS 8304200613
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ENERGY RESEARC!1 AND DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

't y (~ j WASHINGTON, D.C. 20545

%, gj APR 2 01976 Mr. Carlton Ka: merer, Director Office of Congressional Affairs Nuclear Regulatory Ccmaission 1717 H Street, IM.

Washington, D.C.

20555

Dear Mr. KanTaerer:

Enclosed is correspondence frcm Dr. Thcmas J. Ratchford regarding an inquiry frcm Congressman William lehman to Congressman Mike McCormack.

Since the nature of this inquiry relates to the activities of the Nuclear Regulatory Ccanission rather than the Ercrgy Research and Develognent Administration, it is requested that proper action be taken by your office.

We are advising Dr. Ratchford of this referral by copy of this letter.

Sincerely,

-' (b :<!!(

b..,

H. Hollister Cantus, Director

/ Office of Congressional Relations

Enclosure:

As stated oc: Dr. Thcmas J. Ratchford MC3iM'- '

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JOHN t (WIGERT. JR.

sarcuma marcice bOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES t

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To:

Oscar Stradinger

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Tom Ratchfor'd Re:

Attached correspondence t

I will appreciate your assistance in preparing a response to the attached j

letter from Cong. Lehman for Chairman L

McCormack at your earliest convenience.

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Thank you.

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NOTE:

PLEASE RETURN PASTED-UP NEWS ARTICLE FOR OUR FILES.

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Elashington,DE. 20513 March 22, 1976 Honorable Mike McCormack Chairman Subcommittee on Energy Research, Development and Demonstration -

B374 Rayburn HOB

Dear Mike:

I am enclosing an article from the Miami Herald which was recently brought to my attention.

It concerns leaks discovered in tha fuel pits of the Florida Power and Light Company's Turkey Point power plant.

I wauld =ppreciate your directing your staff to take a look at this article and provide me with some in-formation which could accist me in dealing with the fears and concerns my constituents have expressed.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

With best wishes, I am Sincerely, i

WILLIAM LEHMAN Member of Congress WL/ mar Enclosure

(

THIS STATIONERY P;tlNTED ON PAPEft MADE WITH RECYCLED FIDERS

t Arrow P.oiiits lo Cench ~ Mea on seep, m... s,...ity plans con t Minor Leaks Discovered l

In FPL Nticlear Fuel Pits

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dioa'etive water has been leaking at.

possible for people to work inside i,

them.

~-M*

E. MIKE TONER e.

irregular ' rates from both of the The pits are inulti story, bunker-j He<are su.rew.at wmer plant's spent fueE pits - heavily liighly radioactive spent nuclear shleided structures of concrete and like struetcres-adjoin!ng the main l

fuel nas been stored in leaking pits stainless steel designed for the tem-reactor, build:ngs at the power plant, located on the shores of Bis-at the Turkey Point power plant j por4ry storage of. " hot" used fuel 3ean - with the full knowledge of after it is-removed from the plant's 'cavne Bay 25 miles south of Miam y

near Miami for more than two

~

Each ' year, a portion of 'the both Florida Power and Light Co.

two reactor, -

-plant's fuel - no longer t'seful for and, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory ALTI!O'tlGil'THC-water now is producir: electricity, but still at le-that radioactive levels - is unload.

Commission.

S.ome radioactivity already his j peing; collected and filtered to re-escaped from the p! ant r.s a result move radioactive coa: amination, at-ed f rom the reactors.

l of the leak. FPL officials say that ( tempts to plug the' leaks have been TIIE SPENT fuel, pellets of ura.

. unsuccessful so far.

the releases of racen ha;e been Repair efforts have been ham-,. nium a'nd.othw. radioactive materi.

sman cnd pose To. threat to the

'als'enevsed iti bundles of long. s!cn pered by the intense radioietivity.

Inside the, pits, which makes 4t im* f der.rkds,'then'is placed inside pub:ic or to pla'nt workers..

f pits and flooded with water to hel; But the co:npany adr;its that ra-control the release of heat and radi osctisity.'

But the water itself 'also become radioactive - and it is that wate which is now leaking from the fue pits.-

A company spokesman says th the pits are ** unbelievably secur and constructed to the same sta dards as the main reactor buildin But leaks first,were detected l

the steelliners of one of the pits 1972

. before the nuclear pl

'went'into service and before i radioactive fuel was stored in' iP ts..

The company didn't repair leaks then because it conside them to be " minor."

TODhY,. Tile rate of leakaa 90 gallons en hour - approxim

! ly 45 times what it was whe e

was first detected, j

Leaks in the other pit were.

discovered in late 1975. *Ihe ra l

leakage there has been slowq at times only a seep - but #

i I active w not only the pit's steel liner, four-foot concrete' wall.

Permanent repales now may l

Turn to Page 14A Col.

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14 A Eundee M' veh 14. 1978 1*

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Wd "Tle lesks cre urduiral

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y R, ' h...tn like to get rid of them

'. 2 ;.<.. "..I...S I hazard. The pits are no i

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/N" ;lN collapse, and they are n s.

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• to watt untD eli et LSe fuel can be j

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un'oated and the p:ta dramed -

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. of the leakes pits - even though

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4,9 leaks themselves.

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ORDINARILY. the used fuel

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would be esored in the pits for only r.,. '~

i a few rronths before beir.g trucked s

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s sasy to one of the nation's t::ree

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sn6mercial reprocessing facII.nes.

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"In terms of the im.

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pul>lic.the risk of thea.

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minent threat to the

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a hmks is rather smalt.

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- flut the lonpterm risks

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e are much a,r e a t e r.

Y just a potential prol,.

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Thr e leaks are not i

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e m.s.,rf r.ff.,a, Pool. Uke Area Inside Turkey Pc g

g" aron es camraaf

..apm scunture o o e reactor where there is apare stor. creased gmatly - a process that

'. R at the erprocess rg p' ant at By themselves the leaks da act But the rehaWhty of the pumps age.

takes hourt West \\ a"ef. N.Y. has been closed yet pose any senaus safety hazard. wdl become incressmgly important spee 19'2 for safety modsizations as FPL lacreases the amour.t of fues and won't be reopened untJ mt Jesst StJr TirEY DO esemphfy a num. at holds in the p.ts. More fuel wdl I,F9-ber of general problems in the na.

mean more heal rA temnd p!a'it, peer htorris 11 Don's nuciear industry - includmg y

my eeser open at a!L lts bunders defects en plant construcuen. the "THAT WILL decrean.e the y

• av the new 364 mhon plant sam.

faalure to correct known defects, amount of t.me the camp.ny wdl ID does not work.

and a rar:ge of problems posed by have to deplov sts emergency equ.p-sThe coi.ntry's third reprocessing the increasseg storage of spent fuel ment." says Moseley. *1f they triple rda'it. at BarnweII. $ C. as em-at scattered locaur.ns arour.d the i the amount of fuel stor=d there at hev:ed m e L:# smg d.spute and country.

wdl give them soughly one-third of

.#t expected to"open unul 1977 or Fpt, which has made a heavy t%e time they now have

• As a pre.

3.I'8-commitment to constructen of new cauboa. FPL ptaas to nsta!! penna.

. As a ress:t. FPL - like most of nuclear power plants. is especially ment back-up pumps on the fuel pits t'e r2atien's other nucjeer power sena2tive to the emphcations.

- a decision the company made riant coe'.a: ore - to beere forced "wesene gmwee t= eheeune te shortiv after a siishes with one of ta store. siret fdl et the p6 ant sential to the energy future of this ses semporarv emergene, pumps re.

!g "e 85 as L*ei count *y." said one company spokes. su:eed in the sp.!! of more than

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snan. "I certainiy don't beheve that 7.000 ga;Iems of radioactwe unter.

SUT THE p'tirage pits at Turkry l

this story is gomg to help the cause The sequer.ce of esents beran on f*Jt are nea*mg repe try amt the of nuclear power one btL" Apol 12.1973.The pump on one of.

I, e*t.the fue; already stored there wd!

6c*Mny is n';emiv seekmg federal There is egeeement on that point the spent fuel pata faded = for aproval for a $4-mchon program from Robert D. Panard, a former la-what was se be the first of three fe inp:e the arrovnt of fuel the IWng pris e di hold. Without ade. ceesieg profeet managee weth the faJures in the next fase merkt An NRC, who resigned his post in ** nergency pump was aw ved in and siuste storare. the plant could be January in protest over "weso#ed hooked he. hat et was left tempo, dI C*

Even 'with the expansion, howev* safety problems" la nuclear plast rardy unsuended and during that cmuurnon.

tee. puhed a hose couphng on the pump loom I

be to remera m p! ace and the

• IN TERMS of the Imr.unent f

sevpany is uncertain it ed! lie able threat to the public, the risk of EN M '"C#"s *s*p*ew*ed I

1.:ed.

W pump ha 6-to fit the leaks unti! et can be re-these leaks la rather small." ex.

ed.

gens W n W wam

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P" Company officials say they aren't piamed Ponard, who now works for 1

the Umon of concerned scienusts, out on m floor of the butiding. The

• • • ned about the ecotmuad leak-a group of Boston.taned e6:entists p~

'i age.

entical et the n@; ear LJusuy.

J 7The leaks are undesirable, and "But the long. term risks are we would bue to get rid of them. much greater." he added. "!%ese 1;

Itit they are no safety hazard," leaks are not just a potential prob-(

sers A D. Schmidt. FPL's esce pres. nem they are happening right now.

ident for power resources.

"The company is caugnt se the

."The pits are not soms to col-eeufvalent of a Catch 22. They lapse, and they are not gotng to didn't fut the leaks when they had fall apart" the chance, and now that the leaks

• Bet because the rate of leakage are apparently gettsps worse, they ar;icars to be increasing, Nuclear have so much spent fuel on hand legelatory Comnussion offiesais that thy can*I fix them.

ase enore concerned about the prob-

"If it weren't such a serious mat.

lefa.

ter. at would border on the absurd."

The leaks. however, are not the seh es.p3says Norman C Moseley"*

only problems that FPL has been M

DO not beat them e

havtag with the storage of sper.

f director of inspection and enforce-gg rsent for the NRC's Southeast re-g on.

RECAUSE THE fuel is bot, the a

." Turkey Point has not yet re-water in the pits must be circulated ived permission to store addition-to prevent the bundup of best -

fuel et its plant and a is posehne and the passbety eset the big dat we migat regstre them se re=

at water semid eventually r= 'r the leasts bef<re they get that in boinna.

appreat." he 6auL cm pit has onsy a segie pump JRepsir efforts may be hampe'ed to etreulate the water. One et them hy tN storage of spent f9et, but has faded twice la the last yes*.

the co-rrsey could be reg nr.d to The other has faded three uses.

urmed 12e f el to make any necces-'

MQstlrY d

"That is a high faaure rate." says

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ACKNOWLE DGMENT DATE OF DOCUMEN' yj g =- -- - -. w g m INTERIM REPLY

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PREPAHe F6H SIP >hATURE 38#er StfedMe M FIN A8. R EPLY CHAIRMAN FILE LOCATION (referred to N E 4/29/76 O EXECUTIVE DIRE TOR OTsER: h '< M cESCRJPTION XO LETTER OMEMO O REPORT O OTHER SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS OR REMARKS Ltr fus Rep. Williana tehmen (Fla.) to Mthe b

Y decoreeck dtd 3/22/76 zu leaks la the feel gyggt pits of the Teattey Point plaat I

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