ML20086U242

Forwards Summary Rept of Woodborer Study Program from June 1975 Through 1983,per 831108 Agreement

ML20086U242
Person / Time
Site:	Oyster Creek
Issue date:	02/28/1984
From:	Heward R GENERAL PUBLIC UTILITIES CORP.
To:	Lombardo J NRC
References
NUDOCS 8403070203
Download: ML20086U242 (5)

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GPU Nuclear Corporation N

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WI 100 Intarpace Parkway w

E Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 201 263-6500 TELEX 136-482 Writer's Direct Dial Number:

February 28, 1984 Mr. James J. Lombardo United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 7920 Norfolk Avenue Mail Stop 314 Bethesda, MD 20014 e

Subject:

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Docket No. 50-219 Full Term License Conversion As agreed upon at the November 8,1983 meeting held at GPU Nuclear Corporation headquarters, enclosed is a summary report of the Woodborer Study Program from its inception in June 1975 through the 1983 reporting period.

Very truly yours,

(

c R. W. Heward, Jr.

Vice President Radiological & Environmental Controls DRC: dis Enclosure d

8403070203 840228 PDR ADOCK 05000219 P

pm GPU Nuclear Corporaticn is a subsidiary of the Genera, Public Util ties Corporation

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SUMMARY

.OP WOODBORER STUDIES FRC" 1975 - 1983

' Marine woodborers have been monitored by Jersey Central Power & Light

Company and GPU-Nuclear Corporation in Barnegat Bay and contiguous watern since June 1975 to assess their species composition, distribution,

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. abundance, and destructiveness to wood.

The main objective of this

-monitoring progran-is to determine whether the operation of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) causes a proliferation of d

woodborer populations which increase damage to wooden structures above that generated by woodborer populations occurring " naturally" in tiie

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Barnegat Bay system. Results of. data collected from twenty wooden

exposure-sampling sites-through December 1983 indicate the occurrence of

-four species of molluscan woodborers,.the teredinids Bankia gouldi

.(Bartsch), Teredo navalis (Linnaeus), T. bartschi Clapp, and T.

furcifera (von' Martena), and the crustacean woodborer, Limnoria cf. tuberculata.

Lof. the -four species of teredinids identified in the estuarine system, the most widely-distributed is B, gouldi, occurring at some time over the study period at all sampling sites.

It is' consistently the numerically dominant teredinid species north _of Oyster Creek along the western shore s'

of the' bay. Teredo navalis dominates in the higher salinity waters along

.the. eastern perimeter of the bay, as well as in the mouth of Forked JRiver.. Teredo bartschi, a' trop'ical-subtropical species, is the dominant Y

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'teredinid in Oyster Creek,, its distribution being limited to areas influenced by thermal discharges from the OCNGS.

A second tropical-subtropical species,

_T,. furcifera, occurred at a few sampling sites during the first years of the sampling program, but has not been recovered from any wooden exposure panel since Pobr'uary 1977.

The crustacean woodborer, Limnoria cf. tuberculata, has been recorded at n

eight sampling sites, but is not generally found in areas affected by thermal discharges.

The abundance of Teredo navalis was greatest near Barnegat Inlet, commonly exceeding 400 individuals per long-term (six month) exposu're panel.. Bankia gouldi peaited in abundance during 1975 and 1979 but declined during the intervening years. Between 1980 and 1982, it showed a continual and significant decline throughout the study region to where s

it no longer represented the most abundant teredinid species.

In 1983, B. gouldi. increased in ab'undance above that. observed in 1982. Within

' Oyster Creek, maximal abundance of Teredo bartschi occurred in 1975, 1978, and 1979;-however, no individuals have been collected since March 1982, suggesting that this species ma'y have been eliminated from the system.

Limnoria cf tuberculata concentrated in the southern bay, being

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most abundant at Waretown, where its incidence in long-term exposure panels usually exceeded 1,000 individuals.

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The destructiveness o,f woodbor,ers was highest at site 1 (near

Barnegat Inlet) from 1975-1977 and.1981-1983,.at site 7 (Oyster Creek)

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-from'1978-1979,. and at site 11 (mouth of Forked River) in 1980. Since t

the inception of:the monitoring program, woodborer attack has generally been greatest near Barnegat' Inlet, in Oyster Creek, and north of Oyster Creek along the western shore of the bay.

It can be concluded froin this study'that the operation of the OCNGS has'not affected populations of Teredo navalis, Bankia gouldi,-and Limnoria cf. tuberculata. Changes in abundance, distribution, s.

reproduction, and destructiveness of these species since 1975 can.be

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ascribed to natural causes, such as the mitigating effects of parasitism.

However, changes in T. bartschi populations may be b

. correlated with the operation of the OCNGS. This teredinid has not been

.found in the Barnegat Bay system since March'1982, and its disappearance has resulted in a significant decrease in wood destruction in Oyster Creek.-

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_With respect to legal action, the'possible relationship between the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station'(OCNGS) and wcodborer activity

'has been the subject of-a number of administrative and judicial hearings. The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and z.

Licensing Board (ASLB) held a two day pre-hearing ccnference in 1977 to l n

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v Edetermine if new evidence on cooling system impacts had been developed subsequent.to the publication of the Final Environmental Statement which would warrant a full hearing on the offects of the cooling system; the

. ASLB decision raled that new evidence did not exist for such a hearing to be held. Several cases have been tried before the New Jersey Superior Court relating.to allegations of increased shipworm attack in marine structures. All cases which have been tried have resulted' in ' dismissals of-the allegations via the initial decision or subsequent appeals. One of.these cases, Van Dissel'vs.~JCP&L, which was tried as a class action suit, alleged OCNGS caused increased marine structural damage via Lincreased shipworm growth. The trial judge dismissed the allegations in this case and.the dismissal was sustained on appeal to the New Jersey appellate courts..On.further review by the U.S. Supreme Court the case was recently remanded to the New Jersey appellate courts for reconsideration. Another New Jersey Superior Court case, alleging damages similar to those described above, is outstanding and awaits the resolution of the class action suit.

d In light of the ongoing legal action described above and the need to define more clearly the possible relationships between station operation and shipworm activity, GPU Nuclear intends to continue the Woodborer Monitoring Program into the foreseeable future.

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