ML20125B520

Responds to 791027 Request for Revocation of Ol.Nrc 790702 Order Directed Cold Shutdown of Unit 1.NRC 790809 Order Specified Problems That Must Be Resolved Prior to Restart of Facilities

ML20125B520
Person / Time
Site:	Three Mile Island
Issue date:	11/08/1979
From:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Lyng T AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
Shared Package
ML20125B521	List: ML20125B520 ML20125B524 ML20125B527 ML20125B532
References
NUDOCS 7911280139
Download: ML20125B520 (2)

Text

. . . - -- - - . - .- - - . .~

l$ Q ? .;

s ,k $ hic,.  !

f '

UNITED STATES E f ' w *[4h 5* C NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON D. C. 20555  !

t+ 8 November 8,1979 i

• sss*

l i

Mr. Timothy J. Lyng 102 Orchard Street Mechanicsburg,.PA 17055  ;

Dear Mr. Lyng:

}

Your letters of October 27, 1979, to Chainnan Hendrie and other Commissioners b urging the closing of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, have  ;

been referred to this office for' reply. l Three Mile Island Unit No. 2 is of course not operable and won't be for a long time to come. With regard to Three Mile Island Unit No.1, the l Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an Order on July 2,1979, directing }

that it shall remain shut down until further order of the Commission  ;

itself after a public hearing and stated:  :

i "In view of the variety of issues raised by the accident at  !

the Three Mile Island, Unit No. 2 f acility, the Commission  ;

presently. lacks the requisite reasonable assurance that the  :

same licensee's Three Mile Island, Unit No.1 facility, a l nuclear power reactor of similar design, can be operated t

without endangering the health and safety of the public." -

l The commission's Order and Notice of Hearing on August 9, 1979, stated:

"In addition to the items identified for the other B&W ieactors,- i the unique circumstances at TMI require that additional safety concerns identified by the NRC staff be resolved prior to restart, j These concerns result from (1) potential interaction between Unit 1 and the damaged Unit 2, (2) questions about the management cap . I abilities and technical resources of Metropolitan Edison, including the impact of the Unit 2 accident on these, (3) the potential effect.  ;

of operations necessary to decontaminate the Unit 2 facility on .

Unit 1 and (4) recognized deficiencies. in emergency plans and station .

operating procedures." -

The Commission has stated that its primary commitment is to a fair and thorough  !

hearing and decision. l q

t i

o 9

)

un2so /31 1 i

I I

Mr. Timothy J. Lyng November.8, 1979 l i

A letter of October 25, 1979, to the Metropolitan Edison Company from the 1 Director of the NRC Office of Inspection and Enforcement included the following statement: l t

"Your written reply to this letter and Notice of Violation i and the findings of our continuing inspections of your l activities and further considerations of these matters may 1ead to further enforcement action, such as additional civil penalties or orders to suspend, modify or revote the license."  :

We assure you that every effort is being made to ensure the continued  !

p ctection of the public health and safety at Three Mile Island and at all other nuclear power plants.

t Sincerely,

/

Harold R. Denton, Director  ;

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation  ;

l

{

I r

i i

l i

i i

.