ML20126B169
| ML20126B169 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Monticello  |
| Issue date: | 04/26/1968 |
| From: | Price H US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC) |
| To: | Karth J HOUSE OF REP. |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9212210432 | |
| Download: ML20126B169 (2) | |
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F.Schroeder DOS R.S. Boy d D.R. Muller Honorable Joseph E. Karth D.C. Fischer House of Representatives Washington, D. C.
20002 0.Ertter, REG N. Blunt REG Reading
Dear Mr. Karth:
DRL Reading Your memorandum of March 11, 1968, to Office of Congressional RPB-1 Reading Liaison, Atomic Energy Commission, concerning a letter you Suppl.R_
received from Mrs. John Wegler, dated February 29, 1968, has AEC Pub. Doc.P4 been referred to me.
To aid you in preparing a reply to this Formal Doc.
letter, I am enclosing a brief report which describes our regulatory review procedure and the radiological effects to the environs expected as a result of operation of the Monti--
cello Nuclear Generating Plant.
In addition to the booklet, " Licensing of Power Reactors" which is referenced in the attached report, I am also enclosing a copy of " Atomic Power Safety" which describes the operation of the typical water cooled and moderated nuclear power plants.
If you believe these boe klets would be useful.to your constitu-ents, I would be glad to furnish copies in quantity.
You may wish to note that an identical letter from Mrs. Wegler has been referred to me for reply by Senator Walter F. Mondale's office.
Sincerely yours,
'( tiened ) Harold I.. Price Harold L. Price Director of Regulation N
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Enclosures:
- 1. Report jfU
- 2. " Licensing of Power Reactors"-
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- 3. " Atomic Power Safety" 9
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RADIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OPERATING THE MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANT The application by Northern States Power Company for a permit to construct the Monticello plant was reviewed from the standpoint of radiological safety by four bodies in the AEC's process of licensing and regulation, as outlined in the enclosed booklet, " Licensing of Power Reactors." These review groups included the AEC regulatory staff, the Commission's statutory Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), and an atomic safety and licensing board which conducted a public hearing in the matter on May 28, 1967, at Buffalo, Minnesota.
The initial decision of the board, granting a provisional construction permit, was then reviewed by the Commission itself.
The construction permit was issued on June 19, 1967.
Each of these review bodies concluded that the proposed plant could be constructed and operated without undue risk to the health and safety of the public.
When the applicant completes the plant and applies for an operating license, further safety reviews will be conducted by the AEC regulatory staf f and the ACRS. Thereafter, if an operating license is granted, the plant will be under AEC surveillance and undergo periodic safety inspections throughout its lifetime.
During routine operation, very small amounts of radioactive materials generated in the nuclear processes may be released into the environment at controlled rates and in controlled amounts from a nuclear power plant. This requires a con-tinuous program of monitoring and control to insure that permissible limits are not exceeded. The allowable limits in AEC regulations are based on guides developed by the Federal Radiation Council, a statutory body, and issued by the President for the guidance of Federal agencies.
These permissible limits are such that continuous use at the point of release from the site would not result in exposures exceeding national and international standards for radiation protec-tion of the public. Permissible exposure limits reflected in these standards are well below the level where biological damage has been observed in humans.
It is believed that any biological effects that might be produced at such low exposures would be too infrequent, in comparison with the occurrence of similar effects from natural causes, to be observed by epidemiological or other techniques presently available.
Thus, the risk to individuals exposed at such levels is so low as to be negligible in comparison with observable risks from natural and other causes.
Tiie concentrations of liquid radioactive ef fluents released from the plant are further reduced by dilution in the body of water to which' they are discharged.
A recent survey of all fourteen operating nuclear power plants has shown that the concentrations of radioactivity in liquid releases during 1967 were only a small
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fraction of the permissible limits applicable to the radionuclides in the effluent.
In the case of the Monticello plant, the AEC's evaluations concluded that the design and operation of the radiological waste disposal system would preclude harmful effects on the water supplies of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the nearest communities using the Mississippi River for potable water.
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