ML20127L185

Forwards Rept of Findings of Insp Conducted by AEC Div of Compliance of Activities at Monticello Nuclear Power Plant Re Recent Discharge of Radwaste to Mn River from Facility on 711121-24

ML20127L185
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	01/18/1972
From:	Christopher Henderson US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
To:	Tonat E HOUSE OF REP.
References
NUDOCS 9211230447
Download: ML20127L185 (6)

Text

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January 18, 1972 Mr. Ed Tonat hf-$ h '

Legislative Assistant Office of Congressman Joseph Karth- -

2432 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D. C. 20505

Dear Mr. Tonat:

As discussed by phone today, I am enclosing a report of the findings of the inspection conducted by the AEC's Division of Compliance of activities at the Northern States Power Company's Monticello Nuclear Power Station concerning the recent discharge of radioactive waste to the Mississippi River from that facility.

This information was transmitted to Governor Anderson on '

December 17,1971.

I am also enclosing a copy of a press annsncement that was released in Minnesota following the discha.ge of the radioactive waste.

Sincerely.

Dricinct r e y >

Chris L. lle-dcrcon ,

C. L. Henderson i Assistant Director of Regulation '

for Administration

Enclosures:

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1. Report of Inspection

2. Press Announcement Distribution: '

L. M. Muntzing

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On hovember 20, 1971, Mr. C. E. Ietrcon, Euperintendent of' the Ibrthern Statec power Corpany'c Monticello nuclear Power Station informed the Divicion of Compliance, ReCion III office, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, by ,

telephone that a planned diccharge of about 10,000 gallone of water I

, contsining radioactive rnterial had been rnde to the Micciccippi River

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durinc the evening of Ibvember 19, 1971. Mr. Larcon stated that the i calculated concentration of radioactivity in the water diccharced to I the river vac 7.45 x 30-10 uCi/r.l. This concentration is lect than1% '

i of the limit specified in their AD: iicense for the discharge of liquid vacte containinc unidentified radio $ cetopec. l 't . Larcon alco ctated that Fe had heard on the news media that the Minneapolic and St. PF vater cupply intake Cates vould be cloced for a period of time becauce of the dischurce, baced on the recommendation of the Minnecota State llealth Department. Mr. Larcon otated that he was informing the AEC becauce of the coverace being given thic matter by the newc media.

(The AD? licence doec rot require the licencee to notify the ADC of i

liquid dicchnrces which are planned and which have radioactive concen-

, tratione that are belov I.EC licence limits. )

A cpecini inspection vnc conducted at the Monticello site by incpectorc from the Recion III Ccapliance office during the period of November 21 i throuch Ibvember 24 to obtain detailed information on the discharge of liquid vacte from Monticello. The information which follows cummarizec the findinge of the Livision of Compliance inspectors based on their colective examination of records and procedurec, interviews with plant perconnel, and direct obcervation.

Intrection Findinec The Monticello reactor had been chut down on Priday, November 12, for a planned mintenance period of about three days. As a result of surveillance tests performed during the first part of thic outage, the licensee determined that draining the toruc, which normally contains about 500,000 gallons cf water, van required to permit inspection and repair work _vithin the torus. Thic necessitated extending the planned maintenance period. The major portion of the torus water was transferred to liquid storage space within the plant but the volume of water to be stored exceeded the available storage capacity by about 50,000 gallons.

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., e On Priday,16vember 19, the licencee decided to diccharge the execcc vater to the river. ,

Procedurce for the diceharge cf the tosus water vere prepared and approvcd by the M:nticello plant staff. Thece procedures required that all water being relcaced be pro cceed through a powdex dcminer-alizer/filterpriortodiccharge. Standard procedurec require an armlytical determination of the radioactivity contained in a sample of water to be releaced prior to its diccharge. The procedurec followed in diccharcing the water from Monticello were reviewed by the Compliance increetorc and found to be concietent with the plan for handling of liquid vante described in +he Finel Safety Analycic Ecport culmitted by the licencee ac a part of the application for an Air operatinc licence.

The initial batch of vator diccharged from Monticello van mde up almact entirely of torus vator.and vac releaced from the plant otert-ing at 7:20 p.m. on Friday,16vember 19 The licencec's recorde choved that thic tatch contained 8754 callone. The licencee analyzed a cample of thic batch prior to its diccharce and provided the Minnecota polluticn Centrcl Aconey with a similar cample for their -

analyc$ c. A cample vac alco provided to the Compliance inspectore

' d ar independcnt analytic by the AEC. The reculte of these cample

• analyses are given in Table I. Eaced on the licensco's campic analycir, which in consistent with the other analycec, the total radioactivity contained in the initial batch relcaced vac determined by the licensee to be 132.4 uCi. The concentration of this activity after dilutien in the water of the diccharge canal vac calculated by the licencee to be 7.h5 x 10-10 uCi/nl. Thece calculationc to determine the activity concentration released to the river were reviewed and verified by the Compliance inspectors. The AEC licence limit on activi-ty cencentration for instantaneouJ Telease of uridentified isotopes in liquid vaste, the moct rectrictive limit applicabic.in this cace, is 1 x 10-7 uCi/ml above background. The activity concentration of the relence, therefore, vac cubstantially below the applicable AEC limit.

Subcequent to the discharge of the initial batch of water, the licensee determined that the total activity to be released from the plant vould be less if water vere diccharged from the fuel storage pool rather than from the toruc. The remaining torus water could then be transferred to the fuel storace. pool to replace.the water discharged. A nodified procedure to transfer water from the fuel ctorage pool for discharge to the river vac prepared End approved by the licencee. A total of 9

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4 four batches of water from the fuel ctorace fool, concicting of 33,636 ca13onc, vac diccharced during the period from !bvember 21 through Ibvember 24, 3973. Tne recultc of cample analyces for thece four batchec are given in %ble 1. The activity concentration in each of thcce batcheo vec Icco thte in the initial batch.

1 The total volute of water diccharced to the river, excluding normal laundry vatte, during the period from !bvember 19 throuch Ibvember 2h, J 1971, vac he,3po canonc containing a total activity of 21s.6 uC1.

luring the came period, the volume of norun1 laundry waste diccharced vac h880 callone of water containing 1.6 uCi of activity.

l Water cumplet from the diccharge canal campler, which reprecented a 2 compocite-can.ple of discharCe canal vater for the period from Ibven.ber 15 to !bvember 22, 1971, were obtained. These camples were analyced by the licencee, the l'innecota pollution Acency, and the AEC. ' She recultc of I thece analyccc reported in uCi/ml. vere no follovo ISP MMA Am Groce catra h.3 x 10~9 5 6 x 10-9 IM Groco beta 6.8 x 10-9 9 0 x 10*9 1.6 x 10*O 11- 3 2 x 10-6 IM 4 2 x 10-6 Gacm icotopic Im IM all(1 x 10~7 IM - not analyced Thece recultc are noted to be in the rance of the natural background activity in 141csiccippi River water.

Conclurion 16 items of noncompliance with /JC requiremente were obcerved to have occurred within the ocope of the !bvember 21-24 incpection at !.bnticello.

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AEC STATEMEllT Off PLAf1NED RELEASE OF LIQUID ErfLUEin TROM MotiTICELLO TWCLEAR POWER PLANT 4

! A number of inquiries have been received by AEC concerning the health and i i safety aspects of fjorthern States Power Company plans to make two more-controlled releases of liquid effluent from its Monticello Nuclear Plant.

l Tne total concentration of radioactive isotopo, including cesium 137, to be released into the Mississippi River will be less than one percent of the concentration of background radioactivity routinely measured by the Environmental Protection Agency in tne treated drinking water supply at

St. Cloud, Minnesota, upstream from the Monticello Plant, and in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, water supply. This level of radioactivity cannot be distinguished from the background levels of radioactivity already present in the liississippi River.

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According to llorthern States Power Company, the_ releases will total-about j

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15,000 gallons of water from a radioactive waste tank. This water will be diluted with about two billion gallons of cooling water. The -

cesium 137 released from the tank will result in a concentration -- in

! the effluent water at the point it enters the Mississippi River -- which

will be about one-ten millionth of the maximum permissible concentration of cesium 137 in water reconraended by the National Council on Radiation

, Protection and Measurements for continuous consumption of water by an individual member of tne public. After dilution in the Mississippi River,

the level will be further reduced.

i l These estimates were verified by inspectors from the Atomic Energy Commission's P,egional Compliance Office during a recent onsite inspection l and are consistent with measurements made by State of Minnesota officials.

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