ML20127L242
| ML20127L242 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Monticello  |
| Issue date: | 04/26/1968 |
| From: | Price H US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC) |
| To: | Mondale W SENATE |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9211230467 | |
| Download: ML20127L242 (3) | |
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'hb UNITED STATES 2g ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION I;,
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Honorable Walter F. Mondale.
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,buited States Senate Washington, D. C.
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Dear Senator Mondales,
to office of Congressional Liaisoni 26, 1968, e
', Tour memorandum of MarchAtomic Energy.commisision concerning a l l
To aid-16, 1968, ha
,a n referred to me.
l Martin Bruhl, dated February enclosing a brief report' '
you in preparing a reply to this letter,.which describes our regulat diological l
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i f the Monti.
effects to the environs expected as a result of operat on o cello-Nuclear Cenerating' Plant.
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With reference to Mrs. Bruhl's statement concerning-the additive ef ects
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h of a number of nuclear power plants along the Mississippi River, eac -
dischargin:3 ; mall amounts of radioactive vaste, the Atomic Energy Com l t mission, in its review of the radiological impact of nuclear-power p an s dio-on the environs, does consider such additive effects to assure that ra
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active effluent reicase limits enumerated in the Commission s,regu a 10 CFR P. art 20, are not exceeded..
In addition to the booklet, " Licensing of Power Reactors" which is re l
,enced in the attached report, I am also enc osSafety" which de I
ld be moderated nuclear power plants,,If you believe these booklets wou i
useful,to your constituents,;I would be glad to furnish copies in-quant ty.
l Sincerely yours, I
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- ', ' '( tigned ) Harold 0..Pr!cef
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1 Harold L. Price
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Director of Regulation'
Enclosures:
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- 1. Report l.
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- 2.. " Licensing of Power Reactors",
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- 3. " Atomic Power Safety" f j,
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9211230467 680426 ADOCK 05000263 PDR PDR
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RADIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OPERATING THE MONTICELLO NUCLEAR CENERATING PLANT i
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 s'tatutory Advisory Codmittee '
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 rish 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 staff 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 nucicar 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
- L 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-s believed that any biological ef fects that might be produced at such low exposures would be too infrequent, in comparison with the occurrence of similar effects from i
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 tot be negligible in comparison with observable risks from natural and other causes.
The concentrations of liquid radioactive effluents released from the plant are f,urther reduced by dilution in the jody 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 fraction of the permissible limits applicable to the radionuclides in the effluent.
I In the,ca'e of the Monticello plant, the AEC's evaluations concluded that the s
design and operation of the radiological vaste disposal. system would preclude harmful effects on the water supplies of Minneapblis and St. Paul, the nearest communities using the Mississippi River for potable water.,
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