ML20127M416

Statement of Ja Lieberman Before Subcommittee on Science, R&D of House Committee on Science & Astronautics on 680201

ML20127M416
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	02/01/1968
From:	Lieberman J US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
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ML20127M401	List: ML20127M397 ML20127M416
References
NUDOCS 9211300175
Download: ML20127M416 (18)

Text

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4, Statement of Dr. Januph A.1.ieberman, Atoi ic Energy Consnission, ,

beforo the (

Sobcommit tee on Science, descarch and Development of the Itouse Consnittee j on Science and Astronautics '

February 1, 1968 1967 han been an eventf.ul . year in the growth of the nuclear power (pdustry.

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The rate at which electric utilities havo' ordered nuclear power units has been .  !

remarkable, even to those who are close to the industry. By the end of 1967, l approximately 50,000 megawatts of nucicar electric power had 1,een firmly committed,+ '

with about 2000 megawatts of plant capacity now in operation. This rate of  ;

growth is even more remarkabin when one considers that it was only ten years ago (December 1957) that 6he first commercial plant -- the Shippingport Atomic Power Station operated by the Duquesne 1.ight Co. -- went oi the line to supply 60 meanwatts of electricity to the city of'pittsburgh.

The most sigr.ificant aspect of this nuclear power grtwth is that the '

safety and reliability of" light water reactors have been established and f

nucicar plants now being plenned or under construction are being 1:uilt on o

the basis of their economics. While economics hav,e played a major role in this surge of nuclear power, another advantage of nucicar poweg plants is that ,

there has been a growing awareness of their advantage as cican sources of power i which do not contribute to the current burden of air pollution. In fact, some utilities have chosen n0 clear power and have indicated that in, so doing, they wished to reduce air pollution.

The management of radioactive vasto ef fluents from commercial nuclear power plants continues to be carried out on a highly satisfactory basis; operat ional records for the past 7-10 years indicate ef fluent dischargos +

of less than 10 per cent of internationally necepted radi'ation protection limits. Tho' following material presents suninary _information as requested on

• specific aspects of radioactive effluent control.

- Future Waste Management Problem

• With the'recent surge of the nucicar power industry, some people have I

expressed concern- that a yerious environmental pollution problem would result.

' from _ thU growth;; similarly, others have been concerned that the development I of safe and economical nuclear _ power might be ' deterred because of the waste *

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j disposa'l problem. In this connection, the management of radioactive wnutes re sul ting f rom t he process .iir, of. spent fuel elemerf ts f rom nuclear 9211300175 690505 - - -

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electric power plants is a major consideration. The highly radioactive waste materials which are separated in this operation must be contained and isolated f rom man and his environment for literally hundreds of years. Long-term high

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,. act ivity wa ste manageme nt requirements are continually being evaluated, in order to guide the development and planning of the Commission's ef fluent control R&D program. This potential f uture problem was dincussed at length, ,'

during hearings of the Joint Committee on Atomic Ensrgy in 1959 when it was i

e st imated that, using the then current processing technology, the volume of high and intermediate level wastes accumulated by 1980 would reach 36 million gallons.

Since the time of these hearings, extensive improvement s in fuels technplogy and f uel reprocessing methods have markedly reduced the' volume of high activity reprocessing wastes which are generated per unit 'of nuclear power produced.

Also, during this period of nine years, estimates of installed nuclear power in 1980 have risen by a factor of 5-7 -- f rom 25,000 MWe in 1959 to the present 120.000-170,000 MW e forecast. However, the estimated accumuleted high-activity waste to be handled by 1980 has dropped by a factor of about 7 -- from 36 million gallons to approximately 5 million gallons. Even with the currently projected nuclear power growth rate, the accumulated waste volumes by the year 2000 are estimated at about 80 million gallons, which is comparable t'o the high activity waste volumes which have been satisfactorily managed by the ,

Commission in its ope rations to date.

These estimates are based on an assumption that the wastes would be stored as liquids for long terms in underground tanks. However, with the satisfactory developnent of processes for conversion of high-level' liquid wastes to stable tulids (now in the engineering demonstration phase), with subsequent long-te rm ,

storage or disposal in a dry geologic format ion such as salt (now in the field te st ing st age) . techqology for an alternative waste management system will become ava ilable. With adoption of a conversion-to-solids waste management con-cept, approximate ly 1. cubic foot of solid waste would be produced pe r hundred '

gallons of high-activity waste (pe r 10,000 mwd of fuel exposure.). Preliminary enginee ring and econo: sic evaluations indicate a 30-year interim storage of v'aste '

solids would be desirable before final disposal; by the yea- 2000,- the rate of l

production of waste solids for final disposal or long term storage would require about 2.8 acres of salt mine floor space per year. (Additional information on l

r.a l t disposal is provided under the Sectior, "Long-term Safety of High-Activity Uaste Storage".) '

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During t he past year, vuriour, tahk turce groups have been involved in an ,

l exte nnive cooperative cifort to update the 1962 Report tu the President on ,

_1 Civilian Nuclear Power. Included in this ef fort is a study of nuclest power grouth patterns in the U. S. to the year 2020 in order to deterrnine r.he size j and location of fuel reprocessing plants and associated waste management '.

re qu ire me nt s , An up.$date comprehensive long-range was'te management plan t

is also being developed; taking into account the late st power projections and fuel reprocessing plant size and locations, in order to determine the number and site of permanent hi F h. activity waste storage sites which may be 1 required. It is planned that reports of these studies will beconc available ,

to industry and the public upon their completion.

In a related question, s.ome concern has been expressed on the decom. 4 missioning of power reactors and the associated disposition of the reactor site, if this should be required. Nuc1cor power plants are currently being

-built using a design life basis of forty years. I f , f or some re a aon , it is decided to retire the plant, procedures for dismantling the plant would be subject to Connission approvai td would be required to meet the Commission's standa rds for protection of the worker and the general public. De connis sioning alternatives, which require evaluation, include va rying Agree s of " moth-balling" the plant, i.e. , decontaminating, di anantling and removing the f acility (in ,

.whole or in part) and burial'in plac+ ar at an approved disposal facility. ,

P rocedure s for these ope rations must be submitted to the Commission in accord with its regulations, to assure that adequate safety measures will be taken in the course of deconnissioning the rea c t'.,r , e "' wi t h re spe ct to any sources of radiation that ma y t he re a f t e r rema i n a t the site. E x pe rie m.c is being gained .

In moth-lu lling plants, r.uch as the llallam Nuclear Power , Facility in Nebraska

• ano t he Ca rolina S - Virginia Tube Reactor in South Carolina, which indicates that power reactors can be deconnissionc , saft ly. ,

'Transportat ion of Radioact ivo M'aterials .

The principal hazards which must be guarded against during the crar r.po,rt of radioactive or fissile material are agcidental criticdlity (nuclear, cQ,in ,

reaction, and release of radioactive materiak or r-diation because of

• loss of containment or shiciding as a result of impact' or exposure to a severe fire. 'Thesc ~ hazards are avoided by specif ying the shipping '

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• 1 5 conditions, carefully , controlling the quantity of fissile material which may l i be shipped in a single container, and by designing and f abricating the l shipping contaf.ncrs to withstand a series of hypothetical accident conditions, l 4

ir.chdin>; severe impact and fire. Each shipment, includint co.*tainer design, J j.

.ust meet the requirement s of various regulatory Agencies, including tne AEC and the Department of Transportation. .

The shipping experience of AEC contractors and licensees has been

- exceptionally good. During the transportation of this material there has

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been no death or injury due to the radioactive nature of this material.

{ A continuing research and development program is being supported by t he AEC to assure that the engineering technology is adequate to satisfy '

the needs of the cask designer. A shipping cask design code is presently being developnd for tha use of the industry at the. Oak Rid ge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. Other research is underway to develop a substitute for lead as the primary shielding material in large shipping casks I because of it; relatively low melting point. Future R&D is anticipated in the area os fast breeder reactor fuel shipping, as an integral part of the Commission's i Fast Breeder Reactor Development program.

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} 1.ong-Term Sa fe ty a f Iligh Ac tivi ty Waa te S t orage, i

Mo re than 20 yours' experience with the storage of liquid high-activi'ty, wastem ,in specially designed underground tanks har shown it to be a safe I practical means of interim handling, but the long-te'rm usefulness of this i

, met hod may be limited. Assessments have been made which indicate that large releases of radioactivity due to geologic, and _ hydrologic events are only remotely po s s i bl e in t he areas whe re high-activity wantes are stdred. These studies have l ' included an evaluation of the historic record of scismicity and the longer-ranging

geologic record, including investigation of geologic structure; physical and .

, hydrologie properties of sediments and rocks; and analysis of terrains in the vicinity of high level waste management operations. Studies of extremely .

unlikely hydrologie event s are being cont jnued in a f urther ef fort to specify j t heir probahtlity ot' occurrence- and potential ef fects on nuclear facilities and

! . associated waste management systems. .

Due to the inherent restrictions of tank storage, such as potential leakage and the necessity of liquid wa.ste transfer for periods of hundreds of years, the Commission has supported an extensive research and development program directed .

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l at engineering practical systems f or conversion of high activity liquid waste .

I to a solid form. Concurrently, extensive studies have been carried out to

• dete rmine the most suitable geologic formations f or the long term storage of highly radioactive waste material. Salt is an advantageous disposal media t

because of it s unique geologic characte ristics. Salt f ormations a re dry and .

1 impervious to water. They are not associated with usable ground water sources I

and, therefore, have no connection or contact with the biosphere. Because of l its plasticity, f ractures in salt seal or close rapidly. Deposits of rock salt underly son.e 400,000 square miles of the United States and represent sone of

- the few naturally occurring dry environments in the castern part of the country whe re the most extens.ve development of the nuclear industry is taking place.

d Extensive laboratory investigations at ORNL and field studies in the Carey Salt i

Mine, Lyons, Kansas, are providing field data and design information required for the engineering design of a long tern disposal facility for high activity

waste solids.

1 A field expe riment called Project Sa lt Vault , has been carried out in .

which Engineering Test Reactor fuel elements of high-radioactivity were used to

simulate the thermal and radiation characteristics of full-scale power reactor

! fuel reprocessing wastes, such as would exist in a pot containing calcined solids. The field demonstration began in November 196$ -- four successful changes of f uel elements were completed in June 1967. The experimental re sults a

f rom Project Salt Vault are now being evaluated and appear most encouraging.

The feasibility and safety of handling highly radioactive materials in an under-3 ground envirornent has been demonstrated .and the stability of salt under the effects of-heat and radiat ion has been shown. Engt'neering reports of this work will be available to Industry during this yeor and the' vat lous factors involved in establishing a protn ype salt disposal facility for. the vorage of high activity waste solids is now under st udy a t ORNI.. The use of other geologic materials f or long te rm s t o ra ge , such as crystalline bedrock, thick anhydrite, l

! or t imestone be d s is also unde r st udy.

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• Wa dte Ma nagement Research

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The management of r.idioactive waste materials in a growing atomic energy i)i industry can be classified under two general categories. These are the treatment V and disposal of large volume s of low ac't ivity gaseous, liquid, or solid wastes k w;.i ;h a re evolvec cu' ...n t he course of operating reactors and other nt, clear

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facilities; .ind the treatment and ultimate disposal of much smaller volumes of high activity wastes generated during the reprocessing of irradiated nucicar fucts.

Significant progress and accomplishments have been achieved during the past ten ,

cars in developing satisfactory waste management systems for both categories

of waste. The success, over the years, of the Commission's waste management program is illustrated by the excellent ef fluent con' trol record which ha's been

, achieved by the industry and AEC contractors. AEC production and research facilities and large commercial nuclear power plants limi't releases of radioactive j materials to the environment

• to concentrations which are only a small f raction i '

of internationally accepted radiation protection standards. Highlights of the j R&D program are bri,cily sunnarized --

1. Advanced low-Icvel waste treatment and disposal technology involving the use of evaporation, ion exchange, foam separation, ,

cicetrodialysis, water recycle, and asphalt solidification has been developed. This technology is now being used in the design of commercial power reactor and fuel reprocessing waste management iacilitles.

2. The disposal of actual intermediate icvel waste by, hydraulic fracturing of shale has been demonstrated with an engineering- *

• scale pilot plant a t ORNL. This +.echnique which was obtained from the petrolcuni industry, consists of in )ecting a waste-cement-clay mixture under high pressute through a slotted well

• casing into an impermeable formation at depths of, in the case

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• of ORNL, 700-1000 feet. A hydrof racturing plant was placed in 4

operation at Oak Ridge during 1966 for the disposal of evaporator -

slurries; the .use of this disposal method at other s' ites is now under study. .

) 3. The Waste Calcining Facility at the National Reactor Testing i

j Station in Idaho became the world's first plant-scale f acility for 4

converting actual ~nish-1'evel radioactive wastes to a safer, solid form in December 1963. This plant has continued to operate sa' tis- ,

f f actorily: over the pa st four years, during which time about 1.3 mill' ion gallons of high-activity aluminu.a type vaste from the reprocessing of test reactor fuel have been solidified with. a volume reduction to about l

1/10 the original, .and then stored in stainless steel bins in underground 5 vaul' t s . -

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4. The technology for solidification of power reactor fuel I reprocessing high.1cyc1 waste has reached the engineering.

scale demonstration phase with a " hot". pilot plant having been placed in operation at the Commission's Laboratories ,

in Hanf ord, Wa shington, in November 1966. Ope rationa l .

data are now being obtained f or three waste solidification 4

processes using full-scale high activity waste s results 8 of this program will be availabic for industrial use during 1969-70.

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$. OhNL laboratory and field research involving the storage of high-level waste solids in a salt mine has culminated in a full-scale field test program at the Carey Salt Company Hine in Lyons, Kansas (details provided above). Results of this field study and engineering design information will be availabic for industrial use by 1969.

In brief, the vaste management R&D program has been and is providing the technology to engineer systems for ef fluent control, as required by an expanding nuclear energy industry, and no " breakthroughs" are required to nect future loads. The nature and quantity of vaste e f fluents f rom the rmal .

and f ast breeder reactors are being evaluated as development proceeds on the se future reactor systems.

Wa ste Reconcent ra t ion by Biologica! Organisms (Ecological Processe s)

Certain radionuclides are known to be concentrated by biological processes in. organisms. This concentration by biological processes may occur in the food chain leading to man. Four notable examples are the reconcentration of i

(1) ce sium-137 f rom f allout in Caribou ncat which is caten by Eskimos:

l (2) phosphorous-32 by fish in the Columbia River f r. om cooling water which, t

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passes through the hanford production reactors and is then discharged to the river; (3) zinc-oS by shellfish, particularly oysters, that Ifve in locations near the mouth of the Columbia River, and (4) f odine-131'in animal and human thyroid glands. The reconcentration of radionuclides in man's food chains must always be considered whenever radionuclides are. released to the enviaonment.

The Commission takes into actount reconcentration aspects in setting release limit s to the environment 'f rom ope rating facilitic s. The U. J. Fish and Wildlife Se rvice is regularly consulted on questions in this area.

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e, in the case of waste released by power reactors and fuel reprocessing 4

plants :he radionuclides most likely to be reconcentrated are the iodine-131 released to the atmosphere and zine-65 released to a water system. Evidence availabic f rom the Clinc.h River Study (a comprehensive, stream study carried out during 1960-64 by the AEC, ORNL, USGS, USPHS, TVA, the Tennessee Dept. of Public Health, the Tennessee Stream Pollution Control Board and the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission) indicates that the maximum accumulation of radionuclides entering the Clinch River from Oak Ridge National Laboratory operations which might concentrate in the biomass constitutes only an insignificant part of the radioactivity in the river. Thus the river system can be likened to a pipe.

line with little retention or concentration of radionuclides in either the bottaa sediments or the biota.

If zine-65 is to be released into or can be transported to a marine environment, special consideration must be given to its reconcentration. Zinc is. concentrated by shellfish (1000-10,000 times); as an activation produ~ct, zine-65 is present in, the waste discharged by several light water reactor power plants and, where re' quired, special limits can be applied to its release.

The gaseous wastes discharged by nucicar fuel reprocessing plants may contain small amounts (below permissibic limits) of tritium, krypton-85 and

iodine-131. Only iodine is capabic of being concentrated by biological processes; however, the other radionuclides may be cycled by ecological processes. lodine-131 appears principally in the food chain which leads through milk to man and the procedures for monitoring this food chain are well.

j developed. Environnyental monitoring data again indicate radioactivity i

concentrations well below those of public health significance.

l The naal E f fec t s. of Steam Elcet ric Generat ing Plants The generation of electrical power produces waste heat which must be discharged to surface water or to the atmosphere via cooling towers. The

! average thermal ef ficiencies of different types of steam electric plants vary i

approximately as follows:

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Net thermal efficiency %

Hodern Coal Fueled Plant ,

38 Modern Light Water Reactor 32 Future Fast Breeder (Calculated) 40 Therefore, at the present time, a nucicar plant of current design dischargos more waste heat to surface streams than a conventionally fueled

- plant of the same size because of a lower thermal ef ficiency. Of course, a bout ten per cent of the waste heat f rom a coal-fired plant is discharged '

to the atmosphere with the combustion gases, whercas essentially all of the heat discharged by a nuc1 car plant is through the water cooling system. When fast breeder reactors become operational, this disparity will be reduced.

Generally speaking, the probicm of " thermal pollution" is one of degree; An increase in water temperatures can be harmful, or in some cases, ber)c ficial to certain fish and aquatic life. The ques tions that must be answered are --

what arc' the ef fects of small increases of temperature in various situations, and if harmful, how can these ef fects be avoided? The world's electric power demand will continue to grow at an ever increasing rate. Increasing quantitics of waste heat will have to be dissipated, regardless of the proportion of coal-fueled to nuclear-fueled plants that are built. Large quantities of condenser cooling water (several hundred thousands gallons per minute for a 1,000 MW ,

plant of either type) will be required. As a result, the availability of' adequate condensor cooling water is becoming a major consideration in selecting sitca for these plants. Proper site sc1cetion requires information on the ,

f physical' dispersion of heat in the environment and the effects of small temperature increases on the biota.

Research in this area has been underway for some time - for example, the i AEC has 8ponsored research on the physical and biological ef fects of temperature on Columbia River for more than fifteen years. As a result, mathematical models I are now being developed for predicting the increase in temperature of the receiving water from heated ef fluents which are discharged into rivers, lakes, and tidal systems. The reliability of these models is being determined against known conditions. A model has been used 'to predict temperatures of the Deerfield Rive r downst ream f rom the Yankee Atomic Reactor, Rowe, Mass. , for exampic, and the predicted temperatures have agreed very closely with temperatures actually measured. This mathematical model development is being followed with an

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applicat ion of the model to the prediction of temperature increases throughout an

" 4 entire river basin. The upper Mississippi River basin has been selected for the l ' '

, pilot effort.

1 1 In brief, the magnitude and severity of thermal ef fects problems from l

both nuclear- ond fossil-fueled electric power plants depend on local i  !. environmental conditiond. Proper site selection is becoming more important j as the availability of adequate surface water supplies for condenser cool'ing

becomes more critical. Ilowever, it should be noted that technology for 4

solving potential' thermal pollution problems is available. Auxiliary cooling

. systems (reservoirs, ponds, or cooling towers) can be a solution, but increased k, initial plant costs, in the range of 5107., may be required over a conventional

, river water cooling system. Ilowever, those costs may be of fset by increased

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j ficxibility in alte selection, which could renuit in lower costs for fuel, power transmission, and land, plus a lower heat rejection to the river. ,

? Extent of AEC Pollution Research Program , , ,

Extensive radioactive waste management and pollution related research and development have been carried out as an integral part 'of the Atomic Energy

. Commission's overall R&D program ia order to assure an orderly growth and safe 1

development of the nuclear energy industry. Approximately $30 million was 1 i l spent during FY 1967 and about $31 million is budgeted for FY 1968 in the 1

Comnission's biology and medicine, reactor developmen't, weapons, raw materials, production and isotopes development programs for this puroose, i 3

• Resources at AEC multiprogram laboratories are also being utilized in a i

number of pollut ton and environmental health studies being conducted. in direct support of the objectives of other anencies. Now underway are two joint 4 'o f tor t s wit h IIEW's Nat ional Cen ter for Air Pollution Control . One, conducted j at AEC's tirookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, is examining the'. economic f and technical feas,1bility of using stable isotopes of sulfur to. trace the migration and chemical reactions of oxides of sulfur emitted with stack effluents.

The other, is a joint program involving AEC's Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, with the Department of Air Pollution Control of the exty of Chicago and the National Center for Air Pollution Control. The ,oojective of this tripa~rtite

, effort is to develop an air dispersion model which will aid in the establishment of pollution control .neasures for the Chicago Metropolitan area. -

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I At Brookhaven National 1aboratory a study of the oxidation, by radiation,

! of iron in acid utne drainage has been conducted in order to assess the potential '

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of this method in' relation to other mine drainage treatment methods being developed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Mines and

' Mineral Industry of the State of Pennsylvania.

During the past year Cotanission staf f and representatives of the Departments

' of Commerce, interior and HEW have discussed how resources available at' AEC's I

multiprogram laboratories might be applied to pressing pollution control and abatement problems. The af orementioned programs and a number of proposed pro-

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grams now being discussed have, ,in large part, resulted f rom this series of l

> interagency meetings. The Cor.nnission is continuing .its ef forts along this line and is hopeful that other areas can be identified in which the cy.?erience and f' f acil:. tics available at its multiprogram laboratories can be used to make substantial contributions to solving pollution and environmental health problems.

Very recently, last' year, Sec. 33 of the Atomic Energy Act was amended to authorize AEC to assist others on health or safety research and development This added authority will

, problems unconnected with AEC's nuclear missions. '

4 serve to provide AEC with more ficxibility in utilizing its laboratorida, facilities and talent to help others solve important national problems such a'

as environmental pollution.

Suranary and Conclusions 4

In summary, AEC strongly supports the ef forts which are directed toward restoring and/or maintaining the quality of our environment -- a goal which has become an impor tant national objective. The Commission's program of radioactive waste control is consistent with this objective. Independent evalu-i j

ations of the program that have been made over the years by various technical f

) committees in the National Academy of Sciences, and an advisory group to the president's Federal Council for Science and Technology have shown that rad io-activo waste management operations are being car,riod out in a safe and economical manner, without harmful of fect on the public and its environment. Also, the Joint Committee on ' Atomic Energy maintains a continuing review and surveillance over the Commission's waste management program to assure that development of the nucicar energy industry can be carried out with full protection of the. public health and saf ety. Vaste processing technology and envirohmental' scic6ce have.

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pollution control' systems for the expanding nuc1 car power industry. We believe this source of energy will imke an increasingly significant contribution to the 4

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/ nation's energy needs and, in so doing, will lead to a major reduction of the

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1 country's overall environmental pollution probicm.

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AIR POLLUTION IN PERSPECTIVE - NUCLEAR VS. FOSSIL-WELED POWER PdANTS ,

t During the;past year ithere have boon many statements and claims on the, l

.. " pros and cons" of nuclear energy and fossil fuci, power sources as they,  !

rc;c:o to control of air pollution. The FPC's " National Power Survey Report" 'l ,

cnd tho President's Science Advisory Cormittoc's report of its Environmental-Pollution Panel provide some insight into various aspcces of this problem.

g In the following paragraphs, summary data are presented on the magnitude 5 of the probica facing the coal industry, what is being donc, and a brief

• synopsis of the nucicar power industry's " clean air" record. <

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Foscil-Fuel Power Plants ,

Air pollutants of major concern at. fossil-fuel power plants include .

t fly-ash and cartain hydrocarbons in the particulate group, and the oxidti f of sulfur, carbon and nitrogen in the gaseous phase. The primary source of. [

sulier dioxide in the atmosphere today is the combustion. of bituminous l 8

coci and residual fuel' oil. To gcin some conception of _the potential ,  !

mcgnitude of tha problem, it is noted that approximately 430 million cons. , ,

, of bituminous coal are used annually with the electric power utilitics using chout 40L In this connection, in the United. States alone, some 21 million cons of sulfur dioxide are discharocd into the atmosphere every year, with the coal-firod power industry being a major contributor..

These pollutants have the potentici of impairing public health., creating - ,

annoycn:c, t.nd ccusing significant property dr. mage. - '

Por the past few years, the main probica in the burning of coal has

• been the control of' fly-ash. Although the cmount of' fly-ash varies .

considerably in' pulverized coci fired plants, a-fair average in this country seems to be 87.. The use of air c1 caning equipment such' as electrostatic

, precipicctors (with improved efficiencies of 907.)_ combined with cyclono 4

cpcr

.: ors (to provido 'an over-all removal officiency of 99i7.) has resulted in a marked raduction of particalate emissions from coal-fired power plants'.

F.ove.v r, cf.s disch:.rgo of micron sized finer particles is still a public

'hscith concern, especially with increasin:: medical evidence that air pollution

's i contributing factor in the cause or aggravation' of various respiratory

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diseases and lung cancer. It should bc noted that over 350 million dollars l

i  ;, have boon spent to dato on atr pollution control measures by the electrical 1 generating industry. For excmplo, Consolidated Edison Co. of New Tork costs '

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for air pollution control amount to about 0.5 to 0.6 mils /Xwhr, 'or approximatc'.y

j. 107, of plant oporating costs.

• j The sulfur-dorivative gases are the most troublesome pollutants. Removal

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of sulfur oxidos is difficult and expensive. A hypothetical coal-fired plant l with a capacity of 4,000 We would dischargo through the stacks about 600 tons i

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ofsulfurdioxidec.araverageday$nd'asmuchas1,000tonsonafullload .

l day. Several treatment processes for the removal of SO fr a combustion. '

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gases cro being studied in pilot plants, i.e., washing, sorption, and oxidation. Washing cools the stcek gases, decreasing 'their buoyancy and .

consequently their dit,porsion characteristics. Sorption insolves the dse of fluidized beds of various cincrals cnd appears promising. Oxidation involves the conversion of SO 2 t S0 3with the use ,of' a catalyst, with subsequent l i '

recovery of the S0 assulfuric ccid.

3 f At the present time, the only offectivo control of sulfur dioxide -

cmissions,1s the use of ' fuels hcving a lower. sukfur content. The sulfur

• 1 content of fuel oil c'an be reduced.at,a cost, which, while significant. '

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is not prohibit'ivo, although .the patroleum companies appocr reluctant ,

l to install processes which msy change their present marketing systems.

Sinco more coal than oil by weight must be consumed to give equivalent .

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heat, the use of bituminous coci results in a greater-contribution of *

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. sulfur dioxide. It should be noted, that effective October 1,1964, the' .

r New' York City Air Pollution Control Code, section 13.03, restricted the ,

sulfur ccatent of fucts. It prohibits the use, or purchase for use in-

_e Now York City, of fuel oil containing more then 17isulfur by weight, and also l

imposes a sredually tightening limit upon sulfur in solid fuels'and'rcsidual

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, fuel oils. The significance of this restriction will be felt by.1970, by- >

l \ utilitics such as Con-Edison in New York, when 'it; is estimated tha L this

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'owcr sulfur requirement will increase fuel costs by about.0.4 mils per

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kilowatt hour. This appears to be asignificant increase in comparison '

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with costs of nucicar power. Also, it is our understanding, that stringent l

requircmants in the Dade County, Florida Air Pollution Control Code, has been a major factor in the recent decision of the Florida Power and Light ,

Company to construct two new nuclear plants.

Extensivo rescarch for cconomic reduction of sulfur in coal and for reuoval of sulfur dioxide from stack gases is continuing, and if efforts are incrocsed, engineering success can be expected in a few years. This, however, will add to costs. Howcyor, until satisfactory removal methods arc developed,' the only current and noar futuro me't hod to minimize air pollution by electric power plants using fossil fuel is a judicious selection of 4 plant site, or building high stacks that can consistently discharge cifluent gases, through the roof of frequently occurring temperature invo,rsion icycrs.

Recently, the President's Environmental Pollution Panel pointed out caother air pollutant from the fossil-fuel power industry, i.e., carbon dioxide, which may have far recennig or' long rance ef fects on the welfare of the world populace.

• Carbon dioxide is being added to the carth's atmosphere by the burn- .

ing of coal, oil and natural gas at the rate of 6 billion tons a year.

By the yccr 2000 there will be abodt 25% more CO in our atm sphere than

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, 2 at present. This will modify the heat balance of the atmosphere to such

.cn extent thct marked chcnges in climate, not controllable though locel- '

or even national efforts, could occur. Possibilitics of bringing about ,

coun:crvciling chcnges by deliberately modifying other processes that affect climate may then be very importcnt. To our knowledge, there are no. extensivo efforts within .che coal industry to control the release of ,

this air contcminant; thir problem is eliminated with the use of nucicar

• power. .

An interesting corollary to the air pollution problem from fossil j fuci pcwa: plcnts concerns tha ecdiochemical' analyses of fly-ash sampics which were ob:cined; from the combustion of pulverized coal and fuel oil.

! From thace cnalyses, estimates were made of the qucntities of radidm-226 1 'and radium-228 which would be dischcrged from a 1,000 megavitt coal-burning ,

povar plant. Comparisons of these data on the release of fission products such cs lodincl31 cnd KrB5 from nuclear-powered generatin's stctions shows -

that when the physical and biological properties of these radionuclides '

• arc taken into consideration. the conventional fossil-fueled plants .

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discharge relatively greater quantities of radioactive material into the .

atmosphere than nut.lcar povered plants of comparable size.

Vnile no one .

wouldsuccestthattheamountofradiumbeingdischargedintotheatbosphere l of our large cities is a health hazard, the above example does empha' size the " clean air" which is being discharged from our nuclear power plant facilities.

Xuclear Power Plants -

f Radioactive gasos are. nomally p,roduced in vater-cooled and moderated .

reactors througn radiolytic decomposition and irradiation of reactor vater and any traces of air in the water.

Dafects in fuel element cladding also ,

pemit s=ll fractions of the fission gases, xenon and krypton, present '

in the feel to be released into the reactor coolant vater. In closed cycle

• vater reactors (Shippingport, Yankee, and Indian Point) such gases are

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' continually or periodically withdrawn, from the reactor process system to decay storage tanks and released to the plant stack after suitabic monitoring and. filtration. . -

Inopencyclewaterreactors(Dresden,BigRockPointand -

Eumboldt 3ay) a portion of'such gases flove with the reactor stecm to the j turbine system.

• Ncn-condensa$lecases,alongwithanyfissionandactivation' t

product 6ases are withdrawn through the air ejector system. Reduction in

}l#s activity level is provided through a short-tem decay hold-up line and high ' '

efficiency filters prior to being discha'rged to a stack. ,

For excmple, the small quantitics and' concentrations of particulate

• matter are removed through these filter systems with efficiencies of 99.cp%. ~

In some etses, activated charcoal is used to adsorb radiciodine. After - * '

filtration, the effluents are mixed with a diluting air flow, and ejected

• from a stack, whose height ranges from 90-400 ft., depending' upon +he site location. ,

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+t 7ais technique lovers the concentration of activity in the gaseous' .

effluent ce.d also enhances its dilution by natural atmospheric air movements ..

A fandcmental aspect of the handling of gaseous effluents from nuclear

_)cver plants as conpared with fossil fuel plants is that all vastes are under  !-

confinement control at all times until released. Nuclear plants are designed '

,o provide absolute' control over vaste , effluents at. all times prior to their

. 1

-lischarge. [

Tne efficacy of this design philosophy is evident when one realises g O

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RADIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF OPERATING i

THE MONTICELLO NUCLEAR CENERATING 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 Atomic Energy Commission'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 4 Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), and an atomic safety and licensing board which conducted a public hearing in the matter on May 25-26, 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.

On November 8,1968, the applicant applied for an operating license.

Further safety reviews are now being conducted by the AEC regulatory staff. The ACRS will also review this application and advise the Commission thereon. Further, if an operating license is granted, the plant will be under AEC surveillance and undergo periodic safety inspections throughout its lifetime.

Small amounts of radioactive material are permitted by AEC regulations k to be released into the environment at controlled rates and in controlled amounts from a nuclear power plant. This requires a continuous

program of monitoring and control to assure that release limits are not exceeded. The release limits in AEC regulations are based on guides developed by the Federal Radiation Council, a statutory body, and approved by the President for the guidance of Federal agencies.

, These release limits are such that continuous use of air or water 4 at the point of release from the site would not result in exposures exceeding national and international standards for radiation pro-tection 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 4

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. .

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The concentrations of liquid rsdioactive effluents released from the plant are further reduced by dilution in the body of water to which they are discharged. A survey of all operating nuclear power plants has shown that the concentrations of radioactivity in liquid releases during 1967 vere only a small fraction of the release limits applicable to the radionuclides in the effluent.

1 In the case of the Monticello plant, the AEC's evaluations concluded j 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. Nevertheless, during our review of the proposed Monticello plant, we considered consequences to the Minneapolis and St. Paul water supplies of accidental tulcases of radioactive material to the Mississippi River even though we found no evident way that such a release could occur.

It is extremely unlikely that an accidental release of large quantities of radioactive material from the Monticello plant into the river would occur. However, if such a release were to occur, the radioactive material would travel downstream with the river current and suf ficient time would be available to close the intakes for the Minneapolis and St. Paul water systems before the radioactive material reached them. If such action were necessary, the reserve supplies of water available in the reservoirs of the two cities would be sufficient to maintain full water supplies to the cities until such time as

' the radiation contamination has passed the intakes. As a part of our review for an operating license, the procedures to be followed, and the instruments required to monitor any radioactive release, will be reviewed in detail to furth3r assure that the citizens of Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as other communities which use the Mississippi for potable water will not be adversely affected.

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