ML20136G165

Forwards Discussion of Staff Paper,Consisting of IE 850618 Input Re Flexibility in Emergency Planning Framework for Plants.Preplanning Should Be Limited to Infrequent Natural Phenomena Such as Earthquake

ML20136G165
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre, 05000000
Issue date:	07/02/1985
From:	Jordan E NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE)
To:	Gillespie F NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH (RES)
Shared Package
ML20136D809	List: ML20136D806 ML20136E606 ML20136E685 ML20136F238 ML20136F289 ML20136F441 ML20136F940 ML20136G130 ML20136G165 ML20136G173 ML20136G275 ML20136G290
References
FOIA-85-653 NUDOCS 8507120224
Download: ML20136G165 (5)

Text

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JUL 2 1985 MEMORANDUM FOR: Francis P. Gillespie, Director Division of Risk Analyses and Operations i Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research <

FROM: Edward L. Jordan, Director Division of Emergency Preparedness and Engineering Response Office of Inspection and Enforcement

SUBJECT:

EARTHQUAKES AND EMERGENCY PLANNING The latest staff paper on this subject reflects input provided by IE on June 18, 1985 regarding the " flexibility" inherent in the present emergency planning framework for nuclear power plants. We are in general agreement with the idea of limited preplanning to address infrequent natural phenorrana, and have provided a discussion (see Enclosure) of the intended meaning of each item .

The proposed requirements are similar to the measures suggested for inclusion in the San Onofre plan prior to the Commission's decision that the present emer-gency planning regulations do not require consideration of the complicating effects of earthquakes.

Original 5*,gnea sh a Q arden Edward L. Jordan, Director Division of Emergency Preparedness and Engineering Response Office of Inspection and Enforcement

Enclosure:

Intended Meaning of Rule Changes cc: J. M. Taylor, IE DISTRIBUTION R. H. Vollmer, IE FCs J. G. Partlow, IE DEPER RF B. K. Grimes, IE EPB RF S. A. Schwartz, IE ELJordan K. E. Perkins, IE p 4/, pef-D. B. Matthews, IE C. R. Van Niel, IE F. Kantor, IE R. W. Krimm, FEMA

Contact:

David M. Rohrer, IE ,

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t Intended Meanin'g of Rule Changes Item 1. " Ability to transport necessary personnel to the plant to cope with degraded modes of plant operation including emergencies."

This item means that a licensee's emergency plan must contain adequate considera-tion of the necessity of having at the plant or getting to the plant, adequate personnel to cope with plant operations under adverse conditions. Thus, the plans must consider alternate methods for getting selected personnel to the plant if a severe, low frequency natural phenomenon, which is credible for the specific site, occurs and disrupts the normal transportation routes to the site.

The licensee's onshift operating crew is adequate to safely operate the plant and to initially respond to emergencies. However, operating crews and other plant personnel must also be relieved after a reasonable time. Thus, this item requires the licensee to perform adequate preplanning (transportation arrange-ments) to ensure that they can get relief personnel and other necessary personnel to the plant in 12 to 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> after the start of the phenomena. For those

, phenomena which are amenable to prediction (i.e., hurricanes, severe ice and snow storms, and floods) the licensee should consider contingency measures such as maintaining more than one operating shift on station.

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1 This item does not mean that the staffing goals of Table B-1 of NUREG-0654 must be met in the event of an emergency at the plant and the simultaneous occurrence of unpredicted severe, low frequency natural phenomena which impede normal trans-portation routes.

Combine items 2 and 3 as follows:

Item 2 " Ability to obtain damage estimates to the plant and to communicate to the local offsite authorities any plant damage. This information should be available to factor into the decisionmaking process, including recommendations to local offsite authorities for protective actions after a severe, low frequency natural phenomenon."

This item relates to the information available for transmission by the licens'ee (i.e., estimate's of onsite damage) to the offsite authorities and the inclusion of such information by the licensee into the decisionmaking process for (1) developing recommendations to cffsite authorities of protective actions, and (2) determining appropriate actions by the licensee to respond to the event and its impacts on plant operations, if any.

The existing regulations require that the licensee's emergency plans contain provisions for the gathering of information concerning damage sustained by the plant as a result of any accident, including the occurrence of severe, low frequency natural phenomena. This information would be used by the licensee in

i their decisionmaking process regarding plant operations and protective action recommendations for the public. The implementation of this item recognizes the existence of the current diverse communications means (i.e., radios, direct link dedicated telephones, microwave telephone links and standard commercial telephone links) already in a place at nuclear power plants to communicate that information offsite. These systems are expected to be adequate to fulfill the 1rovisions of this requirement.

In addition, this item does not mean that equipment used to transmit information within the plant or from the plant to offsite authorities must meet any special seismic or environmental qualifications above those for which the equipment is presently designed. However, the licensee should assure that adequate communica-tions are available to local offsite authorities (e.g., mobile radios) to ensure that the means are available to transmit information between the license and local offsite authorities and to discuss public protective actions, after a severe, low frequency natural phenomenon.

Item 3 "Offsite authorities shall consider decisionmaking preplanning that takes into account various degrees and locations of damage to the plant environs."

This item means that state and local offsite emergency response plans must contain adequate provision to assure that information regarding the damage sustained to the area surrounding a plant, and the adverse impact of that damage to offsite

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responses to a radiological emergency at the plant, are (1) transmitted by the offsite authorities to the licensee and (2) appropriately considered by the licensee and offsite authorities in their decisionmaking. Guidance for offsite authorities on the use of alternate evacuation routes and the balancing of public-protective actions (i.e. , evacuation, sheltering, relocation) should be incl'uded in the offsite plans.

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