ML20151X686

PNO-77-122:on 770703,licensee Informed NRC Inspector That Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Received Radwaste Effluent Alarm from Plant.Alarm Was Installed to Alert MPCA to Radioactive Effluent Releases

ML20151X686
Person / Time
Site:	Monticello
Issue date:	07/06/1977
From:	Bidinger G, Higginbotham L, Roy G NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE)
To:
References
PNO-77-122, NUDOCS 9809170211
Download: ML20151X686 (2)

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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATIO* W" d

• July 6,1977 MALoM Co ~ X/

PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT lh,OR ghf U This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of an event of '

_POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance. The infomation presented is as initially received without verification or evaluation and is basically all that is known by IE staff on this date.

Facility: Northern States Power Company, Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (DN 50-263), Monticello, MN

Subject:

NEWS MEDIA INTEREST IN CONNECTION WITH A SPURIOUS INDICATION

%~ OF A RADWASTE EFFLUENT RELEASE The licensee informed an NRC inspector, who is onsite, that on July 3, 1977, at 5:49 p.m., the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency received a radwaste effluent alarm from the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant.

The alarm was installed several years ago at the request of MPCA to alert MPCA td radioactive effluent releases above a certain point. -

The licensee first became aware of the alarm when the plant shift l supervisor received a message to call a member of the MPCA about l a " nuclear accident." The shift supervisor assumed it was at some Other plant since no releases had occurred at the plant. This morning a local St. Cloud, Minnesota, radio station carried a news item about a "nuclecr accident" and a oad electrichl signal" from the Monticello plant. .,

The licensee reported that a liquid d fi m t release had~not been made in the last 5 years and that the discharge l'.ne isolation valve is locked . ..

closed. Plant monitors indicated no releases of abnormalities. The licensee concluded the signal was spurious.

An NRC inspector'is onsite in connection with unrelated inspection activities, and has verified that no release occurred.

No decision has been made, by the NRC or the licensee, as to whether or not j a press release should be issued. 1 This notification is issued because of associated news media publicity.

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CONTINUE i b I D r e. a l l

9809170211 770706 PDR IkE FNO-77-122 PDR l

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Page 2 PNO-77-122 Continued July 6, 1977 TheRegionIII(GlenEllyn)officereceivednotificationofthisoccurrence by telephone from the onsite inspector who was notified of the news stories on July 6,1977. This information is current as of 11:00 a.m., July 6,1977.

Contact:

.GHBidinger, IE x27353 1.Higginbotham ;IE x27347 CWRoy, IE x27261

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y Distribution: Transmitted H St3.' 8 6 C. C. Kammerer CA G. F. Murphy, oCA" Comissioner Kennedy S. J. Chilk, SECY H. H. Whiteside, SCNR Comissioner Gilinsky H. R. Myers, HCEE Transmitted: MNBB3l0f PB~ldg)[N SSBldgJ*/I L. V. Gossick, EDO E. G. Case, NRR C. V. Smith, NMSS S. H. Hanauer, EDO J. A. Harris, PA 1 W. G. Mcdonald, MIPC Lugo (MAIL E. Volgenau, IE  !

R. G. Ryan, OSP T. J. c ernan, OIA Region g J!/ &

H. K. Shapar, ELD m . . . _.

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