ML20154G127
| ML20154G127 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/15/1998 |
| From: | Roe J NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| FRN-63FR50815, RULE-PR-140, RULE-PR-50 RIN3150-AF79, NUDOCS 9810130057 | |
| Download: ML20154G127 (3) | |
Text
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.c DOCKETED DCCKET NUMBER oROPOSED RULE PR so # ivo usmc
[7590-01-P]
(G3FR508/5) i-36 BCI -1 All :24 l
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OTh ADJUL
'10 CFR Parts 50 and 140 RIN 3150-AF79 Financial Protection Requirements for Permanently Shutdown Nuclear Power Reactors AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed Rule: Request To Solicit Additional Public Comment
SUMMARY
- .On October 30,1997, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published for comment proposed amendments to its regulations to allow licensees of permanently shutdown nuclear power reactors to reduce onsite and offsite insurance coverage under certain conditions I
(62 FR 58690). In a late comment letter submitted on April 17,1998,- the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) argued that the required level of onsite insurance coverage should be lowered to
$25 million. In NEl's view, $25 million would be adequate for on-site cleanup costs for radioactive liquid spills. The NRC proposed rulemaking would require $50 million insurance
. coverage. The NRC used a postulated rupture of a 450,000 gallon borated water storage tank as the defining event for determining the required insurance coverage. NEl also proposed that the requirement for onsite insurance be eliminated if less than 1000 gallons of contaminated z.
liquid were onsite.
NEl based its recommendation on a model that apportioned the removal oi the contaminated soil to various disposal facilities according to the degree of contamination.
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l s-Hence, under the NEl's model, some soil would be sent to a Bamwell type facility, some to a i
tower cost facility like Envirocare, and some soil could be left on site under the Commission's decommissioning regulation. NEl stated that under this type of parceling of contaminated soil, i
$25 million of onsite insurance coverage would be rnore than adequate to cover cleanup of any postulated radioactive spill. NEl further stated that there has never been a spillin the operating history of commercial nuclear power plants that resulted in remediation costs of $50 million.
However, NEl did not provide any specific cost figures, estimates of the amount or degree of soil contamination, or analyses, to support its recommendation to lower the onsite insurance coverage to $25 million.
The NRC is requesting public comment on the potential cost of cleanup of the on-site spill from a large vessel (>1000 gal) containing radioactive liquid and the appropriate level of insurance coverage. The NRC also has requested NEl to provide further information supporting its assessment of the costs of cleaning up a large ( >1000 gal) on-site spill of radioactive material and its basis for recommending that onsite coverage should be reduced to zero when there is less than 1000 gallons of radioactive liquid on site.
m& 9,1998 DATES: The comment period expires (40 Joy o'tei pslLouvn).
ADDRESSES: Send comments by mail addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Hand deliver comments to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30
- a.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays.
You may also provide comments by way of the NRC's interactive rulemaking web site through the NRC home page (http://www.nrc. gov). This site provides the capability to upload
_2-
,,o comments as files (any format) if your web browser supports that function. For information about the interactive rulemaking site, contact Ms. Carol Gallagher,301-415-5905, e-mail CAG@nrc. gov.
Certain documents related to this rulemaking, including NEl's comments, may be j
examined at the NRC Public Document Room,2120 L S'treet NW. (Lower Level), Washington, DC. These documents also may be viewed and downloaded electronically through the interactive rulemaking website established by NRC for this rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George J. Mencinsky, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone:
(301) 415-3093, e-mail GJM@nrc. gov.
\\5W h Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this day of
,1998.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mb
< W. Roe, Acting Director sion of Reactor Program Management ice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation l
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