ML20205Q743
| ML20205Q743 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 04/08/1999 |
| From: | Adensam E NRC (Affiliation Not Assigned) |
| To: | Rubino G AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20205Q745 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9904220045 | |
| Download: ML20205Q743 (3) | |
Text
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April 8, 1999 Mr. George Rubino P. O. Box 20 Amagansett, NY 11930
Dear Mr. Rubino:
Thank you for your recent letter to Chairman Jackson expressing concern about the Millstone nuclear power plants which has been referred to me for response. I assure you that a decision authorizing the restet of Millstone Unit 2 will be made only when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is satisfied that all the conditions that led to the extended shutdown have been corrected satisfactorily and that the plant can operate safely, regardless of the length of time that process may take.
We have been concerned about the performance of the Millstone plants for some time. In 1996, the NRC issued two orders requiring actions by Millstone's owners, Northeast Nuclear Energy Company (NNECO), to address our concerns. One order required NNECO to contract for an independent verification that the Millstone units are in compliance with their licensing bases before restart. A separate order directed NNECO to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for handling safety concerns raised by its employees and for ensuring an environment free l
from retaliation and discrimination.
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in March of this year, NRC was satisfied that NNECO's employee concerns program was acceptable in creating a safety-conscious work environment. Thus, the NRC considers that the terms of the order have been satisfied; and no further action is necessary in accordance with the order. The other order, the order to provide independent verification that the Millstone units conform to their licensing bases, also must be completed to the satisfaction of the NRC and closed before restart.
Before the Commission can authorize restart of Millstone Unit 2, the NRC must conclude, among other things, that NNECO has made satisfactory improvements to safely operate the plant and that no significant safety problems remain that need to be resolved. The types of issues raised about Millstone have been addressed in previous correspondence with Congressman Michael P. Forbes (enclosed).
The NRC must be satisfied that the plant conforms to its licensing bases, that an adequate
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corrective action program has been established, and that the licensee has demonstrated its ability to begin power operation. Through extensive and concentrated inspections spanning more than two years, the NRC has verified that Unit 2 is in compliance with conditions of its license and NRC regulations. In addition, the results of NRC inspections of NNECO's current programs and NNECO's corrective actions for historical weaknesses provide assurance that the I
Millstone units will be operated safely and in accordance with all regulatory requirements and its
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Mr. George Rubino In your letter, you express concern about the performance of the NRC. As an independent regulatory agency, the NRC takes its responsibility for protecting public healih and safety seriously. We believe that the accountability of the NRC to the American people is effectively assured through oversight by the Congress. Over the years, this process has provided appropriate checks and balances on the NRC's activities and has ensured the efficient and responsible discharge of its responsibilities. In addition, the President's Office of Management and Budget has very substantial oversight of the NRC's budget and, as a consequence, on the focus of its programs. Also, the Office of the Inspector General, through its audit and investigation efforts, provides yet further verification of the integrity of NRC's activities, though it does not otherwise have programmatic responsibilities.
Furthermore, you state that in an earlier letter, I wrote that "at the March 1 Riverhead meeting, the NRC would ' outline the process the NRC uses to determine if plants that have been shutdown for a significant amount of time can be restarted,' and no such thing was discussed."
I hope the above discussion on the process used at Millstone provides this information, and I regret any misunderstanding.
On April 14 at 11:00 a.m., the Commission will be briefed on the readiness of Millstone Unit 2 to restart. This is a public meeting that will take place in the Commissioners' Conference Room at 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland.
I appreciate your bringing your concerns to the attention of the NRC. The NRC will continue to monitor the performance of Millstone to ensure that public health and safety are adequately protected. The NRC is committed to the level of regulatory oversight needed to carry out this mandate.
Sincerely, ElidNG. Adensam, Director, Project Directorate i Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
As stated Distribution:
Docket File 50-336 PD1-2 R/F SCollins/RZimmerman BSheron WKane NRR Mailroom (YT19990068) RBlough, RI JZwolinski/SBlack EAdensam MKing PUBLIC (w/ incoming)
REaton HPastis SECY (CRC-99-0216)
DOCUMENT NAME: A:\\ rubino.wpd
- See previous concurrence To receive a copy of this document indicate in the box: 't" = Copy withoid attadwnentlenclosure "E" = Copy with attachmenvenclosure "N"
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PM/PD1-?
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NAME TCla(16392.s JNakoski M EAdf@'efm DATE 04/ 9 /99 04/ 9 /9S 04/ T /99 J
OFFICIAL DOCUMENT COPY
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O Mr. George Rubino In your letter, you express concern about the performance of the NRC. As an independent regulatory agency, the NRC takes its responsibility for protecting public health and safety seriously. We believe that the accountability of the NRC to the American people is effectively assured through oversight by the Congress. Over the years, this process has provided appropriate checks and balances on the NRC's activities and has ensured the efficient and responsible discharge of its responsibilities. In addition, the President's Office of Management and Budget has very substantial oversight of the NRC's budget and, as a consequence, on the focus of its programs. Also, the Office of the Inspector General, through its audit and investigation efforts, provides yet further verification of the integrity of NRC's activities, though it does not otherwise have programmatic responsibilities.
Furthermore, you state that in an earlier letter, I wrote that "at the March 1 Riverhead meeting, the NRC would ' outline the process the NRC uses to determine if plants that have been shutdown for a significant amount of time can be restarted,' and no such thing was discussed."
I hope the above discussion on the process used at Millstone provides this information, and I regret any misunderstanding.
On April 14 at 11:00 a.m., the Commission will be briefed on the readiness of Millstone Unit 2 to restart. This is a public meeting that will take place in the Commissioners' Conference Room at 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland.
I appreciate your bringing your concerns to the attention of the NRC. The NRC will continue to monitor the performance of Millstone to ensure that public health and safety are adequately protected. The NRC is committed to the level of regulatory oversight needed to carry out this mandate.
Sincerely, l
Elinor G. Adensam, Director, Project Directorate l Division of Licensing Project Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
As stated
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February 9, 1999 CHAMMAN The Honorable Michael P. Forbes United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Forbes:
I am responding to your letter of January 6,1999, in which you raised concerns about the operating history of Millstone Unit 3 since it restarted in July 1998 and the continued lack of an emergency management plan for Eastern Long Island. You requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ensure that Millstone Unit 2 remains closed, convene a public meeting on Long Island to discuss Northeast Utilities' plan to restart Millstone Unit 2, and permanently shut down Millstone Unit 3.
The overall plant performance at Millstone Unit 3 since its restart in July 1998 has been generally typical of a plant returning to service after a lengthy shutdown. The five events noted in your letter (one shutdown, three manual trips, and one automatic trip) resulted in expected plant transients, and no abnormalities were observed either during the transients or during plant recovery. The overall risk significance of these plant shutdowns was low and plant operators responded well to the challenges, exhibiting conservative decisionmaking and deliberate efforts to ensure safety and compliance with procedural requirements. Licensee management has initiated an assessment of the number and severity of challenges facing the plant operations staff since the retum to power operations. Recognition on the part of senior licensee management of the need for increased attention to this area, as well as to the reduction of existing operator burdens, is reflected in its recent initiative to provide a renewed " operational focus" to all activities and decisions affecting the unit.
In NRC Inspection Report 50 423/98-05, dated January 7,1999, the NRC staff addressed the multiple plant trips and stated that the licensee's response to these trips confirmed proper operator response to the plant and equipment challenges. The NRC staff further stated that continued licenses management attention must be directed toward reducing the backlog of equipment problems and other issues that have the potential to create future operational challenges to the Millstone Unit 3 operations staff. The NRC staff believes that the operational history at Millstone since July 1998 does not warra,1t plant shutdown; however, we plan to continue increased regulatory oversight at Millstone Unit 3 until the plant establishes and maintains the appropriate level of safety performance.
As discussed in your letter, on January 4,1999, water containing low levels of tritium and trace i
amounts of other radionuclides (a total of approximately 0.0217 curies) leaked out of the Millstone Unit 3 waste test tank before the licensee could isolate the leak. Heavy rain at that I
time carried the slightly contaminated water to Niantic Bay. A berm, which was designed to retain any water leaking from the tank, failed to conta n the leak. The tritium release was diluted in Niantic Bay and doses were evalusted besed on fish and seafood consumption, as I
2 well as recreational use of the Bay. The dose is well below radiation dose design objectives for maintaining effluent releases as low as reasonably achievable in accordance with Appendix l to 10 CFR Part 50. (The doses to a member of the public calculated to result from the release of this radioactivity would be 2.2 x 10" rem, as compared to the public dose limit from licensed activities. 0.1 rem, found in 10 CFR 20.1301.) As is the situation with marine sites, we did not include the drinking water pathway in this estimate. T he licensee has investigated why the berm did not contain the leak and has lined the berm with an impermeable membrane. After the appropriate analysis was performed on the remaining water in the waste test tank, the contents (more than 15,000 gallons) were released to Niantic Bay through the normal release path, which is a normal evolution at the plant and allowed under NRC regulations.
As discussed in my letter to you dated June 8,1998, proposals have been made to both increase and decrease the 10 mile emergency planning zone (EPZ) distance since this policy was established following the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979. After consideration of these proposals and their supporting documentation and rationale, the Commission has consistently concluded that an EPZ of about 10 miles in radius provides an acceptable planning basis for emergency response. in your January 6 letter, you indicated that Northeast Utilities is assisting each of the five east end towns of Long Island and Suffolk County with creating a coordinated emergency plan and establishing an open line of communication to ensure that Eastern Long Island is considered when decisions are made regarding the Millstone plants.
I encourage the communities involved to continue the ongoing dialogue with Northeast Utilities, as well as appropriate state and county officials, to develop the plans they believe are needed.
1 With regard to Millstone Unit 2, the staff is utilizing NRC Inspection Manual Chapter (IMC) 0350,
" Staff Guidelines for Restart Authorization," as a guide for plant restart. As part of its execution of IMC 0350, the staff developed a Restart Assessment Plan to capture the NRC actions required before the NRC approves plant restart. The results of the NRC inspections and the status of Millstone Unit 2 plant readiness are discussed at periodic public meetings in the vicinity of the Millstone site. The last such meeting was held on January 11,1999, and was attended by several members of citizens groups from Long Island. During the meeting, the NRC staff answered questions from members of ine public regarding many aspects of NRC regulatory oversight. As you are aware, the NRC staff also held a public meeting on Long Island on May 26,1998, to discuss emergency planning, and will continue to conduct periodic public meetings in the vicinity of Millstone to discuss activities at Millstone Station. The staff will conduct a similar meeting on Long Island prior to a Unit 2 restart decision.
I assure you that a Commission decision authorizing the restart of Millstone Unit 2 will be made only when the Commission is satisfied that the conditions that led to the extended shutdown have been corrected to our satisfaction, regardless of the length of time that process may take.
The NRC staff is av6ilable to brief you or your staff on pertinent Millstone Station issues at your convenience.
Sincerely, Shirley Ann Jackson