ML20207E435
| ML20207E435 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 06/13/1986 |
| From: | Studds G HOUSE OF REP. |
| To: | Palladino NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20204G129 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8607220341 | |
| Download: ML20207E435 (2) | |
Text
1 C ERRY I. STUDDS 10Yes Distnect, Massacuusms GREI. tea NEW OEDFORD
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masfjington, BC 20515
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- I tevam s Ma O2 sot June 13, 1986
Dear Chairman Palladino:
Among the results of recent events at the Chernobyl facility in the Soviet Union is increased public sensitivity to the potential risks associated with nuclear power generation.
Residents of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and other nearby towns --
which I have the privilege to represent in the Congress -- have expressed serious reservations about the safe operation of the Pilgrim I Power Station.
By almost any standard, the performance record at Pilgrim is a disturbing one.
The plant has been the subject of numerous enforcement actions by the Commission.
In 1982, the Commission fined Boston Edison Company, the plant's operator, $550,000 for management deficiencies.
In its most recent Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP) review of operations at Pilgrim, the Commission rated the management at the plant below average in three of eight areas reviewed.
A highly unusual three-week, 24-hour-a-day inspection by an eight-person team subsequently found the safety of plant operations adequate, but it generally confirmed the SALP findings of inadequate staffing and supervision.
The Pilgrim plant is presently closed, following two emergency shutdowns in April.
In view of this record, I would appreciate your responses to the following questions:
1.
What actions has the Commission taken since 1982 to assure that identified deficiences are corrected?
What specific changes in management or equipment have been made by Boston Edison as a result of Commission actions?
2.
Did the Commission assign special priority to monitoring the management at Pilgrim following the precedent-setting fine in 1982?
If not, why not?
3.
Does the Commission view it as particularly disturbing that the plant's management, three years after paying a $550,000 fine, would be found below average in three out of eight areas reviewed in a SALP?
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Page Two 4.
Does the Commission consider a finding of below average in three out of eight areas reviewed in the 1986 SALP to constitute a serious safety concern?
How much time lapsed between completion of the SALP and the assignment of the special inspection team?
In light of the findings of the SALP review, was consideration given to ordering the plant shutdown, pending the report of the inspection team?
If not, why not?
6.
Will the Commission specifically use the findings of the SALP when it reviews the operation of the plant before the anticipated resumption of plant operations next month?
7.
Will the Commission insist on changes in the organizational structure by Boston Edison that demonstrate an enhanced commitment to correcting cited safety defici,encies?
8.
Will the Commission insist upon substantial improvement in the area of operator staffing levels?
9.
What other factors does the Commission view as essential to the safe startup of the facility?
The residents of the Plymouth area look to the Commission to assure the safe operation of the Pilgrim I Power Station.
The consistently troubling performance record of the facility has, I believe, served to undermine support for the continued operation of the plant, and has cast serious public doubt about the ability or the willingness of the Commission to do its job.
Your answers to the questions I have raised will, I hope, help to address at least some of the anxiety shared by a growing number of citizens in the area.
I appreciate your cooperation.
With kind regards.
Si
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Studds Nunzio J.
Palladino j
Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20555
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