ML20217K830
| ML20217K830 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee |
| Issue date: | 07/30/1997 |
| From: | Christine K AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| To: | Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20217K828 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9708180178 | |
| Download: ML20217K830 (2) | |
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July 30,1997 Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Chairwoman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC RE: MAINE YANKFE C4ME SEPARAT]Q$
Dear Dr. Jackson:
Due to the possibility that Maine Yankee may be restaned under the future ownership ofPeco Energy, I am writing to express concem over the plant's unresoh ed cable separation issues which your agency has known about and allowed for decades.
In 1973, Dr. Stephen Hanauer, then a staffmember of the Atomic Energy Commission before it reorganized into the Nuclear Regulatoiy Commission, specifically raised concerns to the agency about cable separation deficiencies at Maine Yankee niiich could disable both electrical trains to safety related equipment in the event of a common mode failure.
NRC inspector Peter James Athenon informed the agency of plant-wide cable separation problems at Maine Yankee in his March 1978 repon after leading a special fire protection inspection in 1977. Mr. Athenon urged the agency to shutdown Maine Yankee until the cables were correctly separated to comply with NRC's regulations.
Maine Yankee engineer Joseph Waldman identified improperly routed electrical cables, resulting in a tech-spec related plant shutdown in December of 1996.
NRC's Inspection Repon #96-14 on Maine Yankee, dated March 13,1997, regarding cable separation states on page 13: "In 1994, separation deficiencies similar to the recentfindings [ referring to those identified by Joseph Waldman in December l')96} were identified and the licensee determined that they were the result oferrors between 1979 to I981."
It would appear that since 1973, on at l cast four different occasions, the NRC has been informed of significant cable separation deficiencies at Maine Yankee and failed to compel the licensee to take proper corrective action to bring the plant into compliance with regulations.
Maine Ymikee has recently proposed installing muhiple circuit breakers to avoid the expense ofphysically rerouting inadequately separated cables at the Wiscasset facility.
As you know, compensatory measures do not afford the public the same safety margin that compliance with regulations does.
9708190178 970813 PDR ADOCK 05000309 H
- i Since it began operating, your agency has repeatedly failed to effectively oversee regulatory compliance at Maine Yankee, thus putting citizens at unnecessary risk for years. A few examples are :1) NRC's failure to review the RELAP5YA code and allowing a power upgrade to 2700 MWth, a level at which the safety systems at Maine Yankee could not be demonstrated to perform their intended function. 2) NRC's failure to detect the inadequate 2.5% capacity of the Atmospheric Steam Dump factored into the TREAT code, seriously compromising public safety in the event of a specific Inadequate Core Cooling scenario. 3)WRC's failure to uncover problems with Maine Yankee's various liigh Energy Line Break analyses.
Residents want assurance that your agency will not once again fail them by allowing Maine Yankee to operate under any conditions other than in full compliance with NRC regulations -- especially regarding the cable separation problems which have plagued the plant since 1973.
Maine Attorney General James Tierney once warned the lawyers and investigators in our office that those who enforce the law must obey the law. The same message applies to your agency as well-- those who enforce the regulations must abide by them. As you j
know, " enforcement is as enforcement does. "
Sincerely, J,4h ld Y
Kris L. Christine P.O. Box 12 Alna,ME 04535 (207)586-5043 cc:
Senator Joseph Biden Senator Joseph Lieberman Senator John Kerry Senator Christopher Dodd Representative Edward Markey Inspector GeneralIlubeit Sell Hubert Miller, Region i Senator Olympia Snowe Senator Susan Collins Congressman Jon Baldacci Congressman Tom Allen F
David Lochbaum, Union of Concemed Scientists
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