ML20236A417
| ML20236A417 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 03/01/1989 |
| From: | Zech L NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Kerry J SENATE |
| References | |
| CCS, NUDOCS 8903170184 | |
| Download: ML20236A417 (2) | |
Text
--
e
.r 2
Q CI$h E
/,,
I UNITED STATES
{
,E NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION o
g WASHINGTON, D.C. 20056 March 1, 1989 CH IR AN
.The Honorable John F. Kerry United' States Senate Washington, D. C.
20510
Dear Senator Kerry:
i I am responding to your letter of December 22, 1988, in which you requested that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-(NRC) include the town of Bourne within the plume exposure pathway emergency planning zone (EPZ) for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station.
The Commission recognizes that because a portion of the town lies within a 10-mile radius of the Pilgrim plant, this is a matter of concern to the citizens of Bourne.
However, the NRC staff has determined that the existing plume exposure pathway EPZ at Pilgrim is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that the public health and safety will be protected in the event of a radiological emergency at the' plant.
In this regard, some explanation of the NRC's emergency planning regulations would be helpful as background.
Our regulations define two concentric EPZs for which planning is necessary to ensure that prompt and effective actions can-he taken to protect the public in the event of an accident.
The size of the planning zones represents a generic judgment on the extent to which detailed planning must be performed to assure an adequate. response in the unlikely event of a nuclear power plant accident.
However, in a particular emergency, protective actions might be needed in only a limited part of the established planning zones.
On'the other hand, the detailed planning required for the established planning zones provides a substantial base for expan-sion of emergency response actions outside these zones in the very unlikely event that such actions were required by the conditions of a particular accident.
The first zone is the plume exposure pathway EPZ, an area about 10 miles in radius from the center of the plant.
The major protective actions of evacuation and sheltering would be employed in this EPZ as appropriate to prevent or reduce the public's exposure to a radioactive plume that could result from the most severe accidents at nuclear power plants.
The seconri planning zone is the ingestion exposure pathway EPZ, an area about 50 miles in radius from the center of the plant.
()
v 8903170184 890301 g
PDR COMMS NRCC n \\
CORRESPONDENCE PDC
' j Major protective actions, such as putting livestock on stored feed and controlling food and water, would be employed if necessary in areas of this EPZ to prevent the public from ingesting contami-nated food and water.
In determining the specific boundaries of these planning zones, the Commission's emergency planning regulations state that EPZ size shall be determined in relationship to local emergency response needs and capabilities as they are affected by such conditions as demography, topography, land characteristics, access routes, and jurisdictional boundaries.
Small adjustments to the size of the planning zones are only to be made to simplify planning and to avoid ambiguity as to the location of the boundaries.
The exact boundaries of the Pilgrim plume exposure pathway EPZ were determined using nearby roads and jurisdictional boundaries.
The town of Bourne extends about 20 miles from the Pilgrim plant, with only a very small portion of the town lying within a 10-mile radius.
Consequently, the entire town has been defined to be within the ingestion exposure pathway EPZ for Pilgrim.
In this zone, the risk to the public from exposure to a radioactive plume is expected to be negligible due primarily to the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive materials, and, as a result, it is unnecessary to undertake detailed planning for evacuation.
Plans for actions to prevent ingestion of radioactive materials are needed in this zone, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has developed such plans.
Regarding your concern about traffic nn the access routes to Cape Cod, it is my understanding that the updated evacuation time estimate and traffic management plan for Pilgrim includes provi-sions for traffic control measures to be instituted by local and State police on these routes, including the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
I hope I have addressed your concerns, and those of the citizens of Bourne, regarding the implementation of emergency preparedness requirements for the Pilgrim plant.
I believe the Commission has acted prudently with respect to Pilgrim, and I can assure you that we are committed to fulfilling our responsibility to ensure that the Pilgrim plant is operated safely.
Sincerely, Lando W.
Z ch, J
- - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - - _ - _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ -