ML20238E034
| ML20238E034 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee, 05000000 |
| Issue date: | 05/28/1987 |
| From: | Abraham K NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Sam Graves AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20238E010 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8709140071 | |
| Download: ML20238E034 (6) | |
Text
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,,,, - pCio4 UNITED STA7ES
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g NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION l
E' REGION I t
s31 PARK AVENUE h
usNo os causs:A.PEmusvi.vania sesos
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n May 28, 1987 2
Ms. Sarah Graves t%.
$ trout Road Poland Spring, Mains 04274 if
Dear Ms. Graves:
Thank you for your letter of April 9,1987, to our Washin It has recently been forwarded to my office for response. gton Head-quarters.
As you ask.a series of questions, I will first repeat the question and them attempt to answer it.
~~
1.
How many times a year does,the NRC inspect Maine Yankee or does it?
s.
number of' inspections. : varies (froni y4ar,,to year, depending on
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The
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activities at the plant;, fop,;exhmple, there were 37 inspections done e
in 1985; 20 in 1986; and there have been.1.1 so far this year. There t
are monthly reports written by the resident inspectors who work out of an office at the site, and other specialists' reports, done by inspectors who have traveled from the Regional Office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania to Maine Yankee to perform specific scheduled or special inspections in such areas as radiation or environmental protection, security and safeguards, quality assurance, etc.
2.
Does the NRC regulate the amount of radioactive emissions that Maine Yankee releases into the atmosphere?
l A.
Yes, radioactive releases are limited to an amount that would keep
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the exposure of the people living near the plant te less.
ene- -
half rem per year. However nuclear plaats 41 so are retet g
their. releases and.espesure, of4the piM fee)
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,kN as is'reaseeably;asibleve$lgWeedFini releasesLto:1936 y sises 1Jfracti
' "releasedE !a11906, *sdeh.rele)ases average.
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cent of the NRC' regulatory limit (in 10 CFR.50 Appendtsi f e ; 'spE t
3.
.Recently,. in the Portland Press Herald, 'it was' reportedNhat Maine Yankee had released higher than the average amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
What does the NRC.do in cases like that? Do you fine the power plant? Where does the fine money go?
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-A.
I don't know'what the basis of that newspaper" story wah, but -
I can send 'me a copy o'f it, I will try ' to clarify that t
that assertion is true, it does not mean J that ' the a*dnt either was (~n excess 'of app 1Tc'able' regulatory limits, or thatj release was-a serious enough violati.on to warrant an action greater than a citation; for example, a fine.
enforeuth a When th.*mmat -
imposes fines' on licensees, any money collected goes intil the' 7 E States Treasury, alted
-4.
How many times since Maine Yankee has'" beer operat'ing hav finer.(If, ypu.do fine thed?),.
e they been A.
Maine Yankee, has~ paid 3hg, f'11owing fines, for the following kinds
~
o of violations:
April 15,,1975., ~$4.,000,' ~
- 1. investigation of. armed guards and failure to docum April 23, 1982, $30,000, for failure to assure a prop *rly sealed reactor containment and failure to notify the NRC of a plant condition that required shutting down the plant.
June 17, 1983, $40,000, for operating while its backup high presture coolant injection system, and emergency core cooling inoperable, 6ystem, was January 26, 1986, $80,000, for having.two safety system, @e one that wop,1d automatically shut the plant down when t'he feedwater s
system becomes inoperable and one that would automatically shut the plant down when there is ' low steam pressure on the sec%dsff SW; the steam generators, both rendered inoperable for more Man A F#F$8 5.
Does the NRC have the authority to close' down a plant if feel.";,A-its unsafe?
the/
i:Q Yes, and also if we believe it is not being operated in a t anp::
A.
by the' people in charge, even though the plant itself me f, ponerQMf.
equipment problems.
r ng how down under NRC requirements or direct orders, and theyAt the pre restarted without NRC's permission.
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Does the NRC pay attention to reports such as that fr#8 t Massachusetts Bureau of Public Health?
(regarding canck rdf8' communities near the Pilgrim plant) 9 0
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s, A.
.Yes, NRC' pays attention.
We are following the research eff6rs under -
way in Massachusetts.
NRC has the.. obligation to see that to the public, but NRC is not a Pubite Health Agency.u licensees
- of any evidence supporting the claims made about various nuclear We are unaware
~ power plants in va'rious locations.'around the times that releases of radioactive materials. from these plants have country, at various i
caused any injuries 'or diseases observed in the communitie,s,around them.
i 7.
Does the NRC ever'~do any iridependent testing like milk' for strontium-90-etc. like Europe did after Chernoby1?
A.
Ye's, and no.
.nuclea.r power plants in America passive radiation that are " read" four times a year to keep track of total around each plant in areas off the site.
radiation measuring locations around each plant.
There are about 50 such by specific isotopes in air, local drinking water, milk, vegetationM 1
and marine or seafood is required to be done by each nuclear power, plant licensee and results reported to NRC regularly.
NRC also, funds some independent laboratories in the states to collect and analyze such samples.
There is a regular national network of milk sampling for strontium-90 and other radioactive substances,that may fall in the United States from old and new atmospheric weapons U.S. Environmental Prote.ction Agency Eastern. M 3
cooperative contracts with the States, and. includes ' regular publica-tion of. milk sampling data, and special efforts when incidents such as Chernobyl take' place.
~
Regarding your passing reference to selection of a high-level radioactive waste repository in the Northeast United States, that is not an NRC initiative, but an effort by the U.S. Departmeht of En' ergy.
of the NRC regulations (10 CFR 60) that will be used to evaluate any
.I enclose'a copy application by DOE or its contractor to select a site and construct it, because NRC would have to issue a construction permit for such a project.
information about the project ~ed waste repositories, you may write to:
For more Public Affairs, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20S85.
Office of a
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4 I hope this information is helpful to you.
i Sincerel,
)
arl Abra am I
i Sr. Public Affairs Officer Office of Governmental and' Public Affairs-Region I i
Enclosure:
A. Stated O
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- 7 w
so m me Two reports claim.
nuclear safety down-By JAMES ROWLEY new reporting system that yields l
' Associated Press Writer about half as many mishap re-i ports as the old one the group l
WASilINGTON ~ A congress-said. Under the new, system, it
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man and an anti nuclear citizens said, plant operators filed 2,411 l
greap released separate reports
" licensee event reports" on miss on nuclear safety Saturday and haps in 1984 and 2,974 in 1985.
charged that the industry's The NRC report also includs safety record is gettin,g worse in-t.ccounts of:
4 stead of better.
- The loss of electrical power The Critical Mass Energy Pro-and a-" severe water hammer" ject a Ralph Nader group, re-or shuddering water pipes that leas,ed a study of safety viola-caused a steam leak and dam-tions reported to the Nuclear aged equipment at the San Regulatory Commission since Onofre Umt 1 plant near San
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1979. The group said problems Clemente, Calif., on Nov. 21,
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have been on the rise smee then 1985. Steam generator feedwater and called for a phase-out of all was lost for three minutes.
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- An unusual power surge at Rep. Edward Markey DI the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear ygMas.s., released a Ikt of ifie 10 iStation Unit 1 in Broad River, worst atomic power saTetp- 'S.C., that caused the plant to au-
.breaah*= provmea to nas suoco-somatically shut down while it mitteeln energy conservation was being started up by opera.
l and power by the NRC. He said tors. Human error cnd proceduro,
/ 1985_ was "the worstvear for deficiencies were responsible foi
< safeTv since the rnree Mile Is.
the Feb. 28,1985 event, the WRC lanti pecident in in i said.
"ITie nu'mber and severity of failure of nine%
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of if accidents during the past year is ure tr mitters that was simply too close for comfort,"
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7,1985 at thh Markey said. "
li f close Maine Ya atomic powdrl calls ptrongly succests pam um Ba m, Maine. The ~
brm% nuclear acbident]. transmitters that _ nonitnr llG" canid he lurkins' arounu'thetorT1 pressure of three suam general ndr. "1 w tars were inoperab e Decausel
--G# dical hiass said noclear mi.i.\\ root valves had annarently been haps reported to the NRC rose NLose:d for more than a yeary -
from 2,310 in 1979 to 5,060 in 1983.
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in 1984 the NRC, instituted a g
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