ML20244A375
| ML20244A375 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Westinghouse |
| Issue date: | 08/28/2020 |
| From: | Public Commenter Public Commenter |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| NRC/NMSS | |
| References | |
| 85FR46193 | |
| Download: ML20244A375 (3) | |
Text
From:
Tom Clements <tomclements329@cs.com>
Sent:
Friday, August 28, 2020 5:58 PM To:
WEC_CFFF_EIS Resource
Subject:
[External_Sender] Docket ID: NRC-2015-0039 - Additional Scoping Comment by SRS Watch, in Westinghouse Fuel Fabrication Facility EIS Scoping, Aug. 28, 2020 August 28, 2020 To:
Office of Administration Mail Stop: TWFN-7-A60M U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 WEC_CFFF_EIS.resource@nrc.gov From: Tom Clements Savannah River Site Watch Columbia, SC https://srswatch.org/
RE:
Docket ID: NRC-2015-0039 - Additional Scoping Comment by SRS Watch - Comment #5 -
for Preparation of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement as Part of the Relicensing Process for the Westinghouse Fuel Fabrication Facility, Hopkins, SC This is an additional scoping comment by Savannah River Site Watch. Thank you for including it in the scoping record and responding to it in the draft EIS.
The Westinghouse letter submitting the report titled NRC Semi-Annual Discharge Report, January - June 2020, posted in ADAMS on August 28, 2020, and earlier reports, must be taken into account in preparing the draft EIS. The current report is posted at:
https://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber=ML20238C062 Of concern and a surprise, the report 2020 Semi-Annual Assessment of Public Dose due to Liquid and Gaseous Effluents documents that technetium-99 is still being released from the facility to the unrestricted area. The documents states the following on page 2 of 3:
The release rates for gaseous effluent are determined by gross alpha measurements performed on daily air samples, one per stack for 47 stacks (Attachment 1). The release rates for liquid effluent are determined by isotopic analysis of composite liquid effluent samples taken monthly.
Based on these results, the following quantities were released in the 1st half of calendar year 2020:
- 182.8 Ci of Uranium in gaseous effluent
- 2,056 Ci of Uranium in liquid effluent
- 2,935 Ci of Technetium in liquid effluent The report also confirms gaseous discharge of Tc-99: Tc-99 is not reported for gaseous effluents as the quantities of Tc-99 detected during benchmark testing of gaseous emissions were below the thresholds that would necessitate reporting.
Please define the bounds of the unrestricted area and restricted area.
Re: Technetium-99 Discharges We reiterate our earlier comment on Tc-99: What is the source of the Tc-99 in liquid and gaseous discharges?
We also ask:
Why is Tc-99 still being processed through the system?
Is equipment in the facility being contaminated with Tc-99?
Is any Tc-99 being captured for disposal?
Are workers being exposed to Tc-99?
Re: Impacts of radioactive Isotopes Deliberately Discharged to Congaree River The document confirms release of radioactive isotopes into the Congaree River:
Liquid effluent values were obtained by analysis of composite proportional samples prior to
discharge to the Congaree River and basing the activity on the calculated average enrichment.
All liquid discharges are pumped through a single discharge line to the Congaree River. Liquid effluent composites were analyzed by alpha spectroscopy, and significant quantities of U-236 were not detected using this method. The total liquid effluent volume released to the Congaree River during the first half of 2020 was 7.31E+10 milliliters (ml).
Impact to the Congaree River and sediments over a lengthy period of time - 10 half-lives of the uranium and technetium isotopes - must be analyzed in the draft EIS.
While normal discharges are slowly released over time, an accidental release with a larger amount of release of isotopes at one time must be discussed in the draft EIS.
Federal Register Notice:
85FR46193 Comment Number:
16 Mail Envelope Properties (1594968288.53968.1598651874359)
Subject:
[External_Sender] Docket ID: NRC-2015-0039 - Additional Scoping Comment by SRS Watch, in Westinghouse Fuel Fabrication Facility EIS Scoping, Aug. 28, 2020 Sent Date:
8/28/2020 5:57:54 PM Received Date:
8/28/2020 5:57:58 PM From:
Tom Clements Created By:
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