ML20246F509
| ML20246F509 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 08/28/1989 |
| From: | Congel F Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20246F501 | List: |
| References | |
| OL, NUDOCS 8908310031 | |
| Download: ML20246F509 (10) | |
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE COMMISSION
-In the Matter of
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2 PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF Docket Nos. 50-443 OL
'l NEW HAMPSHIRE, et al 50-444 OL l
'(Seabrook' Station, (Emergency Planning)
Units 1 and 2)
AFFIDAVIT OF FRANK J. CONGEL, ADDRESSING APPLICANTS' REQUEST FOR AN EXEMPTION FRUM 10 CFR PART 50, APPENDIX E, SECTION IV.F.1 4
I, Frank J. Congel, being duly sworn, state as follows:
1.
I am employed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission as the Director, Division of Radiation Protection and Emergency Preparedness. A 1
copy of my professional qualifications is attached. I have read the Applicants' request for exemption and my conclusions are set forth below.
2.
In a filing submitted to the Commission, dated August 11, 1989, the
. Applicants requested an exemption'from the requirement of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix E Section IV.F.1, that an onsite emergency planning exercise be conducted within one year before the issuance of a full power operating license from Seabrook Unit 1.
Section IV.F.1 provides that:
1.
A full participation exercise which tests as much of the licensee, State and local emergency plans as is reasonably achievable without mandatory public participation shall be conducted for each site at which a power reactor is located for which the first operating license 8908310031 890829 PDR ADOCK 05000443 G
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.L for that site is issued after July 13, 1982. This exercise shall be conducted within two years before the issuance of the first l
operating license for full power (one authorizing operation above 5%
of-rated power) of the first reactor and shall include participation by each State and local government within the plume exposure pathway EPZ and each State within the ingestion exposure pathway EFZ.
If the full participation exercise is conducted more than one year prior to issuance of an operating license for full power, an exercise which tests the licensee's onsite emergency plans shall be conducted within one year bef ore issuance of an operating license for full power.
This exercise need not have State or local government participation.
(emphasis'added) l' The-most recent exercise of the onsite plan was held in conjunction-with the full preparedness exercise at Seabrook on June 28 and 29,1988. The Applicants project that if the licensing of Seabrook proceeds on its present course, a full power license could be issued about seventeen to eighteen months after i
the conduct'of the June 1988 exercise and have requested an extension of the requirement in Appendix E,Section IV.F.1, that onsite exercises be held one year prior to issuance of a full power license.
3.
The objective of Appendix E.Section IV.F.1, regarding the testing of i
i the onsite. emergency plans, is to assure that an adequate state of onsite l
l emergency preparedness is demonstrated through the conduct of an emergency plan exercise within une year before a nuclear plant is authorized to exceed 5% of rated power. The importance of annual onsite emergency planning exercises by a l
licensee's operational staff is recognized in the Commission's regulations, l
which now require that after a facility is licensed to operate there must be anannualonsiteexercise(10CFR50,AppendixE,SectionIV.F.2). This annual
. emergency preparedness exercise ensures that the licensee's new personnel t
are adequately and promptly trained and that existing licensee personnel main-l i.
tain their emergency response capability. The existing requirement of a i
pre-operational onsite exercise within one year prior. to full-power license l
l issuance is consistent with this philosophy as well as the Commission's general l
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. desire to have pre-operational emergency planning exercises as close as practicabletothetimeoflicensing.1/ Also, in revising the timing require-
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ment for L full participation exercise prior to full power licensing, the l
Commissiori recognized the distinction in the responsibilities and training l
requirements for the onsite and offsite response organizations, and expressed its belief that an onsite exercise should be conducted within one year of l
licensing to provide assurance that an applicant's onsite response capabilities 1
are adequate.2_/
4.
Construction of Seabrook Unit I was completed in 1986. A fuel load 4
(zero-power)licensewasissuedonOctober 17, 1986, and a low power testing l
(up to 5% of rated power) license was issued on May 26, 1989. Since the j
completion of construction and the loading of fuel in the fall of 1986, the
.pplicants have maintained the operating staff in a state of readiness to l
operate the plant. As a result of the approximately three year delay in the full power licensing of Seabrook, the Applicants have had the opportunity to exercise the onsite emergency plant on an annual basis since 1986.
5.
The Seabrook Station Emergency Response Organization (ERO), which implements the Seabrook Station Radiological Emergency Plan (SSREP), the onsite emergency plan, was established in 1985.
In addition to extensive training and
.s drills, the ERO has participated in three emergency preparedness exercises which were observed by the NRC. A joint exercise of the onsite plan and the l
New Hampshire Radiological Emergency Response Plan (NHRERP) was held in j
February 1986. An exercise of the onsite plan was. held in December 1987. A l
l l-If See 52 FR 16823, May 6,1987.
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' full participation exercise involving the onsite plan, the NHRERP, the Seabrook
- Plan for' Massachusetts Communities, and the State of Maine Ingestion Pathway
- Plan was held on June 28 and 29,1988. As indicated above, the onsite portions
'of these. exercises were evaluated by the NRC.3/ In each exercise all major
. - facilities related to the onsite emergency plan were activated and exercised,,
including the Control Room, the Technical Support Center, the Operational Support Center, the Emergency Operations Facility, and the Media Center.
L 6.
The results of the NRC' observation of the onsite exercises are documented in NRC Inspection Report Nos. 50-443/86-10, 50-443/87-25, and 50-443/88-09.
In each exercise, the NRC concluded that the Applicants' emer-gency response actions were adequate to provide protective measures for the health and safety of the public. But each exercise also identified weaknesses or areas requiring corrective action. The Applicants satisfactorily _ responded to these items and they were closed out in subsequent inspections.
7.
Since issuance of the fuel load license in October,1986, the-Applicants have had.to implement portions of the onsite plan in response to two situations that were classified as Unusual Events," the lowest level of accident severity classification. The response of the ERO to these events was much less extensive than the_ response which takes place during an onsite exercise. Both events involved minor equipment failures end occurred with the plant in cold shutdown having never been taken critical and no fission product inventory present. The
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first instance occurred in February 1987 and in an examination of the event and the Applicants' response, the NRC issued a Notice of Violation for a delay in 3/ The offsite portion of the 1986 and 1988 exercises was evaluated by the Tederal Emergency Management Agency.
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5 notifying the Commonwealth of Massachusetts unt1130 minutes' af ter declaring the' Unusual Event (See NRC Inspection Report No. 50-443/E7-08). The second-Unusual Event occurred en December 19, 1988.
In a report related to this-event, the NRC noted.that all-notifications to offsite authorities were made promptly and in accordance with NRC regulations and the onsite plan (See NRC Ins,ection Report No. 50-443/88-17).
8.
The Applicants' onsite ERO consists of over 500 members drawn from
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onshift personnel,.other Station personnel, corporate personnel, and Yankee Nuclear Services Division personnel. These personne1'are assigned either to the Control Room, the. Technical Support Center, the Operational Support. Center,,
the Emergency Operations Facility, or the Media Center. The ERO has been
' involved in training and drills in an operational mode since October 1986.
The average' emergency preparedness experience level of the members of the ERO j
is ~over two and one-half years and at least one person currently assigned to a i
' key-ERO decisionmaking position participated in the June 1988 exercise. While many of the newer ERO members are in less critical response positions, such as i
Administrative Support, Auxiliary Operator, and Control-Room Communicator, information provided in the August 11, 1989 filing by the Applicants indicates a
that 27 out of 51 assigned individuals to the key ERO positions have not.
participated in an exercise in their currently assigned position.
In addition, almost half of the ERO have not had the opportunity to participate in any of the three annual onsite exercises. Moreover, while the June 1988 exercise demonstrated certain strengths in the ERO and the Applicants overall response was adequate,.there were some questions raised concerning the performance of the ERO (See NRC Inspection Report Nos. 50-443/68-09 and 50-443/88-10). Further, recent low power testing has indicated some weaknesses in control room staff l
performance which, while not indicative of a fundamental flaw in the training i
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. program, indicates the importance of continued training. The Staff believes that the conduct of another exercise of the ERO prior to full power licensing would serve to confitm the adequacy of onsite emergency preparedness at Seabrook and would provide a valuable training experience for the newer members of the organization and those in key decisionmaking positions who have not had the opportunity to participate in an exercise. The conduct of another onsite exercise would also provide an opportunity for exercising the interfaces between the onsite or.ganization and the offsite organizations; i.e., the State
'of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Yankee-Offsite Response Organization.
6 Based on a review of the Applicants' exemption request, the Staff concludes that Applicants have not hmonstrated that the current level of experience and training of the Emergency Response Organization staff is such that an onsite emergency planning exercise within a year before full power operation is not necessary to satisfy the underlying purpose of the rule -- to confirm the I
adequacy of onsite emergency preparedness close to issuance of a full power license. Therefore, the Applicants' request for exemption should be denied.
i The foregoing and the attached statement of professional qualifications are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
I Fran
. CongeF Subscribed to and sworn before me
{
this cQ[_Aday of August,1989.
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00tK!;1_E0 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATOR'/ COMMISSION 89 E 28 P6:27 n
BEFORE THE CGMM15SION y '.,. -
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In the Matter of
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Docket Nos. 50-443 OL PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF 1
50-444 OL NEW HAMPSHIRE, _et _al.
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(Seabrook Station Units 1 and 2)
)
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NOTICE OF APPEARANCE l
Notice is hereby liven that the undersigned attorney herewith enters an appearance in the above-captioned matter.
In accordance with 10 C.F.R.'
l i 2.713(b), the following information is provided:
Name:
Mitzi A. Young i,
Address:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-Office of the General Counsel l
Washington, DC 20555 l
Telephone Number:
(301)492-1523 Admission:
U.S. Court of Appeals. D.C. Circuit U.S.-District Court, District of l
Columbia District of Columbia Court of Appeals j
- Name of Party:
NRC Staff l
Respectfully submitted, Y.
Mit i
. Youn l
Counsel for NRC Staff l
Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 28th day of August, 1989 1
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
'89 AUG 28 P6 :27 BEFORE THE COMMISSION In the Matter of
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h 50 443.0L :
1 Docket Nos.
50-444 OL PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF
.NEW HAMPSHIRE, et al.
Emergency Planning 1
(Seabrook Station, Units 1 and 2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
'I hereby certify. that copies of "NRC STAFF RESPONSE T0 APPLICANTS' APPLICATION FOR AN EXEMPTION FROM 10 C.F.R. PART 50 SECTION IV.F.1 '(ONSITE EXERCISE ONE YEAR BEFORE FULL' POWER LICENSE)" and " NOTICE OF APPEARANCE" in the above captioned proceeding have been served on the following by deposit in the United i
States - mail, first class or, as indicated by an asterisk, by deposit in the
. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's internal mail system, this 28th day of August 1989:
Ivan W. Smith, Chairman' (2)*
H. J. Flynn, Esq.
Administrative Judge-Assistant General Counsel
. Atomic Safety'and Licensing Board Federal Emergency Management U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Agency Washington, DC 20555 500 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20472 Richard F. Cole
- Administrative Judge Calvin A. Canney Atomic Safety and Licensing Board City Hall U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 126 Daniel Street Washington, DC 20555
.Portsmouth, NH 03801 Kenneth A. McCollom.
John Traficonte, Esq.
I
-Administrative Judge Assistant Attorney General 1107 West Knapp Street Office of the Attorney General Stillwater, OK 74075 One Ashburton Place,19th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Diane Curran, Esq.
Harmon, Curran & Tousley Geoffrey Huntington, Esq.
2001 S Street, NW Assistant Attorney General Suite 430 Office of the Attorney General Washington, DC 20009 25 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301 Philip Ahrens, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General State House Station Augusta,-ME 04333 1
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Robert A. Backus, Esq.
Peter J. Matthews, Mayor Backus, Meyer & Solomon City Hall 116 Lowell Street Newburyport, MA 01950 Manchester, NH 03106 Mrs. Anne E. Goodman, Chairman Paul McEachern, Esq.
Board of Selectmen Shatnes & McEachern 13-15 Newmarket Road 25 Maplewood. Avenue Durham, NH 03824 P.O. Box 360 Portsmouth, NH 03801 Hon. Gordon J. Humphrey i
United States Senate Charles P. Graham, Esq.
531 Hart Senate Office Building McKay, Murphy & Graham Washington, DC 20510 100 Main Street Amesbury, MA 01913 Barbara J. Saint Andre, Esq.
i Kopelman & Paige, P.C.
Sandra Gavutis, Chairman 77 Franklin Street Board of Selectmen Boston, MA 02110 RFD #1, Box 1154 Kensington, NH 03827 Michael Santostosso, Chainnan 4
Board of Selectmen William S. Lord South Hampton, NH 03827 Board of Selectmen Town Hall - Friend Street Ashod N. Amirian, Esq.
Amesbury, MA 01913 Town Counsel for Merrimac 145 South Main Street.
R. Scott Hill-Whilton, Esq.
P.O. Box 38 Lagoulis, Clark, Hill-Whilton Bradford, MA 01835
&'McGuire 79 State Street Richard R. Donovan Newburyport, MA 01950 Federal Regional Center Federal Emergency Management Agency Allen Lampert 130 228th Street S.W.
Civil Defense Director Bothell, Washington 98021-9796 Town of Brentwood 20 Franklin Robert R. Pierce, Esq.*
Exeter, NH 03833 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel William Armstrong U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Civil Defense Director Washington, D.C.
20555 Town of Exeter 10 Front Street Thomas G. Dignan, Jr., Esq.
Exeter, NH 03833 Robert K. Gad, III. Esq.
Ropes & Gray l
Gary W. Holmes, Esq.
One International Place Holmes & Ellis Boston, MA 02110 47 Winnacunnet Road Hampton, NH 03842 l
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J. P. Nadeau Ms. Suzanne Breiseth Board of Selectmen Board of Selectmen
- 10 Central Street Town of Hampton Falls l
Rye, NH 03870 Drinkwater Road I'
Hampton Falls, NH 03844 l
- Judith H, Lizner, Esq.
79 State S treet.
Atomic Safety and Licensing Newburyport, MA 01950 Board (1)*
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Robert Carrigg Washington, DC 20555 Board of Selectmen Town Office Atomic Safety and Licensing Atlantic Avenue Appeal Panel (8)*
North Hampton, NH 03862 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555 Samuel J. Chilk Office of the Secretary Docketing and Service Section*
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of the Secretary Washington, DC 20555 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555
%Y M
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Mitij A. Young 9
Counsel for NRC Staff 4
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