ML20248F755
| ML20248F755 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Seabrook  |
| Issue date: | 04/03/1989 |
| From: | James Smith PUBLIC SERVICE CO. OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, ROPES & GRAY |
| To: | Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20248F730 | List: |
| References | |
| LBP-89-09, LBP-89-9, OL-1, NUDOCS 8904130187 | |
| Download: ML20248F755 (9) | |
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'89 APR -5 P3 :02 April 3, 1989 GFlr.
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION I,'j before the 1
d ATOMIC. SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD f
,j
)
In the Matter of
)
)
PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF
)
Docket Nos. 50-443-OL-1 NEW HAMPSHIRE, et al.
)
50-444-OL '
)
(On-Site Emergency 1
(Seabrook Station, Units 1 and 2)
)
Planning and Safety
)
Issues)
)
APPLICANTS' BRIEF REGARDING RELEVANCE OF DISCOMFORT BACKGROUND On March 6, 1989, this Board issued its Memorandum and Order (Summary Disposition), LBP-89-09, which " granted in
.part Applicants' Motion for summary disposition of atl emergency planning contentions related to notification and warning of people within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
Id. at 1.
This Board concluded that, among the issues of fact that remained in contention was:
"Whether sound levels in excess hok g3 DD 5
G
[3503
l of 123 dBC cause enough discomfort so that the Board should not approve the use of sirens at a higher level of sound."
Id. at 37.
The Board also noted that this factual issue involved a legal question:
"What standard should we apply to determine the possible relevance of discomfort?"
Id.
This brief addresses that legal question.
ARGUMENT In determining the acceptability of a siren warning system, the relevant concern should be whether members of the public would be subjected to sound pressure levels that could cause hearing damage.
A short period of discomfort, when weighed against the necessity of alerting the public during an actual emergency, should cause little concern.
A warning system should be designed to alert the public.
To do this, it needs to be sufficiently loud to get people's attention.
Some discomfort may result.
However, at the levels and conditions to which the public are expected to be exposed under the VANS system, hearing damage will not result.
NUREG-0654 cuggests that "[t]he maximum sound levels received by any member of the public should be lower than 123 dB, the level which may cause discomfort to individuals."
NUREG-0654, App. 3 at 3-8.
As discussed in Applicants' testimony, discomfort is a concept that has not been quantitatively defined.
Applicants' Direct Testimony at p.
8.
While it has not been definitively determined at what t
l
[.
l-level discomfort may occur, id. an analysis of whether a 1
4 particular sound pressure level is acceptable must go back to
.the objective criteria from which the guidance was derived.
The relevance of discomfort should be determined in reference to these objective criteria.
The apparent origin of the suggested 123 dB sound exposure limit is FEMA publication CPG 1-17.
That-publication recommends that, in order to avoid hearing damage, members of the public should not be exposed to levels l
in excess of 123 dB.
As noted in Applicants' testimony, the 123 dB level discussed in CPG 1-17 was developed as a conservative estimate of the level of sound that, in order to avoid hearing damage, should not be exceeded when an individual is exposed on a daily basis, over a 10 year period, to a 1000Hz tone for 1-1/2 minutes or less.1 Id. at
- p. 13.
Guidance, by definition, is intended to be applicable to a wide variety of circumstances.
If, however, it can be demonstrated that in a particular circumstance the goals sought to be achieved by the guidance are met, literal compliance with the guidance should not be required.
1 It is reasonable to assume that sound levels that could cause hearing damage based on daily exposure may cause discomfort to individuals when such a level is used as part of a notification system.
NUREG-0654 is phrased in these terms.
This phraseology represents the conservatism on which the guidance is based.
1 U,
I l
The VANS siren system, which, under certain limited circumstances, could expose members of the public to levels in excess of 123 dB for a period of less than four seconds, complies with the technical bases supporting the suggestive guidance of NUREG-0654.
The sirens would operate on a non-continuous basis at a lower frequency (550Hz) and would expose members of the public to a much shorter duration of sound than was assumed in deriving the 123 dB limit.
Id. at
- p. 14.
Under the circumstances in which the VANS sirens would operate, the sound pressure levels to which the public would be exposed will not result in any hearing damage.2 2
For example, using the same methodology as used in CPG 1-17, simply changing the frequency from 1000Hz to 550Hz (holding all other variables constant) has the effect of raising the level that would avoid hearing damage to 127 dB.
Decreasing the duration and amount of exposure would raise this level even higher.
1 t f, l
I CONCLUSION As with the 123 dB level permitted by NUREG-0654, it is expected that some discomfort could possibly result.
However, reference back to the objective criteria on which the NUREG-0654 standard was based reveals that the VANS sirens comply with that guidance.
Respectfully submitted,
%b Thomas G.
Difnan, Jr.
Kathryn A.
Selleck Jay Bradford Smith Ropes & Gray one International Place Boston, MA 02110-2624 s
(617) 951-7000
..t 6.
L'OLME!il US Nin' April 3, 1989
'89 APR -5 P3 :03
~
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 0Frit " ;
Dr NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONER! M - i b W f.
i
~
& Mut before the.
ATOMIC SAFETY AND' LICENSING BOARD
)
In the Matter of
)
)
PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY'OF
)
Docket Nos. 50-443-OL NEW HAMPSHIRE, et al.
)
50-444-OL
)
(Seabrook Station, Units l'and 2)
)
(Off-site Emergency
)
Planning Issues)
)
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, J y Bradford Smith, one of the attorneys for the Applicants herein, hereby certify that on April.3, 1989, I made service of the'following documents:
1.
Joint Stipulation Regarding Certain Acoustic Locations, 2.
Joint Motion for Approval of Joint Stipulation Regarding Certain Acoustic Locations,.
3.
Applicants' Brief Regarding Relevance of Discomfort, 4.
Applicants' Direct Tesimony Regarding the Remaining
. Prompt Alert and Notification System Issues, and 5.
Applicants' Supplemental Answers to Mass AG's Expert Witness Interrogatory by hand delivering a copy to Stephen A. Jonas, Esquire, Chief, Public Protection Bureau, Department of the Attorney i
General, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108 and by l
I
depositing copies thereof with Federal Express, prepaid, for s-delivery to (or, where indicated, by depositing in the United States mail,.first class postage paid, addressed to):
Administrative Judge Ivan W. Smith Administrative' Judge Peter B.
Chairman, Atomic Safety and Bloch, Chairman, Atomic Licensing Board Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commission East'est Towers Building East West Towers Build $ng-W l
4350 East West Highway 4350 East West Highway 1
Bethesda, MD 20814 Bethesda, MD' 20814 Administrative Judge Richard F. Cole Dr. Jerry Harbour Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Atomic Safety and Licensing U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- ard East West Towers Building U,'
Nuclear Regulatory' 4350 East West Highway Cosai ssion Bethesda, MD 20814 East K:st Towers Building 4350 East West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814 Administrative Judge Kenneth A.
Administrative Judge Emmeth A.
McCollom Luebke 1107 West Knapp Street 4515 Willard Avenue Stillwater, OK 74075 Chevy Chase, MD. 20815 James H. Carpenter, Alternate Robert R.
Pierce, Esquire j
Technical Member Atomic Safety and Licensing Atomic Safety and Licensing Botrd Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commission East West Towers Building East West Towers Building 4350 East West Highway 4350 East West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814 Bethesda, MD 20814 Adjudicatory File Sherwin E. Turk, Esquire Atomic Safety and Licensing Office of General Counsel Board Panel Docket (2 copies)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Commission East West Towers Building One White Flint North, 15th Fl.
j 4350 East West Highway 11555 Rockville Pike l
Bethesda, MD 20814 Rockville, MD 20852 i
- Atomic Safety and Licensing Robert A.
Backus, Esquire Appeal Board 116 Lowell Street U.S. Nuclear Regulatory P. O.
Box $16 Commission Manchester, NH 03105 Washington, DC 20555 \\
F f
Philip Ahrens, Esquire Mr. J.
P. Nadeau Assistant Attorney General Selectmen's Office Department of the Attorney 10 Central Road General Rye, NH 03870 Augusta, ME 04333 Paul McEachern, Esquire Shaines & McEachern 25 Maplewood Avenue P.O.
Box 360 Portsmouth, NH 03801 Mrs. Sandra Gavutis Mr. Calvin A. Canney Chairman, Board of Selectmen City Manager RFD 1 - Box 1154 City Hall Route 107 126 Daniel Street Kensington, NH 03827 Portsmouth, NH 03801
- Senator Gordon J. Humphrey R. Scott Hill-Whilton, Esquire U.S.
Senate Lagoulis, Hill-Whilton &
Washington, DC 20510 Rotondi (Attn:
Tom Burack) 79 State Street Newburyport, MA 01950
- Senator Gordon J. Humphrey Leonard Kopelman, Esquire One Eagle Square, Suite 507 Kopelman & Paige, P.C.
Concord, NH 03301 77 Franklin Street (Attn:
Herb Boynton)
Boston, MA 02130 Mr. Thomas F. Powers, III Mr. William S.
Lord Town Manager Board of Selectmen Town of Exeter Town Hall - Friend Street 10 Front Street Amesbury, MA 01913 Exeter, NH 03833 H. Joseph Flynn, Esquire Charles P. Graham, Esquire Office of General Counsel Murphy and Graham Federal Emergency Management 33 Low Street Agency Newburyport, MA 01950 500 C Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20472 i
Gary W.
Holmes, Esquire Richard A. Hampe, Esquire Holmes & Ells Hampe and McNicholas 47 Winnacunnet Road 35 Pleasant Street Hampton, NH 03842 Concord, NH 03301 l - _ _ - - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
f 4
Mr. Richard R.
Donovan Judith H. Mizner, Esquire Federal Emergency Management 79 State Street, 2nd Floor Agency Newburyport, MA 01950 Federal Regional Center 130 228th Street, S.W.
Bothell, Washington 98021-9796 Ashod.N. Amirian, Esquire Robert Carrigg, Chairman 145 South Main Street Board of Selectmen.
P.O.
Box 38 Town Office, Atlantic Avenue Bradford, MA 01835 North Hampton, NH 03862 Diane Curran, Esquire John P. Arnold, Esquire Andrea C.
Ferster, Esquire Attorney General Harmon, Curran & Tousley George Dana Bisbee, Esquire Suite 430 Assistant Attorney General 2001 S Street, N.W.
Office of the Attorney General Washington, DC 20009 25 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301-6397
% kM M Jay Bradford' Smith
(*= Ordinary U.S. First Class Pail)
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