ML20248H205

Testimony of G St Hilaire,H Saxner & B Davis on Behalf of Jm Shannon,Atty General for Commonwealth of Ma on Proposed Use of Evacuation Bed Buses in Seabrook Plan for Commonwealth of Ma Communities.* Related Correspondence

ML20248H205
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	04/10/1989
From:	Bradley Davis, Saxner H, St Hilaire G MASSACHUSETTS, COMMONWEALTH OF
To:
Shared Package
ML20248G923	List: ML20248G919 ML20248G925 ML20248G930 ML20248G934 ML20248G943 ML20248G946 ML20248G960 ML20248H161 ML20248H205 ML20248H267 ML20248H319 ML20248H661 ML20248H688
References
OL, NUDOCS 8904140118
Download: ML20248H205 (11)

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pgD CORR @Y df0 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION '89 l'R 11 P5 :59 ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD , ;. ,

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" I Before the Administrative Judges:

Ivan W. Smith, Chairman Dr. Richard F. Cole '

Kenneth A. McCollom l

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In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-443-OL i

) 50-4'44-OL i PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY ) (Off-Site EP) j OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, _E_T _A_L . ) )

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(Seabrook Station, Units 1 and 2) ) April 10, 1989 j

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I TESTIMONY OF GERARD ST. HILAIRE, HOWARD SAXNER, AND ]

BARBARA DAVIS ON BEHALF OF JAMES M. SHANNON,  !

ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ON THE PROPOSED USE OF EVACUATION BED BUSES IN THE SPMC l

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Department of the Attorney General Nuclear Safety Unit Public Protection Bureau One Ashburton Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 727-2200 t

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD Before the Administrative Judges:

Ivan W. Smith, Chairman Dr. Richard F. Cole Kenneth A. McCollom

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In the Matter of ) Docket Nos. 50-443-OL

) 50-444-OL PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY ) (Off-Site EP)

OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, _E T A _L .

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(Seabrook Station, Units 1 and 2) ) April 10, 1989

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TESTIMONY OF GERARD ST. HILAIRE, HOWARD SAXNER, AND BARBARA DAVIS ON BEHALF OF JAMES M. SHANNON, ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS ON THE PROPOSED USE OF EVACUATION BED BUSES IN THE SPMC Q.1. Please state your name, business address and position.

A.l. My name is Gerald St. Hilaire. I am General Counsel for the Registry of Motor Vehicles and my office is located at 100 Naanaa Street, Boston, Massachusetts.

2.2. What will you be testifying on in this proceeding?

A.2. I will be testifying on the requirements for the registration of ambulances as motor vehicles on the roads of the Commonwealth.

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0.3. What is your basis of knowledge for that testinony?

A.3. As General Counsel for the Registry of Motor i

Vehicles I am familiar with the procedures, regulations, and other requirements for registering motor vehicles in general.

More particularly, I am familiar with the requirements for  ;

i registering ambulances. While I personally do not issue l registrations for motor vehicles, and ambulances in particular, i

I provide advise to registry personnel who perform those functions concerning any questions on procedures and requirements for such registrations. I have worked with the i personnel who actually do the on-line work of issuing registrations and am familiar with the procedures involved for performing such operations.

Q.4. Are you familiar with the proposed use of evacum ion bed buses in the Seabrook Plan for Massachusetts Communities?

A.4. Yes, I am.

Q.5. How have you come to be familiar with that proposal?

A.5. I have reviewed various documents relating to that l proposal including a memorandum on specifications for evacuation bed buses dated January 27, 1989, a copy of a request for a bid proposal for evacuation bed buses dated I February 21, 1989; portions of the depositions of New Hampshire Yankee agents concerning evacuat.:n bed buses; and portions of documents titled ' Applicants' Rebuttal Testimony #6' and

' Applicants' Rebuttal Testimony #8'.

Q.6. After having looked at those documents, what is your understanding as to the how the Applicants plan to use evacuation bed buses in the SPMC?

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A.6. I understand that the Applicants' are going to use l

35 school buses that have been outfitted in aipermanent way to )

transport the sick, injured and/or disabled persons from the Massachusetts Emergency Planning Zone in the event of a radiological emergency at Seabrook Station. As I understand the proposal those school buses will be outfitted with evacuation bei bus equipment.on a permanent basis and used I

exclusively for the transportation of the sick, injured and  ;

I disabled. l Q.7. If such a vehicle is used in that way, does it fall l 1

with.n any particular class of vehicle insofar as the Registry j l

of Motor Vehicles is concerned? j A.7. Yes, a motor vehicle that is equipped.and used  ;

I' exclusively for the transportation of the sick, injured and/or disabled is classified as an ambulance insofar as the Registry is concerned.

1 0.8. Do you know if there is any requirement that any l particular kind of certificate or licensure be obtained in I I

order to operate ambulances in the State of Massachusetts?

A.8. Yes, my understanding is that to operate an ambulance in the State of Massachusetts one must first obtain a certificate for that ambulance from the Department of Public Health. The Department of Public Health has general perview over the inspection and certification of ambulances. My understanding is that in order to receive a certificate from the Department of Public Health there needs to be certain kinds of equipment on the vehicle and there are supposed to be E.M.T.s as attendants on the vehicle.

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t Q.9. Would the proposed evacuation bed buses in the SPMC need to obtain certification from the Department of Public Health to operate as ambulances?

A.9. Yes, If it was to come to the attention of the 1 i

Registry of Motor Vehicles that any motor vehicle was l I

registered or seeking to be registered as an ambulance without I obtaining a certificate from the Department of Public Health, l

the Registry would refuse to register such vehicles as j ambulances until such a certificate was obtained. l j

Q.10. Please state your name, business address and position. j I

j A.10. My name is Howard Saxner. I am Deputy General I l

Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 150 1 Tremont Street, Boston.

l Q.ll. Mr. Saxner, what will you be testifying on?

A.11. I will be testifying on the requirements for certification of ambulance vehicles and licensure of ambulance 1

services.

Q.12. How do you come to have knowledge of those topics?

A.12. In my capacity as Deputy General Counsel I serve as counsel for a number of divisions within the Department of Public Health, including the Ambulance Regulativa Program and the Office of Emergency Medical Services.

Q.13. As part of your job responsibilities, do you 1

actually do the licensure or certification of ambulances yourself?

A.13. No. That's done by program people. However, I advise them on any issues and questions that.come up concerning licensure and certification, and I have worked with them in l

l terms of developing procedures and regulations.

Q.14. Have you had an opportunity to review the proposed use of evacuation bed buses in the Seabrook Plan for Massachusetts Communities (SPMC)?

A.14. Yes, I have.

Q.15. How have you come to have knowledge of that proposal?

A.15. I have reviewed a memo on specifications for evacuation bed buses from Mr Tailleart, dated January 27, 1989, as well as a Request for Proposal on evacuation bed buses issued by Public Service of New Hampshire, dated February 21, 1989, portions of depositions of representatives of New Hampshire Yankee and portions of Applicants' Rebuttal Testimony

1. 6 and #8 on Protective Actions for Particular Population and Transportation Resources.

0.16. Having reviewed those documents, what is your understanding as to how New Hampshire Yankee plans to implement the use of evacuation bed buses in the SPMC?

A.16. My understanding is that they propose to re-equip 35 school buses to transport sick, injured or disabled persons from hospitals and nursing homes as well as the mobility impaired who reside in the Massachusetts Emergency Planning Zone. Under the terms of the proposal the buses will be outfitted with evacuation bed equipment and be maintained in a

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fully outfitted condition to be'used only by the New Hampshire Yankee Off-site Response Organization (ORO) in the event of an emergency at the Seabrook Plant.

Q.17. Is there any requirement that to implement the ,

proposed use of such buses any particular kind of certificate or licensure be obtained?

I A.17. Yes, to operate in Massachusetts, such vehicles j would be required to have certificates as ambulances, and additionally the entity operating such vehicles would have to be licensed as an ambulance service by the Department of Public Health.

Q.18. What is required to be licensed as an ambulance service in Massachusetts?

A.18. There are a variety of requirements for ambulance l

l services in Massachusetts including both vehicles and the type of equipment that would be used to provide treatment to persons being transported as well as standards for personnel and provision of service. For instance, a licensed ambulance service must have appropriate insurance, garages for vehicles, communications equipment and supplies and equipment. In addition, the bed buses in the SPMC would be certified under 1 the Department's regulations as Class V vehicles, which means that there would have to be a written agreement with an ambulance service with a Class I vehicle and a back-up Class I vehicle to provide an emergency response.

Q.19. What kind of requirements are there to receive a certificate to operate an ambulance?

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A.19. There are various requirements in terms of equipment {

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being on the vehicle, including a requirement that there be portable oxygen supplies, what's called a ' bag-mask', a portable suction unit, a stretcher, padded board splints, and j other requirements.

l Q.20. Are there any other requirements to receive a I l

certificate for an ambulance other than having special ,

equipment on board?

l A.20. Yes. Any licensed ambulance service must have two i i

certified E.M.T.s on each of its ambulance vehicles.

Q.21. What are E.M.T.s?

A.21. E.M.T.s are Emergency Medical Technicians who meet l

l requirements and regulations established by the Office of {

I Emergency Medical Services of the Department of Public Health, both in terms of training and in terms of passing a test for certification. I Q.22. What kind of training goes into receiving a certification as an emergency medical technician?

A.22. Initially, anyone seeking to become certified as an E.M.T. would have to take a 110 hour0.00127 days <br />0.0306 hours <br />1.818783e-4 weeks <br />4.1855e-5 months <br /> class plus a certification i

1 examination. In addition, E.M.T.s have to be decertified every two years. In order to be decertified they would have to pass an annual decertification in C.P.R. (Cardio Pulminary .

Resuscitation), a 20 hour2.314815e-4 days <br />0.00556 hours <br />3.306878e-5 weeks <br />7.61e-6 months <br /> refresher course and 28 hours3.240741e-4 days <br />0.00778 hours <br />4.62963e-5 weeks <br />1.0654e-5 months <br /> of ,

continuing education.

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Q.23. Under the proposal that'has been made for the  !

1 implementation of evacuation bed buses in the SPMC, could those vehicles receive certification as ambulances from the ,

1 Department of Public Health?

A.23. No. l

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0 24. Why not?

A.24. There are no provisions in the proposal for meeting the Department's requirements for licensure as an ambulance l service or certification of vehicles. In particular, no l

l provisions have been made for ambulance equipment or properly certified E.M.T.s on board the vehicles. The only personnel i that will be on board the vehicles under the proposal that has l been submitted is a bus driver and possibly one other non-certified person to help handle the loading of the bed buses, l Q.25. Please state your name, business address and position.

A.25. My name is Barbara Davis. I am Program Manager for Long Term Care Program and a Registered Nurse at the Division of Health Care Quality, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, j Q.26. Ms. Davis, what will you be testifying on?

l A.26. I will be testifying on what is meant by the various levels of care in nursing homes.

Q 27. How do you come to have knowledge of that s apic?

A.27. I deal with the requirements concerning levels of care for nursing homes on a daily basis and make recommendations for change and implementation of the same.

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0 Q.28. Have you had a chance to review the Applicants' proposal for the allocation of ambulances and bed buses for transporting persons from nursing homes in the Massachusetts EPZ?

A.28. Yes. I have reviewed the Applicants' pre-filed-testimony'on the subject.

Q.29. Have the Applicants made.any incorrect assumptions in terms of allocation of such vehicles?

A.29. Yes. The applicants apparently are under the false i impression that persons who reside in nursing homes as Level I patients need greater or more skilled care than Level II patients. That is a false assumption. Level I patients are f

1 distinguishable from Level II patients only by the source of fee reimbursement to the nursing homes. Level I patients are j paid for by Medicare while Level II patients are paid for by some other source. The denotation of an individual as a Level I patient simply means he/she is being paid for by Medicare.

l All Level I and Level II patients are patients requiring the I same level of skilled nursing care as distinguished from Level

! III patients who require an intermediate level of nursing l

( care. The Applicants are in error in assuming that Level I patients require a higher level of medical or nursing care than Level II p8tients require.

In fact, in some instances a patient may be a Level I patient for part of a year and a Level II patient for the rest of the same year. A patient's care will typically be paid for by Medicare for only 150 days per year. At the end of that

4, period the pay?.ents for a patient's care will be shifted to some other funding source. So one can have a situation where a patient will be a Level I patient for the first 150 days of a calendar year; then a Level II patient for the rest of the year. When a new calendar year commences, the patient will again become a Level I patient for 150 days and then a Level II patient for the rest of the year. Throughout the year the same patient needs and medical requirements would continue to exist.

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