ML20248L518

Forwards Document Developed by Cecil & R Croteau to Be Forwarded to V Dricks as Response to Mulligan

ML20248L518
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee
Issue date:	06/02/1998
From:	Croteau R NRC
To:	Zwolinski J NRC
Shared Package
ML20248L505	List: ML20248L503 ML20248L518
References
NUDOCS 9806110212
Download: ML20248L518 (2)

Text

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From Rick Croteau To: JAZ Dates 6/2/98 2:15pm

Subject:

Yellow Ticket 980118 John, Cecil and I have developed the attached and suggest you forward it to Victor Dricks as a response to Mr. Mulligan.

Thanks, Rick

<WP Attachment Enclosed >

CC: COT

E'TJa! MnEn H PDR

Dear Mr. Mulligan:

In a message dated May 20,1998, you requested that we perform a risk study of recent events at the Vermoni Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. You also asked what level of risk the NRC has set as a goal.

The NRC has a policy statement in place that establishes safety goals whereby nuclear power should not pose significant additional risk to the life and health of individuals. Further, it states that the risk of an immediate fatality should not exceed 0.1% of that caused by other energy-type accidents and that the risk of cancer fatalities to naarby populations should not exceed 0.1% of the total cancer risk from all other causes. The NRC has also established a policy for incorporating risk insights into the current regulatory framework. The use of risk insights is meant to improve safety decision-making, reduce unnecessary burden, and improve staff efficiency.

. In 1993, NRC established three high-level review groups to assess the agency's use of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) techniques in regulatory activities. As a result of their findings, NRC saw the need to systematically expand the use of PRA within the agency and in August 1995, published a policy statement on the use of PRA methods !n ntclear regulatory l activities.

i To implement the Commission's policy on the use of PRA, the NRC developed a PRA Implementation Plan which is updated quarterly. The primary objective of the plan is to ensure that the lncreased use of PRA methods and technology in nuclear regulatory activities is implemented in a consistent and predictable manner that promotes r gulatory stability and  ;

efficiency. The increased use of PRA methods and technology described in the plan is intended to complement traditional engineering analyses and continue to support the Commission's defense-in-depth philosophy.

Most of the specific items that you referred to in your message are being reviewed individually by the NRC staff using deterministic methods. To the extent these issues impact regulatory decisions such as licensing actions, our conclusions will be docurnented and placed in the public document room. Also, at this time we do not intend to perform an independent risk study of the Vernont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. In addition, the NRC has no plans to charige our safety goals conceming risk to the health and safety of individuals.

I l

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