ML24285A168

Email Response: LTR-24-0212 David Lochbaum Letter - Public Access to Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Materials - Seabrook ASR

ML24285A168
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	10/11/2024
From:	Lawrence Burkhart Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
To:	Lochbaum D - No Known Affiliation
References
LTR-24-0212
Download: ML24285A168 (2)

Text

From: Larry Burkhart Sent: Friday, October 11, 2024 8:55 AM To: David Lochbaum <davelochbaum@gmail.com>

Cc: Sarah Abramson <sarah@c-10.org>; Kent Howard <Kent.Howard@nrc.gov>; Scott Moore

<Scott.Moore@nrc.gov>; Rob Krsek (He/Him) <Robert.Krsek@nrc.gov>; NRCExecSec Resource <NRCExecSec.Resource@nrc.gov>; Russell Chazell <Russell.Chazell@nrc.gov>;

Carrie Safford <Carrie.Safford@nrc.gov>

Subject:

RE: PUBLIC ACCESS TO ACRS MATERIALS - SEABROOK ASR

Dear Mr. Lochbaum,

I am responding to your email to NRCExecSec_Resource dated September 25, 2024 (attached).

As we discussed via telephone on October 8, 2024, the ACRS is not in possession of documents from other NRC offices regarding responses to questions raised at the April 27, 2022, ACRS Subcommittee meeting or the September 4, 2024, Full Committee meeting. Nor is the ACRS in possession of documents that respond to the questions documented in the attachment from Pat Skibbee on July 2, 2022 (also attached). The questions that arose in those meetings were recorded in the respective transcripts and do not represent an ACRS official position but, as noted by C-10, are of interest by the Committee and others. The Committee continues to be briefed by the staff on this important issue, and it is possible that matters raised in the questions will be discussed between the Committee and the NRC staff in future meetings on this subject. I note that C-10 has been invited to comment or present at the previous ACR meetings on the Seabrook Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) topic. We look forward to continued engagement by C-10 on this topic.

In general, the ACRS staff follows Agency guidance for making documents publicly available. Additionally, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and 10 CFR Part 7 govern the Committees management, and increased openness and transparency are key tenets of FACA. We strive to make as much information as possible available to the public regarding topics of discussion at ACRS Subcommittee and Full Committee meetings. As you know, we are required by law and regulation to protect information that is provided to us that may be sensitive, such as proprietary, security-related, or pre-decisional (usually designated as such by a licensee or the NRC staff). With respect to the information you seek in your email, we have no publicly available nor non-public documents from the NRC staff addressing the questions that were raised in the October 2022 and September 2024 ACRS briefings.

Regarding the email sent by Pat Skibbee on July 2, 2022 (which documents important questions from C-10), we should have been clearer about how the Committee generally handles written and oral comments submitted pursuant to meetings. While we appreciate the concise collecting of questions from the transcript and specific questions posed by C-10, it is customary for the Committee to accept written comments as input to inform future ACRS meetings and deliberations. I assure you that the documents and comments you provided will be considered by the Committee when it discusses the Seabrook ASR topic in the future. The Committee is planning further engagement with the NRC staff on this issue in the first half of the 2025 calendar year, and it is hoped that answers to the questions will be more readily available to all stakeholders. We also encourage C-10 to make written comments on the record for ACRS meetings that are of interest and note that those written comments will appear with the transcript and slides that are published after each meeting.

We will keep in touch with you and C-10 representatives about these future interactions on this important issue. If you have any questions in the future regarding ACRS, please feel free to

reach out to me or the ACRS Executive Director. In addition, the ACRS has been publishing additional information about ACRS activities and guidance at our ACRS About Us external web page.

Best Regards, Larry Burkhart Chief, Technical Support Branch ACRS