NUREG-0575, Responds to ,On Behalf of Sensible Me Power,Re Published Remarks by NRC Official in Support of long-term Storage Plan at Facility.Position Reflects Generic Issue Documented in NUREG-0575

Responds to ,On Behalf of Sensible Me Power,Re Published Remarks by NRC Official in Support of long-term Storage Plan at Facility.Position Reflects Generic Issue Documented in NUREG-0575

ML20148R077
Person / Time
Site:	Maine Yankee
Issue date:	01/13/1981
From:	Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Tupper S TUPPER, BRADLEY & MCDOWELL
References
NUDOCS 8101290212
Download: ML20148R077 (1)

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C Docket Files OELD S. Hanauer NRC PDR G. Ertter (ED0-09961) D. Ross L POR S. Cavanaugh B. Snyder g 1 0 1981 Docket No. 50-309 TERA E. Hughes R. Vollmer NSIC M. Stine O T. Murley l ORB #3 Rdg P. Kreutzer (3) ~ Gray File ORB #3'

'tr. Stanley R. Tupper E00 Rdg G. Requa Green Ticket File Tupper, Bradley and McDowell D. Eisenhut R. Clark . , ORB #3 Attorneys at Law R. Purple SECY (3) 80-2132 ASLB 102 Townsend Avenue T. Novak H. Shapper i a R.-H. Groce Boothbay Harbor, Maine 0453R R. Tedesco V. Stello () _

C. T. Irwin, Jr.

G. Lainas E. Case -

J. MT R. Paterson

Dear Mr. Tuoper:

J. Roe H. Denton Chairman, ASLB J. Heltemes PPAS This is in response to your letter of December 4,1980 to Chairman Ahearne concerning ifr. Glode Requa's ccmments to questions from Mr. Clark T. Irwin Jr.,

of the Portland Press Herald, as reported in the Portland Press Herald on December 1, 1980 You state that 'tr. Requa, the NRC staff Project Manager assigned to the "aine Yankee Atomic Power Company application for lona tem storaqe of spent fuel, by thase comments, has prejudced the outccme of the !!aine Yankee Atonic Power Company application to expand their scent fuel storage capacity. You state that "r. Requa was quoted as backing Maine Yankee's long tem storace plan.

I hwe read the referenced article and while the article is entitled "2 Eneroy Officials Back Yankee Spent Fuel Plant", the reported coments of Mr. Requa merely reflect staff Dositions on the reneric issue of lona term spent fuel storace documented in NilREG-0575, "Handlinq and Storage of Spent Licht Water Power Reactor Fuel." This document was referenced by Mr. Requa throughout his interview with Mr. Clark T. Irwin, Jr. However, this document was not referenced in the article. Mr. Requa's comments in the article do not specifically back or prejudne the instant anplication.

The decision recarding this aonlication will not be nade by Mr. Requa but by aopropriate manacement under my direction following safety and environnental analyses which will be documented in the Safety Evaluation Report and the Environmental Impact Aporaisal. Moreover, if the licensing board desianated to rule on petitions to intervene grants the hearinq requested by Sensible

'iaine Power, the issues raised by Sensible Maine Power will be addressed and decided by the Atonic Safety and Licensing Poard.

A ropy of this letter, tonether with your letter of Dect=ber 4,1080 is beinq furnished to the Atomic Safety and Licensino Board and all petitioners in this proceedinq.

Sincerely,

! ':y

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• Denotes previous concurrence, Harold R. Danton, Director HD on See attached Office of fluclear Reactor Peculationg 1/$f81

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DISTRIBUTION: c2 - ;, C-Docket File J. Roe V. Stello NRC PDR J. Heltemes E. Case L PDR OELD H. Denton TERA G. Ertter (ED0-09961) PPAS Mr. Stanley R. Tupper NSIC S. Cavanaugh S. Hanauer Tupper, Bradley and McDowell ORB #3 Rdg E. Hughes D. Ross Attorneys at Law E00 Rdg M Stine B. Snyder 102 Townsend Avenue D. Eisenhut P. Kreutzer (3) R. Vollmer Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04538 R. Purple G. Requa T. Murley T. Novak R. Clark Gray File ORB #3

Dear Mr. Tupper:

R. Tedesco SECY. (3) 80-2132 Green Ticket File-ORB #3 G. Lainas H. Shaper ASLB This is in response to your letter of December 4,1980 to Chairman Ahearne concerning Mr. Glode Requa's comments to questions from Mr. Clark T. Irwin Jr.

of the Portland Press Herald as reported in the portland Press Herald on December 1,1980.

You state that Mr. Requa, the NRC staff Project Manager assiqned to the Faine Yankee Atomic Power Company application for lonq term storage of spent fuel, by these comments, has prejudged the outcome of the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Comoany application to expand their spent fuel storage capacity. You state that Mr. Requa was quoted as backing Maine Yankee's long term storage plan.

I have read the referenced article and while the article is entitled "2 Energy Of ficials Back Yankee Spent Fuel Plant", the reported comments of Mr. Requa marely reflect staff positions on the generic issue of long term spent fuel storage documented in NUREG-0575, " Handling and Storage of Spent Light Water Power Reactor Fuel." This document was referenced by 'tr. Requa throughout his interview with Mr. Clark T. Irwin, Jr. However, this document was not referenced in the article. Mr. Requa's comments in the article do not specifically back or prejudge the instant application.

The decision regarding this application will not be made by Mr. Requa but by appropriate management under my direction following s.ifety and environmental analysis which will be documented in a Safety Evaluation Report. Moreover, if.

the licensing board designated to rule in petitions to intervene grants tha hearing requested by Sensible 1aine Power, the issues raised by Sensible Maine Power will be addressed and decided by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.

A copy of this letter, together with your letter of Decenber 4,1980 is being furnished to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and all petitioners in this proceeding.

Sincerely, l

Harold R. Denton, Director Of fice of Muclear Peactor Regulation 1 cc: Letter dated necember a, 1080 -

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TUPPER, BRADLEY AND McDOWELL ATTOFNEYS Af L A%

102 TOWNSEND AVENUE St ANL E Y R . Tt.'PPf.R BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE M538 CAN AL BANK BUILDING. LONG % HARF P o BM 20 D R A .MAWEWH2

[aRy L bS$E ' (207) 633 4 00 December 6, 1980 Hon. John F. Ahearne , Chairman Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H St., NW Washington, D. C . 20555 Re : Matter of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company (Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station) Applicant Modified Spent Fuel Pin Storage with New 10.5" Center Racks)

Dear Mr. Ahearne :

1 I am writing the Commission as co-counsel for Sensible Maine Power, Intervenor in opposition to MYA's plan to store all of its nuclear waste in its existing fuel pool for the lifetime of that plant.

It is my wish to draw to your attention remarks made by an NRC of-ficial, Mr. Glode Requa, to the Portland Press Herald, Dec. 1, 1980 (copy enclosed) as reported by Clark T. Irwin, Jr. Mr. Requa was  ;

quoted as backing MYA's long-term storage plan, focusing on one of a number of contentions raised by Intervenor.

l I consider these remarks made by Mr. Requa, before even a pre-hear- l ing conference has been ordered, as very unprofessional. When an l NRC official prejudges an issue of this importance it does little to assure the public that these matters will receive a fair and I 1

objective hearing.

No criticism is implied toward Mr. Irwin, Staff Writer for the Port-land Press Herald; he was merely doing his job. However, Mr. Re qua did a disservice to the NRC, the State of Maine (a participant in this matter) and the Intervenor.

Sin ce rely, ri, ./ 7>

<.l[JLtc.in,fe< .. '

Stanley R.f Tupper cc: Henry J. McGurren, Esq.

Counsel for NRC Staff Clark T. Irwin, Jr.

John Patterson, Esq., Deputy Attorney General, State of bhine 80/200w)

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2 energy o icials backyankee. spent fuel plan

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ment of Energ](s Offlee of Spent Fuel

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its Wistanest phet la a tomraonplace and t Cecerned Scientists in Cambridge, tiass.,

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told the Press Herald recent!y that a drop in - . Another problem, Requa adds, is that wtdie the casks are insported, tested and u.

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e. 4 The reertar,4 percent owned b Central , the waterlevelin a reactor's spent fuel censed for shipping they are not ikenmed Nucte ?' couM cause oewheating fim the 4..

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" Onnaission for; asht, permit he nam,to  ; ^ release could a.embnes* realdunt regen gas NW storage Yh wm hw h W M capacity by 1987 - the reason for knd strmalum tube cove me and a gas assembHes closer together underwater in , e a o c uM apread its petition to the NRC - and Reque maid kmctfve rafora.

l, _.'e* - tse plant

• stasaisse steet, as fbot deep sta,r -s

• *1580* crub or a em wthquake , it's his " gut feeling" that d storage with stight trigger the water lom &mpson ceske mundnt be unneed are that time.

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sahy am t ' d 188 sk8, i . .

ar 000 ow- safe. the e to

- - # , NRC edhser Gioda Reque told the - e o a scenar has been ed accident stemm from an

, ' have not yet W scheduledHerald. Pbblic  ; times'"hearings the.NRC's onReque the idea c It kespa se . "but g-_ IkM' . dderk k m Anyone can corse up with a what It arenar-

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ether mmmercial reactors, Requa said, an."

a, And inthere any right event, nowhe added. N*i.

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. at A technicien teske doors on tBe would say that most others have cornr fuel - veraclu s,,,

spenthastpoolat38alme Yankee, - pleted the protte. s."

'storage where 6 We h

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1 increase the entent of a catastrophic Maine Yankee, however' was the first accident,tf one should happen?

p\ , cornmercial reactor company to deve a

, ,~.. capady.The arrow ha Garrity, who has worked at the Wiscasart I

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, method for increastag the number of reactor for le years, similarly argues that tubes that can be stored in each fuel assem- reracktne might add "a few percentage A C storageW -! + bly. Requa said.

points of seriousness" to any acetdent that V ,

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- ' might happen to the pool - but he doubts contains 176 fuel tubes; the Maina Yankee the premise that one would.

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e plan calls for reassembHng the unita under.

water to increase toa nurnber of tubes to De pool is a stainless steel tank backed by concrate, mostly below ground level, he

_ ..i ' ~ ~ .  % *.N 289 per assembly for storage. said, So its response to ar earthquake

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%ornpuon's preferred route, storing the would likely be to bend rather than rupture.

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3 esed fuel assembtles in shipping casks I -

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?- weighing between 22 and 97 tons each, suf.

- _. 4 Even if the liner broke open, Garrify said, l

Mu 3- fers frota a number of drawbacks Reque the building has a ventilation and filter i l

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$ Dere are fewer than two dozen such caske in the country, acarding to the DOE, system to remove redloctive particles froen the air. De same futers, he sod, would acrub tentW!y explostre hydrogen gas f.lj

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• 1 *d l N with a total capacity of about 60 fuel assem.

blies for from air.

t i red water r* actors like Ampart frors the plant's mechanical cool-M%

• ' Maine Y Ing systems, Garrity said, an emergency re-TM r

But Maine Yankee alone already has SOS sponse to a water level drop in the paot g g .

. fuel assembtles stored in its spent fuet poot could draw on a multi mi! Lion gallon pond

_,_....a-*'I' -- the number withdrawn frorn the reactor built outside for firefighters* use.

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assemidles. pacity would by said, couldn't generate enough heat to melt 500 to 600 from the propneed rerac g and their stronnium tubes and release the trydro-5 N

another 700 to 800 frora the pro. posed fueg and radioactive commda essenW to d liet tube concentration withlm the assem. {' .Dompson's asmMaccident.

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Once withdrawn from the reactor core.

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{g Building either a new pool or an air coolad storaje faciHty would be "very, very e .

about 90 percent of their residual heat within a year.

,. , p g. sive rompared to the plan submitt: by Since the Maine Yankee plant opeced la Maine Yankee.

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1972 and refueled more often at the e. Ass *

\'. ~ .kg 3,3% than it has lately, the average fuel asseenbty

, k' . . while, ready a central AFR (Away Frern Re,, stored in the gwot has been out of the re- j 3,y - (fy I

actor) storare plant cr a *rermanent W . *,'

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'( disposal site, as called for by current plans, artor for four to five yeart ~

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- ^' s e p that investment enuld be both short lived

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and compy to of the atmtles that .- i

' draw power from M page tMs sectb 4 Yankee. i

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. u!!t its stcrage racks In' 1973i on 12-inc .

t hikeer Documents filed with the NRC the pool water temperature cannot

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t come closer -than a self t of the way to" criticality"the worst say blies t ining reaction rLee . cen tingconditions.

~ under ki gatMaineYankee*fesalready 95 been per i rLrac done nonce."When the plant d 20 thches canno - pool racks were centereapart, sp" acing.Ihe pool at Maine Yankee, said.'"W"as storage, or reprocessed.?4 opened,its Europe. giving a pool capacity of 318 The reracking application came; intended only for f

spent fueldisposedo (mtilfuelcouldbe s- i as is the practice 9 Requa temporary

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beyond 154 degrees Fahrenheit"for the *Butitsoonbecame sus amostapparentthatgo#

Mverse f noted, actor condition" because "Like in tthe country,Water every boIIs Mainehas sther Yankee at is. .

212 degrees Fahrenheit. same statistical confidencelevelthat ernment plans for accepting custody o its ., Maine of Yankee storage space."

! dem l cannot exceed 90 percent of crit-

/Requa said that Maine Yankeelity,Requa has said,"way belowused techni-reactor fuels wouldbe delayed.SoRC) approval been "very conservative" tea InlFinally, designing' ecifications." . poo i Its spsnt fuel pool operation. NRC regu-he said, spent fuel assembly with N -

lations require 9S percent statistical ca sp '

confidence that the stored fuel assem ,

b e

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