ML13253A354

Letter to R. Morris Information Exchange Pertaining to Health Issues Related to Crow Butte Resources Uranium Mine and Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station

ML13253A354
Person / Time
Site:	Fort Calhoun
Issue date:	09/27/2013
From:	Chris Miller NRC/FSME/DILR
To:	Morris R Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
McGrady-Finneran P
Shared Package
ML13253A351	List: ML13253A353 ML13253A354
References
Download: ML13253A354 (3)

Text

September 27, 2013 Chairman Rodney Morris Omaha Tribe of Nebraska P.O. Box 368 Macy, NE 68039

SUBJECT:

INFORMATION EXCHANGE PERTAINING TO HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO CROW BUTTE RESOURCES URANIUM MINE AND FT. CALHOUN NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION

Dear Chairman Morris:

Thank you for your July, 2013, letter related to the Crow Butte Resources uranium mine near Crawford, Nebraska and the Fort Calhoun Station (FCS) near Blair, Nebraska.

Regarding your concerns about FCS, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) modified its regulatory oversight of FCS effective December 13, 2011, to address several performance issues that were identified during an extended shutdown of the plant. FCS initially shut down for a scheduled refueling outage in April 2011, but that outage was subsequently extended to address longstanding technical issues, as well as issues associated with the Missouri River flooding that affected the plant from June through September 2011. Because the identified performance issues will require additional oversight, the NRC will now follow Inspection Manual Chapter 0350 (IMC 0350), "Oversight of Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition Due to Significant Performance and/or Operational Concerns," rather than the usual IMC 0305, "Operating Reactor Assessment Program." The plant remains shutdown. More information regarding the status of the plant is available on the NRCs website page that is dedicated to the special NRC oversight of the FCS. The websites address is: http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/fcs/special-oversight.html.

Any additional questions that you might have regarding FCS can be directed to Mr. Joseph Sebrosky, the NRC project manager. Mr. Sebrosky can be contacted at: 301-415-1132 or emailed at: Joseph.Sebrosky@nrc.gov. Thank you for expressing your concerns about potential health issues arising from the FCS. I have provided links below for your information and an enclosure to this letter, Summary Fact Sheet, summarizing results of a National Cancer Institute (NCI) study of the Ft. Calhoun area.

a. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) survey published in 1990 showed no general increased risk of death from cancer for people living in 107 U.S. counties containing or closely related to 62 nuclear facilities. No excess cancer mortality was found in counties with nuclear facilities. The survey, which can be found at:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/nuclear-facilities, included the

R. Morris FCS and residents of Washington and Harrison counties. Currently, the NRC is sponsoring the National Academies to conduct an update of this1990 study. Below are some additional links to the National Academies study from NRC, a SECY paper summarizing the issue and next steps for the analysis by NRC, and finally, the National Academies public website.

b. March 29, 2012, NRC Fact Sheet on Analysis of Cancer Risk in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities-Phase 1 Feasibility Study: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-analys-cancer-risk-study.html.

c. March 29, 2012, NRC Public Website entitled: Analysis of Cancer Risk in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1 Feasibility Study http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/research/cancer-risk-analysis.html.

d. October 5, 2012, NRC staff paper entitled Next Steps for the Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities Study: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/secys/2012/2012-0136scy.pdf.

e. National Academies website can be found at:

http://dels.nas.edu/global/nrsb/CancerRisk.

f. August, 2013, NUREG/CR-2907, Vol. 15 - Radioactive Effluents from Nuclear Power Plants: Annual Report 2009.

If you have any questions regarding the information above, please do not hesitate contacting the Intergovernmental Liaison Branch in my Division at: 301-415-2326 or by e-mail at:

tribal_outreach.resource@nrc.gov. The intergovernmental liaison staff may not be able to answer your questions directly, but they will make every effort to see that your inquiries are directed to the NRC staff with the knowledge to supply a response.

Sincerely,

/Deborah Jackson RA for/

Christopher G. Miller, Director Division of Intergovernmental Liaison and Rulemaking Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs

Enclosure:

Information Sheet, National Cancer Institute Study of Ft. Calhoun Area

FCS and residents of Washington and Harrison counties. Currently, the NRC is sponsoring the National Academies to conduct an update of this1990 study. Below are some additional links to the National Academies study from NRC, a SECY paper summarizing the issue and next steps for the analysis by NRC, and finally, the National Academies public website.

b. March 29, 2012, NRC Fact Sheet on Analysis of Cancer Risk in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities-Phase 1 Feasibility Study: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-analys-cancer-risk-study.html.

c. March 29, 2012, NRC Public Website entitled: Analysis of Cancer Risk in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1 Feasibility Study http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/research/cancer-risk-analysis.html.

d. October 5, 2012, NRC staff paper entitled Next Steps for the Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities Study: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/secys/2012/2012-0136scy.pdf.

e. National Academies website can be found at:

http://dels.nas.edu/global/nrsb/CancerRisk.

f. August, 2013, NUREG/CR-2907, Vol. 15 - Radioactive Effluents from Nuclear Power Plants: Annual Report 2009.

If you have any questions regarding the information above, please do not hesitate contacting the Intergovernmental Liaison Branch in my Division at: 301-415-2326 or by e-mail at:

tribal_outreach.resource@nrc.gov. The intergovernmental liaison staff may not be able to answer your questions directly, but they will make every effort to see that your inquiries are directed to the NRC staff with the knowledge to supply a response.

Sincerely,

/Deborah Jackson RA for/

Christopher G. Miller, Director Division of Intergovernmental Liaison and Rulemaking Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs

Enclosure:

Information Sheet, National Cancer Institute Study of Ft. Calhoun Area DISTRIBUTION:

DILR R/F ML13253A351 OFC FSME\DILR FSME\DILR FSME\DMSSA NRR OGC FSME\DILR CMiller NAME PMcGrady-Finneran KOSullivan VHolahan JSebrosky JOlmstead (DJackson for)

DATE 8/21/13 8/22/13 9/10/13 8/21/13 9/20/13 9/27/13 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY