ML093060311

Scoping Comments for Watts Bar Unit 2 Environmental Impact Statement

ML093060311
Person / Time
Site:	Watts Bar
Issue date:	10/30/2009
From:	Safer D Tennessee Environmental Council
To:	Joel Wiebe Watts Bar Special Projects Branch
Wiebe, Joel NRR/DORL/WBSP, 415-6606
References
Download: ML093060311 (3)

Text

From:

Don Safer [dsafer@comcast.net]

Sent:

Friday, October 30, 2009 5:29 PM To:

Wiebe, Joel

Subject:

WB2 EIS Scoping Comments.doc My first attempt to send this to the RidsNrr address bounced back. Please direct these comments to the appropriate place.

Thank you.

October 29, 2009 Joel S. Wiebe, Senior Project Manager Watts Bar Special Projects Branch Division of Operating Reactor Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 By e-mail to: joel.wiebe@nrc.gov

Subject:

Scoping Comments for Watts Bar Unit 2 Environmental Impact Statement

Dear Mr. Wiebe:

These comments are on behalf of the Tennessee Environmental Council. They are on the scope of the EIS for the proposed Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor. We respectfully submit that the EIS should consider the issue of tritium releases into the Tennessee River by the proposed reactor. These proposed releases should be considered as an addition to the existing releases from Watts Bar Unit 1 which have been increased by the production of weapons grade tritium for the DOE.

Please refer to and include in the record the article on tritium from Science for Democratic Action, Volume 16, Number 1 which can be found at:

http://www.ieer.org/sdafiles/16-1.pdf. The following important points are excerpted from this article:

1) Nuclear power plants generate tritium in the course of their operation and release it both to the atmosphere and to water bodies. Tritium releases have also occurred as a result of malfunctions.

2) Tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen...combines with oxygen to make radioactive water. As radioactive water, tritium can cross the placenta, posing some risk of birth defects and early pregnancy failures. Ingestion of tritiated water also increases cancer risk.

3) Tritium releases generally constitute the largest routine releases from nuclear power plants and as such have caused widespread contamination of water bodies at low-levels.

All of this is particularly relevant to public health issues considering the widespread usage of the water from the Tennessee River especially as the municipal drinking water supply downstream in Chattanooga.

These comments are in addition to other scoping comments from either myself or other members of the Tennessee Environmental Council.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Don Safer Board Chairman Tennessee Environmental Council 4517 Price Circle Nashville, Tn 37205 E-mail Properties Mail Envelope Properties (e83ddbf2-ff23-4f06-9b6b-2bb838f8fb19)

Subject:

WB2 EIS Scoping Comments.doc Sent Date: 10/30/2009 5:28:47 PM Received Date: 10/30/2009 5:28:47 PM From: Don Safer Created By: dsafer@comcast.net Recipients:

Joel.Wiebe@nrc.gov (Wiebe, Joel)

Tracking Status: None Post Office:

TWMS01.nrc.gov Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 11189 10/30/2009 Options Expiration Date:

Priority: olImportanceNormal ReplyRequested: False Return Notification: False

Sensitivity: olNormal Recipients received: