ML19254E129

Testimony of K Westby & J White Before Citizens Commission on Nuclear Power in Oh 790505 Meeting

ML19254E129
Person / Time
Site:	Davis Besse
Issue date:	05/05/1979
From:	Westby K, Jason White AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
To:
Shared Package
ML19254E120	List: ML19254E119 ML19254E127 ML19254E129
References
NUDOCS 7910310128
Download: ML19254E129 (14)

Text

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. e STATE OFFICES 65 S. 4th ST. COLUMBUS, OMIO 40215 - (614] 451-0135 ;

. f( OTHER OFFICES: OSERLIN COLLEGE, WITTENSERG UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF, DAYTON, WILMINGTON COLLEGE, CAPITAL UNIVERSITY TESTI!C;Y OF }*ATHy hT_ST3Y M O JMES 1"rCTE BCPOP.E TIC u.2:S COMSSIC;; OM !."JCLEAR PCh'ER Ili OHIO ,

May 5, 1979 11r. Chrairnan ed Mcnbers of the Cor=:ission: p000qm.ngRf N Nda Hy nar:e is Janis L* nite and this is Kathy Westby. I c: the Director and Kathy is a volunteer with OPIEG, the Chio P;:blic Interest Research Group, a statcaide, t..11versity based research and advocacy organic:. tion particularly concerned with issues of consener c.~i enviren:.antc1 protection.

We are here today to diseass the ercrgency dvacustion plans for the Davis-Ecssee nuclear power plant in northern C'.tio. You cach should hava a fcet sh:ct we prepcred on ev2=ation planning entitled Sac': ground Pc;2r en E: e.ir_n; Evacu-ction Plcnning fsr Nuclcus. __ e.ents in Chio.

• As you can sea, utility exx.nios and the state share the (esponsibility for d:veleping cnd ir:plenanting the ev=cuation plans, but the state clone has the

• legal authority to order an cetual evacuation. The utility ' plan, in this case prepared by Toledo Edison outlines both in-plant and off-site precede.~. :s. The section here on fcdsrsi regulation: lists tha ite=3 which the !*RC suggest the plan .

include.

The NRC also has suggested guidelines for the state emergancy plan witi*ch are su::-=.arized fer y:n en p:ger 3 :nd .0. The Chio Li.saster Services igency has been designated the principal planning agency in the stat:=.

For the past several months, th::ee other Oberlin students and I have bec'1 investig: ting the c:r.c ge:2cy evacuation plans for the Davis-Besse Nuc1 car Power Station. After obtaining copies of the utili- pitn and state draft plcn, we 124 M6 y91o31o +~ g g

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i U Mi Uni 0 lim L reviewed then to see if they co= plied with 1:P.O guidelines. We also contacted officials designsted with responsibilities in the plan by letter and/or phone to see if thef were aware of thqir role in the event of a nuclear er.crgenef.

On the basis of this resecrch we have concluded that the evacuation plans are inadequcte. Both plans fail to cer.: ply with all the IGC guidelines, contra-dictions exist botueen the two planc, and officials are not clucys aware of ..

their responsibilities. I shall briefly outline sone of these probic.s.

A najor problen in the evac.ntion plcns centers crotmd the notification order of support groups. Let to give you on2 cxanple. According to the utility plan it is the $esponsibilityof the plant shift forer.an to centact the state agencies once a nu lear disaster has been declared. Tne agencies notified include the Ca% Marbor Fire Departntnt, Medical Assistance, and the Obtaua County Sheriff.

& mer, acco--ding to the state plcns it is tha psponsibility of the D-B station

'.. +cification ) to contact the Ottawa County Shed.r-f tSo then centacts the sup art egencies. When va interviewed the shift fore en we were told that he contact "'cledo Edison who would in turn centact the sheriff uho was re-sp:,ncible for notifying other agencies. We fac1 this kind of confusion about tha prop 2r crder of notification of support groups would seriously affect the smooth functioning of the evacu: tion plans and the cafety of the public.

Another area in which there are ra.ny sericus deficiencies is the medien1 suppoert section of the plan. Tne Itgn:dcr Me:crial Ibspital t/aich has been contracted by D-B to provide radiological carc of victims is located only 11 miles from the plant, well within the radiation zone. Tne second hospital specified in the plans is the U. of Pennsylv ',p hospital in Philadelphia.

No pre-arr::nged plans for trcnsporting u M/ , cre e:ist and a Magruder adrinistrator was unaware that the U. of ennn. uns Qqir bcch-up hospital.

When we csked the Magruder ad:inistrator if he fcit prepared for nuclear h

disaster he said h "fcit re'"onably ecil prepared, but that hc believed in 1243 169

Murphy's Law ar:ything thst can go trrang, will." He cIso estimated that r.no hospital could only handle ,a :raxirum of 80 seriously injured rcdiological victi=.

This ph Ang shews a definita lad of awa_mness about the seriousness of a nuclear cccident. Acording to. the 1.ugust 1974 Ras =ssen Report, thousands of people u uld be inju ed. tie general naivete about the effect of radiation was rasst clearly expressed in our intervicw uith a fire official. He told us that "We don't hav :ny of that wicked stuff (m:ning radiation ) here at the plant. _

Besides, the staff we do have decays quidtly." Ha said he had fer= lated this opinion boscd on inforr.: tion he had received fren Davis-Besse officials.

The Obtr.c County Sheriff and Engineer also felt prg ared to handle a nuc1 car disaster because of their erperience with floods, tornados, and other natural di-sacters. Apparently they are unaware that a serious nuclear accident could affcet an crea the size of Pennsylvc.ia (according to an early !CC study, WASH 740). This is an especicily important point since the current area covered by the evacuction plans is a 2 mile radius cround the plcnt. TheEc are plans to expand the evacus-tien radius to 10 riles, but this veuld still c:cclude Toledo which is ecly 15 miles from the plcnt. All of the relocation canters for victir.s are located well uithin the 20 raile radius.

Besides the serious proble c.s with the plan, both the utility a-.d stato plcns fail to comply with all !EC guidelines. She. c cre c :rr.bar of crissicts in both plans. The ;ility plcn'does not include: expected accident/ ass - a ' time ex~2cted ti~e rc~ aired to notify the pcpulation, esticate of evtcuation times for

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. areas which tculd b2 affected, esticates of traffic espacities cf egress routes, N

and arranc~-ent - " % enticuous states. 'Ihe stcte plca does not include: n.ian-

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ning coordination with nearby states, a population chart bv cactors arou-/d the plant, an. account of institutions and transient pard ations which =rfj-::ir co-

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bility, egrccs routes a:rd their t-em cacacitics, and plans for yearly drills

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w and cxcrcises.

Janis trill nou outline a series of reco=cniations un have to improve the 1245 1/0

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OPIRG is very concerned about the state of evacuabion planning in Chio. We uant to be sure that the public will be adequately protected in case of a nuclear accident. We have several suggestions which we think would greatly improve the fTM present situation.

I O'bil Wlit.UiULL hf First, we believe that the state sculd be required to conitor radiation icvels around the plant.

~ w Currently, it 5s the utility only which ronitors radiation, but the state which has to order an evacuation if necessary. We see an inconsistency here when the state is totally dependent on the utility for info =ation. We be-lieve the state should also tenitor radiation as a checks and balances for public safety. The results of such renitoring should be reported to the appropriate bs state and federal agencies as well as to the public which the right to know what g

the radiation levels are in their air, water, and land.

OPIRC raco= ends the dissemination of info =ation to the public about radia-tion hasards and what to do in case of an ener; ency. The state and the utility conpany n y have a . plan for evacuation, but if o one kno. s about it until an accident occurs, it may not db us much good. The Cincinnati Enqui. er reported last conth that while the state has prepared evacuation instruction for the pub-lic,

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".a 'a r" dributa '"- '41 an a d M " 2 ' I v *. ~c . I was pleased to hear this corning that Col. Willians office has reco: nended to the ,

Governor that these instructions be printed on newsprint before Davis-Besse is '

put back in operation. Our concem however, is with the distribation of these plans. We hope that thesc newsprint inctructions will be broadly distributed to the public and not si= ply =ade available through the Depar-trent of Transportation.

We also believe that the utility conpanies should be -@ed to send out this

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type of infor=ation once a year as an insert in custoners' bills. Thir. should be part of their responsibility for public safety uhich they accept v/nen they decide to build a nuclear power plant. ,

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We believe that annual drills based on the evacuation plans should be re- -

quired. Other states have conducted full-scale drills with instructive results.

On August 2,1977 a drill was carried out at the Salent I plant in New Jerscy.

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one nev: paper re;>orted that the drill provided officials with a chanca to see how well claborate cc:=ranication lines would work. Tne answer in e.oct cases was "not at all." During a drill 'hcid in Colorado on Jarraary 12, 1978, utility personnel neglected to tell off-site officials how much radioactivity was being released or what direction it was noving in. Elevan days later, a real, unpla=ed release of radioactive neliu= gas forced the sare plant to be evacuated. Utility personnel made the sa=a nietake th y had made during the drill! In fact, if the decision had been made to evacuate the nearby population based on data supplied from the -

. utility, peopic would have been roved from a safe sector south of the plant to a conta=inated sector west of the plant. Evacuation plans for these plants have since been revised to better protect the public. OPIRG's infor=ntion from so e of the officialswe interviewed near the Davis-Besse plant is that they have never parcicipated in a full scale drill. Our educated guess is that if such a drill were held, serious flaws would c arge in the plans. We urge you to reco m nd that the state and the utility company hold full scale coordinated drills once a year.

One note: a full scale drill does not have to include an actual evacuation; it can basically be a telephone drill to make sure that the proper authorities v:uld be notified in the event of the real thing. Tne i=portant consideration is that all perso=cl should b2 involved: utility, state, and local.

Finally, uc would also like to cee the state establi6 rore stringeat regu-

~ 1ations for their evacuation plans that are consistent with the real dangers of a nuclear energency. Kathy has outlined some of the major f1r.!s in the current plant which we believe. should not be allowed th exist. Tne Davis-Eesse plant should not be allowed to odate until the state has fir.alized its " draft" plan and we have core than a funda= ental, n:dimentary plan for Ottawa county. I will g- ant you that it takes sore ti=e to complete thise things, but Davis-ocsce should not be on line until our public officials can give us a :: ore optimistic appraisal of the situation, in case of a real accident. .  !

To conclude, I'd like to tell you that OPIRG's suggestions are largely cor-roborated by a year long study released a renth ago by the General Accounting

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According to the su=ary, only 10 of the 43 tates with nucles.: r. cetors r:ect all the 12C's reco=cnded energ:ncy planning tan.iardc. Only 9 states.have conducted full =cale drills and 1G have never tested their plans at all. The GAo recot:acnded annual emergency drills and a coordinated effort to disscrtinate infor--

9 mation to the public on the h5:ards of reactor accidents and protective actions that can be taken.

Thank you for this opportunity to Spcak. We would be happy to answer any questions. -

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State and Utility Evacuaaon rians:

Are Tney inadequate?

Utility companies and the s* tate share the responsibility for developing and implementing emergency evacuation plans in the event of a nuclear accident.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires the utility company to file a pian dealing with both in-plant and off-site procedures. The state plan def ineates the roles and responsibilities of off-site agencies involved in evacuation pro-ccdures.

Evacuation plans for the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant have been developed by the Toledo Edison Co. and the Ohio Disaster Services Agency (draf t plan) .

OPIRG has analy::ed whether the Toledo Edison plan and the State of Ohio" __

plan meet federal standards. Officials named in the two plans were also con-

' tacted by letter and/or phone to find out what they believe they are supposed to do in case of a nuclear emergency. .

Failure To Meet Federal Guidelines P ] fj fg % % ,

Both plans fail to meet some of the recommended federal guidelines.

ne utility plan does not contain: the expected accident assessnent time the expecnLl;1me requi red _to noti fy the

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population .

esti.tates of evacuation times for the areas which woul d be af fectec

- estimates of tne traffic capaci ties of egress routes

-arrangements with conti5 cous states The state draf t plan does not contain: planning coordination with nearby states a population chart by sectors around the plant an account of institutions and transient populations which may impair mobility egress routes and their traffic capacities plans for yearly drills and exercises Ambiguities and Contradictions .

The following char compares what the plans state should happen with what the officials interviewed believe they would do:

THE PLANS SAY: THE OFFICIALS SAY:

1. SHIFT FORE. MAN Utility Plan: evalustes accident, no- would contact Taledo Edison - company would then contact sheriff.

ti fies of f-site support groups in case of emergency, contacts other plant of-

. ficiais, county sheriff, medical assis-tance and fire department if needed. p t

jf State Plan: does not speci fy who from ,

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plant notifies off-site support groups.

it. COUNTY SHERIFF would contact relevant agencies and help Utility Plan: contacts Ohio and Ot-tawa County Disaster Services A- evacuate people. ,

gencies, initiates emergency no-tification system, sets up rqad blocks and other evacuation pro-cedures.

State Plan: notifies all county and

~ state agencies involved, notifies residents in affected area, desig-nates road blocks. ..

Ill. OTTAVA COUNTY ENGINEER Util i ty Plan: assist in traffic would help evacuate, notify public, set control and back-up communica- up road blocks, assess equipment and tions. get more help if needed, he Plan: provide barriers, make equipmera and manpcwer available, support evacuation, assist in -

door to door notification.

IV. OHIC DISASTER SERVICES AGENCY Utility, Plan: work with sheriff to have prepared draft state plan - doesn't deal with evacuation routes, coes ce ermine evacuation routes and

" 'ocation centers , arrange for havenlist of potential care centers tuod, lodging, and medical care. for ' Ottawa county.

State Plan: not mentioned in text.

V. OTTAWA COUNTY DISASTER SERVICES AGEMCY Utility Plan: not mentioned in consists of one employee who believes text.

his role is af ter the disaster, would State Plan: evacuate residents , contact Ohio Disaster Services Agency identify and prepare evacuation for help, said he would play minor centers, arrange for 10 days sup- role.

port, caordinate emergency planning .

with other county agencies.

VI. FIRE DE?ARTMENT Utility Plan: contacted if needed. would help put out plant fires (however State Plan: assist sheriff with do not have any special equipment public notification, assist in at Department for fighting radiological evacuation procedures and fight fires), would help with public notif t- ~

any fires. cation.

Vll. MEDICAL SUPPORT A. AMBULANCE SERVICE Utility Plan: provided by Robinson no longer provided by Robinson Funeral Funeral Home, Oak Harbor. Home - sold to Carroll Township Emer-State Plan not mentioned in text. gency Medical Service - unable te _

find supervisor there.

B. MAGRUDER MEMORI AL HOSPITAL , Port Clinton Utility Plan: radiation emergency could handle up to 80 serious :ases of area ready if needed, have special radiation exposure, ingopqpijagger we.

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equipment. ments with other area hospitals S t a t e . P 1,an,: not mentioneci* i a text.

to handle overflow.

C. UN I VERS IT.' 0 F PE!!!15Yt.'/N!! A HOS P I TAL , Ph i l adel ph ia Ut i l i ty Plan: second facility named not contacted (Magruder Hospital ad-to handle radiation exposure cases. ministrator not aware that University State Plan: not mentioned in text. of Penr.sylvania Hospital i s the back-up hospi tal) .

D. RADIAT10!! MANAGEMENT CORPORATION Utility Plan: provide training and did not respond to OPIRG letter, and evaluation of emergency

• medical plans. ~

State Plan: not mentioned in text.

VIII. TOLEDO EDI50!1 CO.

U ti l i ty Plan: release public infor- Public Relations staff parson knew mation. ilttle about plan or procedures.

State Plan: not mentioned in text.

Some other agencies are listed in the plans as playing secondary roles, but were not contacted by OPIRG.

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1 IL-Prepared For A to m i c E m e r ,D nencies! -

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The NRC requires electric tRilities to havumegecy plans to deal wid nu-John Kmmy, chair =an d ce new clear power plant accidents within the NRC ConductinO presidential commission, said that me st2nt propert7 *:d to coordi"^t* "'th NRC s role would be o=e of the things it inC{Ui is Sub'ect would investigate. local authorities. But the NRC has no NRC Chairman Joseph Hendrie told authority to require state or local gev -

Of Invest.igat. ion the commission that the federal agency ernments to prepare emergency plans or

. Irake them conform to the guidelines It WASHINGTON (AP) - Two separate is conducting its own inquiry, describing hhs developed.

investigating panels are being told that it as "a sweeping investigatica . . to understand where our proceedings, the Can Only Offer Help par and r e r at t cpe way we license these plants, have failed It can only offer its help and place its with nuclear emergencies hke the one at to prevent the Three Mile Island acci- stamp of approval on plans by " concur-Three Mile Island. ent. ring" in them if they meet its standards.

- A.presidentlauy appointed panel is Mr. Gaut said that it may take atcut looking at the Nuclear Regulatory /4?Clists Only 11 States a year before the U.S. Government can Commission's performance. place its sta=p of appreval on pi1=s und the NRC itself is considering With Endorsed tmergency Mans designed to enable Ohio to cope wid a whether to temporarily shut down for As Mr. Hendrie was appearing before nuclear emergency.

safety review and rev:sions esgat plants the presidential cormuion, his four , Mr. Gaut said that Ohio "has pieces' with design feamres shared by the u:ut feHow ccmmissioners were cearing re. of such plans, but has had trou:ae get-at Three Mile Island that malfunctioned ports of inadequate state planmag from ting neighboring Kentucky to agree wie March :8. . their own emergency preparedness spe.

them.

All eight were designed by Babcock & cialists. '

A nuclear plant is being built in Mes-Wilcox Co., which butit the Three Mile Those specialists have been struggling cow, 0., across the chio River frcr .

Island plant near Harrisburg, Pa. They to review and aoprove state plans with a Kentucky, and ar- . u.s ' thert include the Davis.Besse plant near Port staff of three professionals and one sec. '

would affect both swtes.

Clinton, O. retary. Michigan has also had "a bit of a While the NRC was taking a new, Harold Collins, assistant director of problem," but now expects to submit a critical look at nuciant plants it had emergency preparedness, and Harold plan in about a year, Mr. Gaut said.

previously licensed as. safe, an 11-mem Gaut, coordinator of field operations, ber commission appointed by President summartzed the present situation, in Carter opened its investigation of the which only 11 states have nuclear emer-

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NRC Thursday. gency plans in which the NRC has con-i William Wilcor, head of the Federal curred. - ...

Disaster Assistance Administration, told NRC Has No Anthority - - ,

the commission the NRC " lacks both the Those states are Alabama. California,

.arrot and the stick to encourage ade- Connecticut, Delaware Florida. Iowa, -

luate state and local government P Kmt New Jersey, New York, South

• nredness for radiological accidents., Carolina, a::d Washingon.

Mr. Wilcox said that federal agenc:es mye g Pennsylvania is among 17 states with little attention to e:ner- operating nuclear power plants but no-NRC-endorsed emergency plans, they g} }ff ,

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Frec;ueno Of Errors By Personne ~

At Davis-Besse s inder NRC Study Number Called * *** *** 5

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specific valve at the fac:lity. Instead of wornsome that an NRC inspector re.

Unusuallv HiahI o tuai=rou ce = "etv'1ve hetur=ed cency uged Mr. Kmle w eut e.

off two other valves - a mista.xe that plant down and keep it closed until the By MICHAEL WOODS partially inactivated the reactor's situation could be corrected.

sao. s== sew crue:al emergency core cooling system. Davis-Besse currently remains shut WASHINGTON - The U.S. Nuclear The Toledo Edison Co., which has down, followicg a scheduled outage for Regulatory Commission is trying to de. charge of operations at Davis-Besse, maintenance. Mr. Keppler said he does termine why the Davis-Besse Nuclear may be fined for the incide::t, Mr. Kep- cot tatend to order Edison to keep the Power Station near Toledo ecctinues to pler said. Toledo Edison is co-owner of plant shut - partly because of as. --

be plagued by an unusually hign number Davis-Besse, along with the Cleveland surance from Toledo Edison Preside::t of perso.nel errors. Electne Illuminating Co. John Williamson that operauo will not James Keppler, directer of NRC's Davis-Besse hrs ecme under sharp C'hlcago regional office, said the fre. NRC scruuny in recent weeks in the resume

• solved. until tte personnet problem is cuency and potential seriousness of mis aftermata of the accident at the Three No Action To Prevent Restart t]tkes made by plant personnel have giv. Mile Island nuclear power plant near en Davis.Besse one of the poorest repu. Harnsburg, Pa. NRC has taken co action that would tations for operator precision in the re. Davis.Besse s reacter is a sister to the prevent Edison from ~ restart =g the gion. reactor at Three 5'ile Island, both hav- plant itnmediately. Technically, all The Chicago regio:al cffice oversees ing been built by the ::uclear engmeer cf its plans to "go c 21 nuclear power plants spread through ing firm of Babcock & Wilcox. In addi-piant.

a broad section of the Midwest. uen NRC has identified malfunctions Many of the personnel errors at smular to those at Three Mile Island Another factor. Mr. Keppler said, is that Edisoc perso:cel at tre clant do Davis pler said. Besse have But oders been have m:nor, involved Mr.

to the Kep. cat operatmg life occurred in less senous form early seem capable of oper of Davis.Besse, a "pand'2 f&om crucial safety syste=s, where mistakes Shntdown (*rged carry the potental f;r the most senous .

If he were to rate coerator per.

kinds of nuclear reactor accidents. The plar.t's continumg problem with formance there on a " pass. fail" bas:s Torsed Off Wrong Valses personnel errors, which Mr. Keppler d:s- Mr. Keppler said he would confer a cussed during an interview Thursday, passing grade.

Mr. Keppler cited, as an illustration, are an additienal factor.

one incident last moed in which a plant Mr. Kepler said that mistakes by per. Turn to Page 7, Col 3 THE BLADE: TOLEDO, OHIO, FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1979 Javis-3 esse Personne Errors Under Stuc!y Continued frocs Flrst_Eag*

,/ Besse in the months following startup in Besse shut down u::til he is certain that .

August,1977.

ut he also indicated that on a scale operation can resume safely.

of A, B, C, D, or F, he probably would Nut personnel errors have remained Performance of plant personnel has ade plant persoccel performance with unusually -gh at the plant and show no rnproved recently, Mr. Williamson said a ." dication of dropping off after two _

Thm P e%. closed _SRC.mee mg years of operating expenence. rne 2 cor held ,here Apnl s, a week after the {e {e[na Three Mile Island incident, mention Poor Motivation, Discipli:e Davis-Besse's con:=uinc cro:lercs. John

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The reasons, Mr. Keppler said, a e Anuring Compkte Safety Davis', acting directorif NECTofficeof, perplexing. Among the possibilities Some of the plant operators ill be Inspection.and enforcement, noted dur. being considered by NRC are inadequate trained shortly is ::ew procedures stec2 Ing the meeting "If we did have a rat, ~h=mg of the operators poor motiva. mi::g from the Three Mile Is!z:d inci-Ing system of A, B, C, we would put tion. and poor discipline. Iromcally plant dent. Training will be on a computer Davis-Besse C on this scale. It should be' personnel scored well en the federal simulator at the Babcock & WUcox nu.

-a betterglast." licensing exmmtion for reactor opera. clear facility in Ly::chburg, Va. .

Mr. Keppler acknowledg t per, tors, Mr. Keppler noted. The primary concern at this point is sonnel errors'd6TeTd'to be more fre- Mr. Keppler said that Edison real:es assuring complete safety of the plant quent during the early c: ends of opera- that there have been problems wtS per. and not the ecocomic impact of the tion at any new atomic power plact, socnel at the plant and h.s arreed to shutdown, he coted. Mr. Wtiliar= son said -

when the staff is new and relat:yeiy submit a plan for correct g r. hem. It procably wtli t:e a matter of wens. -

Inexpenenced. And, indeed, persocrel Mr. Williamsca said Thursday he has rather than days or c20cths, before the.

erTurs were more fregnent at Davts- made a personal dec:sion to keep Davts- plant is set to resume operauons.

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ron's nuc! car experts told the NRC temperatures at ! pecmre .

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• that Davis Desse has a far better rocketed. A putn

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.c . design than Three Atile Island, and slenty. linally, e perators rtar d l j eq aircady has adopted ruost of the b '

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backup pumps ind cru*cd t' s

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T'. I.owell 10. Itoe, Toh do Edison Nincteen mon'hs later f. ' #

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dent, told the comniissioners "there Denten wou!J ole this Dnis ik ,.

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', is r o uinfue risk in permitting ron- transient in cah cling a dnic I .' m

• tinued cres.ition" of reactors de- commician to shia dan all to W T Tra.nscrints reveal a his' tor i signed, hke 1hree Mile Island, by plants because cf . n .ife d"u n C f "o-

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c sdJed assurance in regard co -sw.am- Cru. c [w\.J NRC impccior w! > trrd to r- e *'

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' questiens about th desirn pre 7 I[ '

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Itoe li .tro the differrnces be-tween M1 plant and Thue Mdc Is-land, and trirJ to assuse ccmmis-13 urcks t efore it ume i rr *:

contntiuted to th u cr>t rm '. -

ac cident in lf S. l Mory at l! .s c Fioners that Taledo Edi on was f.fde l,hnd fly Daniel *.111ddle For Davls Hesse, however, the proved this record since Davis- reactmg swif tly and thor.m; *.ly order is only the latest event in a Hesse s'arted generating in August Crc:.wc!!, af ter e une inerecto -s A few miles west of Port Clinton, uiih nunc.r rympmes.1 thanges and history of g oblems, rnivalcula- 1977 at D ivis th% , hi! cr'rc4 let I . s the farmhouses and trailer parks nw instr uctions for scactor by 1.abe Erie are dwarfed by a tions alleged hail management and Executives at Toledo , Edison, operators to connJer clesm< th l crt t.h ,

giant, gently curving cylmder a..d potential danger to the pubhc which cperates the plant, say they plant indelimtcly. 4 pad (nr W Itecoads show the N!!C's inspec- sign epicsimn. Cr4

• til teiJ . MIS a bulkt ,hiped dome. This distur bing history is rc- are dr.sati:dled with the amount of ters and top officials have, since llegional DirWlor knu G he ;'

Tokda Dhson Co. and Clevriand ficcted in intrrviews with federal human error and partirnlarly with late 1977, gotten the opposite im- pier. Toledo IMi<en luJ tti+ '

Electric illumin iting Co.. rec k oning inspectors, reactor experts and the high number of shutdowns. pression of Davls itesse's maruge- shoun it w as me.q tle e f re- 2 lbt northern Chia and the rest of company of ficials, and most visibly Davis Heur h is only.r.cm7ated m< nt an;! crerations the natmn will someday rely on in thmisands of pagc9 of NitC powrr during atmut half ats wes king a safe plant. ..Q And p.uch of this impression. But iiillWtYt+r MT?Tn. e chttricity ginerated by nnetcar docurr,'its and closed meeting It tf: reemds show, is based on fai!nres rest ters. committed years of con. transcripts- Mcert g f . N!!C e crb n i o

Dut the nwn who run Toledo to test, maintain and properly ' as suggr ,cg an3 mmg n sem. ,

structmn and $6'40 million to build From the NitC comes a deep Edison and CEI. the plant's 51%

the Davis-Desse nuclear power operate crucial safcly equipment as a shutdoun fil:C's De a . f concern with I .svis-ficsse that owner, contend Davis Itcsse is that Tcledo IMison says ui!! kcep Impretion anj 1:cf. rrem, rt Cal' . '

i plant. ranges from regulatory minutia. Impercably safe. They say Three Davis licwe from tecoming aneth- the a;. roc 6 soolkd rohcc I N Now, after the Three Mile island such as occasionally ifiadequate Mdc Istoad was a gicit learmng er Three Mdc f.slanI muted Tc!cJo IM.ren to p t ?

arci<!cnt. Americts nuclear future . recon! kccping and imperfect fire- experience for thent and other cm briter emergency Srs, t t , !, -

is t,cir.g questioned. On l' rid sy. the dri!! coor a inatiro, to botched safety reartor operators, an! ury still On October 26. 1977 NftC cffi.

thchar llegulatory Comriiuion Icstmg, crucial de sign defects and conuder the giant inwcrs ami cials met with Toleda 1:dison r linled .md mere t:"r..re c : q failurcs to cope with events that bullets.hape dinne symbols of in- esecutivrs and plant sorcrvi;crs. I rnrnt testing lie firm Irct ordertJ Davis !!c".r and fii e simi. 4 ,,g g g, , g ,

i ter g.lants shut down und the acci: could trigrcr an emerrency like ture Ili energy initcpendence.

Three f ble Island - or wmse- reason, the pl.mt went half way into Nearly 10 rncias later, th/ -

1 dent's s lety lesscas are learnrd.

its antwn.dic entonw to a snoll Q NflC's licpp!cr. Th. nias rt T.mi Davis ficsse fiad teen shut down inspctinrs' reports say the rlant's Washington last werk. Toh do Edi- " " * " ^ * ^ D b" W"E CM I" " '# U D'"

f.f arth 3n for what offirials said manaccment, even af ter retn ated watrr m the stram rrnes ator at a th ec. and tw s cther ir pn h 'emi e m eneh h me Nilf ' r s l' t*W h.e. se.1 rs o' aily ine- 4 anhn.orel en P.ere 1I d mros"H e Irre I

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' n. c . se ..t i t.. gmuc.u.o of 'I 8 '

' ** hn. w.es bimed m em 'y

, ,t n i l I ..,cJa l 'Ja efir 4 Nl. . . . . . Jo .-t. ihm e J Jg y .

Lt.c d cf.s is . . the i nf urccment . .u . i s ..n. ,. A to e h.ur. dd""d'? D'**Pn. the hite s 3e

• lay ufthe ant'

r. 3g lu.c he Tan.t.hng h,cP pcets of stus caw have Iccn esc + man, l'ublic itelatsoa . Vice Press. 'cimrUng sule, at wasn't reported be attribut "

. r team rigma t. J the nic.img s lai, I g,om II.e Itegional O_ffice i dent John it. liycr. :.n.t itae, who N Tanabisng undl two months procedures *

sg. c nd scen* llcac suarters f^r handhog has probably had the anost contact I'IC' h "

"T.. unam e ire r.nt enive. . s. .it h. icy wi Lt.e SPAS trouble with the NitC, base all contended error and have een u #te

. u

• nd r;vrat.ng preblem shi,uld i .we t.cen detected an testh in recent wecks that Davis Des >c f.ast a cck Ted. s CAion reartnr ,,

. 3. 1. it., t;.Len s.: iminove m.:n donc bef ore Davis-Desse began was comg througle someti.mg .ekin sgemahsts lic in MiHer and .

. . . . ..t im centrol end pl nt op. ra opet almn.

. pr ,blem arcas identificJ to growmg pams U"E#"' C N0'dk I ' UC"10" 3"d other NltC stallers Aese high. g the NitC's inspectors

• oega.

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k h .

m tt - satn..ganent meeting held To I 'sJ taIcd spori es They said they fully expect the E""" I"""P" *"# #' " u n- d l .

.*t. . c 3. tH7, anJ the fact that ""E"U "

3 av s D #"* "" 8" to the government's charges. The ' plant's opciations to improve .

I w.a . I tr.cse itenis :tdl pcrmi The NitC haJ rehrdules a Hurd worry about CEI's 3DO nulhon in-1.,

company prunused many times to scpre c:t J DavwDesse's retra:n i's gvranr.cl. ovcih.iul asd incetmg earbsr this inan h with Koppler. Tamt isug and other j ' TolcJo Edison cfhclats to demanJ vestment.

h} P "not a b41. he " said emphatically.,

.mi... rm ; "nonc. mpliances" or test eqmpment, rewrite operators' NItC officials acrecJ that must g

u. t . i. m of Nim :.dmimstrative inanucts and perform new com- nuclear plants have home troubics hetter performance .-

a i. J ..fety reqsarements, and in the first year ur so - particu p'd3 "

'c u nt reports" on transients. pulcr analy>cs as it h.id pronused, of much transients - justa later, to larly wh n the pl.mt as a company's . The Three Mde Istatut accident Toledo Elison plans to t,udd two,  %) D i: , o r.t ta.lurc and cther prob- da t!.cse things in response to the Ic.i. . of s arvJ un ottance D&W g.lar.t shutdowr. order.

first~~-~

nuclear venture ,

foned an andefmite postponement. rnore reactors at Davis Dessr, and lCEl is building tw 2 at Nortfi Perry.

yg ,1 U

"i w mm sty c. r:oncomphances! lbp;te these pledges N!!C in-

.r e m., cia t ed .itb f ailus e in sgu tou dll found protalerns largy Dut thew uHiciah # tW kW

. J 0. The hnt of these woo *t te com ,

The accident al30 *arought a wave Pi eted f r at least three years.

h .

ggr rly fv!Io.v g wcJures A and stnaH 2

ped havismesu muW sh of puidic entercat m nucicar safety. < h,:,3 Q l .rl c per hon .,f ic .mts) associated 3 c3, og g3aigacg;,, w33: was ,

d ob'\ A congressional subpucna forced Meanwhile.CEl s pubhcity of fice ~ "

.n p rsor.nti c rors ar.a prote' pl cd in an innproperly arkcJ c a ..' .'. ocicncies A actiew of storage as ca, pctenbally c posing ' ably nmic c.huipment probicms $"e 8 ta puMuh unousenal tran- promotes nuc! car power with bro- ~

($

re

.m aieas ii dicates staffing workers to radation than others They've gone sn yl8he "I C105#d armlent, and *** 8"E8 these N tia+'I 'chures and a Icallet utled llow Likely as a Nuc1 car Ac:ident?" It yg ~

(-

. :. n.ws at be.h the plant and throuEh some transients. And per- scr ap 6 contain canded crtlicisnN on sonnel errors - in the last hvc * "" NilC studI '* th* 4

. .p cer ug level . Specibe areas Fire pretection equipment sand luvis lesse and ether plants. -

h<,

suunths, these's becu three fairly J. e.ances are nig.

rc m core 119 ses, and instru Ine 'inib were found.kh&nt, and the NitC had to press the company scant ones." l p.

nm anan and controls During an Aprsl 5 meeting. ' g s

u\p t n ficant pret the 1:.cse arcas," msrepori asocnted to pru' vide a tsght schedule ofTambbn'g, a sof t-spoken man who s.uJ improvernents react 4,aspei-Huns cMct M<ndey The NitC has smco rejected that

<g 1ed t t <nu '

adrnits wdh a chuckle that his ini- study.

't! e NItC team said it was par . The list also included failures to 9 cr\ c. c a Q-in!. ty conccrr. J about bad uir prhpctly test safety eqmpment. In c g . nj si.istup p..tlems in Davis late J.muary inspectors reported tials are TNT, dechncJ to gwe his opinion on whether Davis-flesse's large number of personnel ersurs** h,3 y and ranked Davis-!!csse as one of N lh /s 5.:fcty f. atuies actuation finding bo;maMe radiaUon inonb prcMems wcn scrious encugh to the wusst in his ti plant region.

h 5,sa.n (SFASI. Ihe flaws went turs t,etog used to gheck radiadon { warrant permanent shutdown. NORDI S!! ORE ALERT -

g c. r.cted f rom J.ugust IM7 untig in sarrie pl. int equipment, tanks, l water hnes and storm sewers. Ke ilcr has since confirmed these Box 5636 p g hg M

a a AS tcst en J me 2, tws. Instead, he descide: tlic three c.)2> ments Cleveland, Ohio 44101 s. . ,

T:. SFAS pcrf rms tatal auto I Toledo EJison also reported

" maue f unctions during certain several proMems with its lackup recent errois he consilers sigmfi- l cant: accidental disconnection of 861-6945 (days) g 7i CO tro a.nt.s .nd p. tential emergen. diesel generators-a power source circuits for reactor contairunent Noting that tbc plant got a C. . .

P.

y- I spray purnps and cmfing fans ("it's on the comrnissiong W wa e, goes a I.. Squemtier IM8. SFAS trouble considercJ crucial in the event of cery sigmficant when you take two , . Mose e{sa J a loss of power, particularly, at: engineered safety featuses out of C. w } g g ma,6. sacJ sa si rious that h,itC's 8 hut it Jown'*

in olocials toai over. A ktter D&W Plants. operation *T, erroneous opening of ,

{ t r o.n textor ms cections director ***'E'UCY-P"*P '2IVCS 8"d Ia'I- r -

%,, ; n C. Maselcy to TolcJa Eds- ure to detect and thaw a frozen a l's oid.:r.t Jala P. Willbmson , wat,a kne, which, by Toledo Edi-

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.a 2 1 OIIIO'S LARCEST NEWSPAPER

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CLEVELAND, FitIDAY, APRIL 20,1979 ' '

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O Q T JaVLS=W@SSO IO ry Daniet it. !!!ddle ' which is owned hintly by it and L OShTt Keppler's ecrnments to The Plain srLDOS M y' .

s'n ! Won Co. is rrrparing i startup date) at this point." Wil-Cleveland Electric illuminating Dealer came a day after the NflC IPrnson sald. sion. Ile said his meeting with Wil. "Ycu haw to have a n ry r"

' art t:.e Davis flesse nucicar : Co. released transcripts of an April 5 llamson had been schedi.!cd two

- 'i .t ncit Wednesjay, a "I have told our people I want a weeks ago but was postponed be- poter:tial rafety pretA:7. a n,'

While Keppler sald he ts satisfied meeting in which officials consid- hst a nuciag gut ache

- . '. ..r Itcrulatory Com. thorough job. and I don't want to cause of the Three fdile Island

' that the plant is safe. he acknowl. cred keeping the DOG-megawatt But he confirrne t t!.- U

-a e . i I

• ni last n:ght. edged that Davis Besse has had nudcar plant shut down. It was ' put any prcnure on them." accident. The meeting was called concerns abe-t tw o r. ~*

s. l.rs.g.!cr. chrector of numerous " personnel errors" and shct Jown for wh.it officials said .Strev. lng his concern for safety. by the NitC." he said. Kcg.pler said D w ntlesettothait .1tc

. t :i y. rrgeenal headquar- said that the NllC rnight impose *"s muune majntmance on klarch Wicunen stile I twice that he had he wanted to make the campany tranwripts of the Arnt 5 in fines on Toledo IMason for two such M. In alc "acutcly aw an e" of Lt.c filtes con-e- T. llc fielJ inspetors at a nyhng yederday wHh cerns about Davls-11 esse personnel of conno.wmnt rs an.1 one r l- errors that cccurred this year. Arkt he spnke only moments af ter NP "I orgicials,

.bcut 70 mi!rs west "' 'I errors.

U""*

u .c .1. were informed by Plant ofhchts dcclined comment Toledo than Presi& nt Jiihn P.

last nis:ht en a por.sible startup Wililamson had assured a reporter -* CI"E 8 H 5'I'F7

" *I N'*.PTCC38-

' U*' The et ents, Ke kr s n '

,1 ' on plant perscnnel of In M n 80 the reactor th."t malfuaqtioned at Keppler said the problems were . ciudcd T.!cdo 1:d a) Int '

. = 'rt er date. time. NitC Inspectors at the plant. that the firm woubt not hurry its tb a tr wn Mw 1 t '

near Port Clinton, could riot be safety review before restarting. *I Thice Mde Island- not enough, in his judgment to

' ! . sen cperates the plant.

reached for cornment. warrant a continurd shutdown. To k & rN-kr's salcty =' 'T -'

don't think I should speculate (about But Krypler had a ditleren yer. orier such a shuta**d. 8.e said. C'3d"ud u F## 4 s:.s.. ,* . *

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. s y' ..i, (e . rt, . nr e..,3,.c.m s . ' m's -

Davis ; e

• DO esse.cyg.. u'tw:.;

,)( N.T W. Kerpler.'6nid,'The , fines' pr'o35.000,'

1. From First Psge ! -

r 'a.P'p*1:peritem 138

• t ut Keppler said he favors * 'a k

• legislation that would hike th!s to Y. ms; , $ e$

Q -J pNe

• e

• .* dM a f.f arch ** valve stak e th'a't i'. $100.000per ttem, .

ternporarily Jeopardized part of the"

., I(*$ {Wgp4 -

Toledo' Ediso'nlentended its i "

all.important emergency core erlyinst shuhtown when,the NILC.

cooling system. , ,;_ g, ordered all plantOlm!!ar to Three.

O3 e

The UltC may decido, to fino . Allte Island to review key c'lufr-Toledo 1:dison for these errors. . ment end safety systems.

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-1 NUCl.EAi1 tiliGtJLAYO!W CO *.ediFSION /I 3 .* i v.A:n WGTOu. O. C. & C;SS

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• • • • ' JUN 2 9 199 Occket l'a. 50-346 .

ilr. Lowell E. Roe Vice President, Facilities f .g(

Development Toledo Edison Company

, ph")}Q}\

(" JMldlYh Edison Plaza .

30014adison Avenue Toledo, Ohio 43652 --

Ocar f4r. Roe: -

This letter is to express our concern over the failure of Toledo Edison Company (TECO) to bring to the attention of the i!RC Staff members evaluating the Company's compliance with the Cc:;aission's confirmatory order of Iiay 16, 1979, Reportable Occurrence (RO) #79-062 at Davis-Sesse 1. He have several questions, set forth below, relating to TEC0 canagement's awareness of this event, and the reason for failure to discuss this event in cc:r:aunications with the ilRC Staff documenting the actions taken in response to the itay 16 Order.

By letter of April 27, 1979, TECO coir.mitted, song other things , to " continue to review all aspects of [the auxiliary feeditater] system to further upjrade components for added reliability and performance." The ccmmitment was confirmed and required by paragraph IV(1)(a) of the Commission's l'ay 16, Order.

On ifay 21, 1979 Reportable Occurrence 79-062, involving inoperable auxiliary feedwater (AFW) suction pressure switches and out-of-tolerance pressure setpoints, occurred. This was reported to I;RC's Region III, Office of Inspection qnd Enforcement by letter (LER 79-062) of June 15, 1979. Despite, however, nunarcus meetings and exchanges of correspondence between TECO and NRC coacerning the reliability of th'e AF'l system, the event was not .

brought to the attention of the members of the Staff's Bulletins and Orders Task Fo.ce evaluating cor.:pliance with the tiay 16, Order. To the contrary, by M W of itay 23, 1979 from L. Roe (TECO) to R. Reid (! RC) identified

.:p tnree LER's since January 1978 involving the AFW system; no mention wa made of the tiay 21, 1979 event. -

Similarly flessrs. D. 'Ross, G. i42zetis, and R. Capra of liRC visited Davis-Gesse 1 and talked with L. Roe, T. ;'urray (The Station Superintendent) and other TECO personnel on June 8, 1979. The subject of AFM LERs was on the meeting agenda and the NRC Staff was again informed that there had been only 3 LER's since January 1978. Again, no mention was made of the liay 21 event.

}2kb \ \

3 9$8@2 cp539

'## UI3' Mr. Lowell E. Roe <

A Staff Safety Evaluation (SE) containing the evaluation of TEC0's ccmpliance with the Co:rmission's May 16 Order was finalized on June 27 and provided to you on that date. On page 6 of that SE we discuss "the 3 failures of AFW systcm components from January 1978 to date" of which i:RR had knowledge.

Additional evaluation, cnd supplementation of the SE will be required in light of LER 79-C62. In addition to the required technical evaluation from TECO needed to comply with the terms of the Order, we will require answers to the following questions concerning TEC0's policies and practices with respect to informing itCO management and flRC about potentially unsafe conditions: .

1. At the time of the May 23 submittal stating that only 3 AFW failures had occurred since January 1978, was Mr. Roe aware of RO 79-062? If ..

not, expla,in why not, and when was he ma'de aware of it. If the answer is yes, explain why the event was not discussed in the May 23 letter. Also explain why TECO did not supplement the May 23 letter

- to discuss the May 21 event or raise the matter in the numerous discussions uith URC concerning AFW reliability.

2. Explain why the May 21 event was not brought up at the June 8,1979 discussions between NRC and TECO personnel on AFW LERs. We h' ave been informed that at the June 8 macting the Station Superintendant, Terry Murray, was unaware of F.0 79-067.. Is this correct? If the answer is yes, explain the TECO policy abcut timeliness of reporting potentially unsafe conditions to 03-1 and TECO management. Also, discuss tho within TECO management was informed of R0 79-C62 and when and how were they so infonned.

Sincerely,

(( ,

p.4 Ilarold R.ofCenton, Office Director Nuclear Reactor Regulation g .

1243 183 e

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the past of . personnel errors at the i Agency TOId mans.scsse put, saa cat he enened the decision to permit it to resume opct. .

t=das n'"-d 'r t"=, = a ",","

- Safe Order . au-s. Resident Inspector nlated exammauon taken by personnel and some equipment modifications and pro-Met By Ed.ison i He! said that there have been almost:

daily inspections at the plant since the i cedure changes.-

NRC also has ordered some long term

/

By FRANK KANI Three Mile Island incident and that, _ modifications which Ed: son will be ex-sae. wee.c m starting in August, his office wtll have a ' pected to accomplish as promptly as WASHINGTON - Officials of the resident inspector on site. .

practicable.

staff of the Nuc! car Regulatory Com- He also has been meeting with top 80 rd TO 8e F/(ked TO /[0[d mission today were expected to give officials of the company and they have final approval to a resumption of opera- made definite commitments to improve

1. egrfng Sought 8 7 lawmoker

.tions at the Davts-Besse Nuclear Power matters at the plant, including increas- The commission Thursday approved Station, which has been shut down since ing the size of the technical staff, long . directing the chairman cf the Atomic range improvements in training, bring- Safety and Licensing Board pa::cl to Marcli 30. select a board to conduct a hearmg re-The plant, near Port Clinton, was shut. ing in an outside consultant to review down originally for routine main- the adequacy of plant procedures, and quested by State Sec. Tim McCcrmack tenance, but Toledo Edison Co. officials establishment of'a personnel group to (D., Euclid). '

later kept it out cf service voluntanly investigate all reported incidc::ts at.the The hearing will involve the issue of for a safety analysis following the Three plant. whether the actions Tcledo Edisen has Mile Island nuclear accident. In mid- Mr. Keppier also seemed to biim- been mdered to tahe are sufficient to May, the NRC ordered it to remain shut pressed by the recent nam:ng of Wencell insure safe operation of the plant. Mere-down pending some personnel rettam- Johnscn as company president. He is a . ly holding such a hean::g, however, ing, equipment mod:fications, and other ' technical man," appears to be on top of  ! would not block resumption of piant op-actions to te taken by Toledo Edison. problems, and has started meeting with  ! erat:ans, the commission said.

Officials of the NRC staff tcld the ; plant personnel to pt first-hand knowl- Senator McCormack, in a May 3 letter commission Thursday that they are sat- ed;e of plant proolems, Mr. Keppler to the commission, had said that the isfied that Toledo Edison has complied said. plant snoutf rot resu:ne operations unt;l Mr. Keppler told commission member the people of northern Ohio are assured

,with conditions of the order and can through public heanngs that there caa resume operations. John Ahearne that although Tcledo But they withheld final approval until Edison has had its problems with Davis- be no foreseeable r;sk to their safety

' the company agreed to make some com- Besse in the past, he believes the ccm- and health through a nuclear accident.

. mitments for tmoroving fire protecuon ; pany does have the techmcal and : nan- Both the Davts-Besse and Three Mlle and until the NRC staff had a chance to agement capability to deal with the . Island plants were built by the nuclear further investigate the reported break- problems. division of Babcock & Wilcox Co.

down of a valve on the plant's auxiliary Fa lure To Report Malfunction feed water system Wednesday tught. Harold Denton, director of the office Satisfied NRC Requirements of nuclear rec.ctor regulanon, said: "rd '

Denwood Ross, of :he NRC's office of be willing to let them start up and dem-i nJIear reactor regulauon, said late , onstrate that they are on top cf proo- j .

• Thurday that Edison had sausfied the ' lems. But the situauon should be requirements for comnutments on fire, momtored carefully."

I There was a brief discussion- of protection, and that ir all probability Edison's failure to promptly report a the valve motor failure was nothing se- g

,p j]j rious. But staff officuls wanted to think May 31 malfunctiorung in the auxiliary r.vv g { M, bd ;I=

about it overnight before giving the final feed watec system, but Mr. Keppler in- *

, go-ahead, Mr. Ross added. dicated that this was due to a misun- ,

' Toledo Edison officials said that*the derstanding by company officiais of -

carliest the plant might resume opera. what type of fatlure had to be reported tions is early next week. prornptly to the NRC. -

The BRC staff also ran through a t p

. James Keppier. dtrector of the 5RC's review of short-term steps that Edison ,

, 4 Chicago regional office of inspection and had taken to gain sta. up permisston, enforcement, who had been entical in, e

- . _ _ - _ _ _ _ . - _ . _ _ ___ 7__ _