ML20246D033

Commission Response to J Bates Subcommittee on Energy & Power Question 9 from

ML20246D033
Person / Time
Site:	San Onofre
Issue date:	05/11/1989
From:	Zech L NRC COMMISSION (OCM)
To:	Bates J HOUSE OF REP.
Shared Package
ML20246C933	List: ML20246C943 ML20246C952 ML20246C956 ML20246C990 ML20246C995 ML20246D002 ML20246D017 ML20246D024 ML20246D033 ML20246D042 ML20246D047 ML20246D050 ML20246D080
References
BATES-890511, CCS, NUDOCS 8907110220
Download: ML20246D033 (2)

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g QUESTION 9 Why has not the NRC demanded that the modifications be made and the deadline be met regarding the modifications required by the NRC as an urgency measure 10 years ago as a result of the Three-Mile Island accident?

ANSWER NRC's TMI Action Plan, published nearly 10 years ago, identified specific problems at the.Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant that contributed to the 1979 accident and required all licensees to evaluate their' facilities in light of the TMI experience and to take appropriate corrective action. Even when initially published, the degree of urgency of any single TMI Action Plan Item varied from plant to. plant depending on the specific design of the facility, the actual operating procedures used at each plant, and the degree to which the item may have already been addressed by individual licensees. Since the Plan was published, some of the TMI Action Plan Items have become less urgent than-they initially appeared in the innediate aftermath of the' accident, while new problems, of equal or greater safety significance than those identified in the Plan, have emerged.

Consequently, the NRC evaluates the priority of each TMI Action Plan item in conjunction with all other NRC requirements, unique plant characteristics, interim measures, and the demonstrated licensee performance at each reactor facility. The NRC authorizes a facility to restart or begin operation only i after a careful review of the facility for compliance with NRC rey'irements and an evaluation of the licensee's demonstrated capabilities to safely operate l

8907110220 890616 PDR COMMS NRCC '

CORRESPONDENCE PDC

m QUESTION 9 (Continued) 'the facility. 0 occasionally, the NRC has authorized some licensees to begin operation of new plants or resume operation of existing plants.without full implementation of'all TMI Action Plan items. In the case of San Onofre Units 1, 2, and 3, the NRC allowed operation only after ensuring that the licensee either had taken sufficient compensatory measures or had implemented the safety-significant portions of particular TMI Action Plan items so that public health and safety were assured. I The great majority of TMI Action Plan items have been implemented at San Onofre Unit 1. The staff met with SCE on May 1, 1989, to discuss the licensee's schedule for implementing the remaining items. If the NRC staff judges that final implementation of TMI Action Plan items is being delayed unreasonably, we are prepared to issue orders requiring implementation of certain items. A recent example is the order issued by the Director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation on May 10, 1989, requiring installation of reactor vessel water level instrumentation. '

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