ML19263E664

Requests That ASLB Reverse Denial of Contentions Acceptable to Util,Nrc & Intervenors.Seeks Admission of Heavy Load & Leakage Issues & Contentions Re EIS & Need for Present Mod. Certificate of Svc Encl

ML19263E664
Person / Time
Site:	North Anna
Issue date:	05/03/1979
From:	Kroot I CITIZENS ENERGY FORUM
To:
References
NUDOCS 7906200592
Download: ML19263E664 (4)

Text

--

. ,

'

. c}

'

,, S oT

. NRC PUDLIC DOCUMENT ROOM k. Sk, @g a :_4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA q4 p/ '

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION # S

'

BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD &

g In the matter of )

) Docket Nos. 50-338 SP VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY ) 50-339 SP

)

(North Anna Power Station ) (Proposed Amendment to Operating Units 1 and 2) ) License NPF-4)

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIONS In accordance with 10 CFR 2.751a(d), Citi:: ens Energy Forum (CET) objects to the order of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of April 23, 1979, entitled " Order Granting Intervention, Providing for a Hearing and Dedgnating Contentions of Intervernors."

Four stipulated contentions previously agreed upon by the Nuclear ,

Regulatory Staff, the Applicant and CEF,and contained within a doc-ument entitled " Stipulation of Contentions" and signed by these three parties on March 29, 1979, have been disallowed by this Board.

CEF objects to denial of the following contentions:

1. Heavy Loads: This contention is acknowledged by the NRC to be a category A " unresolved safety" issue. vepco's design basis accident does not consider the potential of a dropped spent fuel assembly onto a fully loaded rack. Vepco's statement that "the likelihood of a heavy load-handling accident is sufficiently small" is without basis in fact or documentation. The AEC's Reactor Safety Study cited a dropped cask with pool perforation as a possible cause of a loss-of-water accident.

This contention is valid and merits full and complete examination within this proceeding.

2287 273 790620W9>

.. .- .

. .. -

.

3, .

./ .

CEF Statement of Objections May 3, 1979 Page Two

2. Leakage: This contention addresses the basic issue of a loss-of-water (or . coolant) due to a crack in the pool liner as has been experienced at the Turkey Point Nuclear Reactor. Vepco has failed to consider the potential effects of, among others, a rise in the temperature of the spent fuel pool water or the increased radioactive emmissions (in light of the increased assemblies to be stored) that would result in the event of an accident. This contention is valid and deserves more thorough evaluation within the scope of this pro-ceeding.

,

3. Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) : The disallowed '

" final GEIS" contention raises several important issues which should be considered as part of this proceeding. The draft GEIS (NUREG 0404) prepared by the NRC staff in March 1978 cannot be considered the equiv-alent of a final environmental impact statement under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. Additionally, the NRC has stated that five factors are to be balanced in reaching interim licensing decisions concerning spent fuel storage, including the question of the public harm resulting from deferral of the proposed action. No imminent harm to the public has been demonstrated in this case by the deferral of the proposed action, nor has the Applicant shown that deferral would pose a threat to 'che operation of North Anna.

4. No Proven Need: This contention, disallowed by the' Board,

.

2287 274

. .- -. _ .-. - . -

.

l

.

\

CEF Statement of Objections May 3, 1979

, Pace Three contends that the Applicant has not demonstrated the present need for the proposed modification. The existing spent fuel pool will not be filled to capacity until 1983 under present assumptions, and several actions and developments give credence to the possibility that this date may be pushed even further into the future. The Applicant has not demonstrated any negative effects to its operation of extending the refueling cycle from 12 to 18 months. In addition, as a resu-it of the recent extended closing of Vepco's three nuclear facilities (North Anna 1 and 2, and Surry) and the discovery of cracks in the cooling system of North Anna 2, it is likely that spent fuel assemblies will be removed for spent fuel pool storage at a slower rate than originally anticipated, thereby reducing the need for the proposed action even further.

CEF Objects to the arbitrariness nd lack of justification for the Board's dismissal of the above contentions. The Applicant, NRC staff and CEF have invested many hours in resolving existing differences such that the ab6ve contentions are acceptable to all parties, and their efforts have been made meaningless by the ASLB.

CEF asks that the ASLB reverse its decision and grant the above-cited contentions in the best interest of this proceeding.

Respectfully Submitted, Dated in Washington, D.C.

this 3d day of May, 1979 7 J.ww to Irwin B. Kroot

}Du-s-%x

-_. .. - 2287 275

..

'

l

.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that the foregoing Statement of Objections was mailed this 3d day of May, 1979, by deposit in the U.S.

mail, first class, to the following parties:

'

Secretary O.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Attn: Chief, Docketing and Service Section f NI a James B. Dougherty, Esq. p p Potomac Alliance P.O. Box 9306 . +g+ fo g fjf 7,

-

!

Washington, D.C. 20005 i f ., *

'5 i Michael Maupin, Esq. 6 k $ [.

Hunton & Williams ., Q j P.O. Box 1538 '

[Zi i i Richmond, Va. 23212 ,

'

Steven C. Goldberg Office of the Executive Legal Director U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 L. k / s h\

Deborah A. Bouton Secretary 2287 276

.. -