ML19260A675

Submits Comments on Procedural & Jurisdictional Issues Involved in Westinghouse Application.Nrc Has No Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.Health,Safety & Environ Aspects Are Responsibility of Recipient Country

ML19260A675
Person / Time
Site:	05000574
Issue date:	11/16/1979
From:	Depoix V ATOMIC INDUSTRIAL FORUM
To:	Chilk S NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
References
NUDOCS 7912030075
Download: ML19260A675 (5)

Text

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gg gf Mr. Samuel J. Chilk Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555

Dear Mr. Chilk:

In the Federal Register, Vol. 44, No. 208, the Commission requested comments on the procedural and jurisdictional issues involved in the Westinghouse Electric Corporation application to export a nuclear facility to the Philippines.

The Atomic Industrial Forum's Subcommittee on Nuclear Exports hr.s reviewed the procedural and jurisdictional issues listed by the Commission and has the following comments:

1. Whether (and if so, to what extent) the Commission possesses the legal authority or legal obligation to examine the health, safety and environmental impacts of an exported nuclear facility in reaching its licensing determination (specif_cally, which of the seven issues raised by Petitioners are appropriate for Commission review?).

It is the subcommittee's position, supported by the detailed submittals in this proceeding of individual AIF member organizations, that there is no legal basis for the U.S. NRC to include consideration of extra-territorial health and safety issues in the export licensing process. The subcommittee believes it to be clear that Congress, in establishing the applicable legislation, did not intend for the NRC to include in the export licensing process extraterritorial health and safety considerations. In addition, the subcom-mittee believes that if such issues were to be included in export licensing, their addition would add a heavy burden to an already overburdened licensing process.

Such action would further reinforce the growing per-ception in customer countries that the United States is constituting itself as an unreliable nuclear sup-plier.

1464 357 7912030 OW 4

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Mr. Samuel J. Chilk ,

N"vember 16, 1979 d

E This is not to suggest that the subcommittee does not advocate and support full assistance on health and safety to customer countries. It believes, however, that such assistance can only be effectively implemented through bilateral and international agreements within the framework of the IAEA and the NPT. These mechanisms are in place and deserve the full support of the United States, which should work within the international structure to achieve health and safety objectives.

Unilateral action by the U.S. can only be viewed as extraterritorial and unwarranted infriLJement on the sovereignty of customer countries, and will likely be counter productive to this country's declared non-proliferation and related goals. Accordingly, even without regard to jurisdictional barriers, any actions taken in this highly sensitive area by agencies without the foreign relations responsibilities of the Executive Branch should be undertaken with the greatest restraint.

2. Is the Commission's health, safety or environmental review of export license applications limited to the connection of these issues with the U.S. common defense and security or are there other legal principles which permit or require the Commission to examine these matters as part of its licensing review?

In the view of the subcommittee, the only legal prin-ciples which apply to the seven isstes raised by Petitioners are those concerned with the U.S. common defense and security. The Commissions' health, safety and environmental review should rely, as stated in the NRC staff paper SECY-78-365, "primarily on voluntary measures selected on the basis of their potential to improve the capabilities of the governments of importing countries for promoting the health and safety of their citizens rather than on externally imposed mandatory approaches."

3. What issues arising from the application to export a nuclear facility to the Philippines should the Commission examine in any future public proceeding?

The license applications under consideration do not give rise to any issues the Commission should examine in any future proceedings.

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Mr. Samuel J. Chilk ,

November 16, 1979 d

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4. What procedural format should the Commission adopt to examine any foreign health, safety and environmental issues falling within its jurisdiction?

The procedural format used by the Commission in accord-ance with the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 appears adequate and the subcommittee sees no reason to adopt a new or different procedural format.

Hearings should not involve any trial type, on the record proceedings.

5. If health, safety and environmental aspects of a U.S.-

supplied nuclcar facility are to be evaluated in the NRC export licensing process, in what specific manner should this review be conducted differently from the Commission's domestic reactor licensing proceedings? Should the scope of review be different, and if so, in what precise way?

The subcommittee believes that the health, safety and environmental aspects of a U.S.-supplied nuclear facility to be the responsibility of the recipient country. The issues of health, safety and environmental aspects should be addressed in bilateral assistance arrangements and through multilateral assistance provided through the IAEA.

There is a real risk that recipient countries might risconstrue NRC assistance in health, safety and environ-mental aspects as relieving them of responsibility for indigenous efforts to improve safety. Commission reviews outside of bilateral assistance arrangements would be resented by importing countries, which would view them as an intrusion into their internal affairs. Certainly public hearings and Commission findings which raised alleged deficiencies in the recipient country's protection of its citizens would be especially resented.

6. Are there any factual or legal considerations which would justify a different NRC health, safety or environmental review for some export license applications than for others?

Specifically, are such considerations applicable to the present matter?

The subcommittee does not believe that there are any f actual or legal considerations which would justify a different NRC review. Third country considerations in a license application, for example, are believed to be properly the concern of the State Department in meeting the requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978.

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Mr., Samuel J. Chilk November 16, 1979 d

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Members of the Subcommittee are available to discuss these comments with the Commission staff if there are any questions.

A list of Subcommittee members is enclosed.

Sincerely, O / k '.) "W

\/s.s tz .nt I Vincent P. de Poix Chairman Subcommittee on Nuclear Exports Enclosure 1464 360

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NUCLEAR EXPORTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR POLICY COMMITTEE Chairman: Vincent P. de Poix President, Teledyne Wah Chang Albany Secretary: Frank W. Graham Manager Special Studies Atomic Industrial Forum Harold M. Agnew William J. L. Kennedy President Vice President and Director General Atomic Company of Engineering Stone & Webster Engineering William A. Chittenden Corporation Partner Sargent & Lundy Leo Macklin President and Chief Donald L. Couchman Executive Officer Vice President Transnuclear, Inc.

International Operations NUS Corporation Dwight J. Porter Director, International T. Rognald Dankmeyer, Jr. Government Affairs Associate Division Counsel Westinghouse Electric General Electric Company Corporation Jack Edlow Harry O. Reinsch President President Edlow International Company Bechtel Power Corporation William T. England Roger J. Sherman Vice President for Corporate Chairman of the Board Affairs & General Counsel Ebasco Services Incorporated Exxon Nuclear Company, Inc.

Howard C. Winterson Louis M. Favret President Executive Vice President Power Systems Group Power Generation Group Combustion Engineering, Inc.

The Babcock & Wilco:: Company 1464 361