ML18348A193

Advising, Not Received 3/4/1975 NRC Letter, & Requesting, NRC Should Correspondence with All Interested Persons

ML18348A193
Person / Time
Site:	Palisades
Issue date:	03/12/1975
From:	Cherry M Law Offices of M M Cherry
To:	Anders W Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML18348A193 (4)

Text

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LAW OFFICES MYRON M. CHERRY ONE IBM PLAZA I.. - . , ... ,

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March 12 ,. 1975 * *

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Mr. William A. Anders Chairman ... ---~:: ....:-*.....~ .. --~, .

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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Conunission ,

Washington, D. c. 20555

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Dear Mr. Chairman:

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On March 11, 1975 I received (by accident) a copy Of'_

a letter dated March 4, 1975 which you sent. to -uhe..* mell\be:rs 0*f.,,;_~*-* *. *

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the Michigan Public Service Commission, apparently* iti, re,spopse .,

to the Michigan PSC' s November 8, 19 74 *letter to ::':fhe Chairman of the now-defunct Atomic Energy Commissi'on. -- * '~*

. *r Your March 4, 1975. letter deals with two cases in which **r I .am involved; Palisades and Midland. I have riot* been appri$'.ed of your letter, nor did you or any o:I; your staff send i:ne a copy.

Additionally, .your. letter enclosed c~rtain information prepared by the Regulatory Staff (one of the parties to the former pro-ceedings) and certain other documents (OOE-os ... 002,.May, 1974 and OOE-ES-001, January, 1974). I did not receive afiy:,of these documents.

I also find it interesting to note that while your staff sent to the Michigan PSC certain "general studies regarding nuclear power plant availability and capacity factors," the staff's enclo.sures indicated that those were dated May, 1974.-

and 'January, 1974. Your staff did not enclose the December 2, 1974 study by Dr. Edwin G. Triner of the Office of Policy Planning for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which.study supports* the criticism that has been made about nuclear power plant capacity

-- that it is appal._lingly .low and res.ults in increased costs to consumers. .Dr *. Triner 's study (which I have not received and herewith request). was,* as usual, recorded in the news media

. (Sunday New York Times, March 9, 197S, Midwest Edition, p. 42-r /

and di'E?closed as a result of efforts of criticism of the Nuclear Regu:J..atory Commission and not by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself. The question certainly arises.as to whether your staff conveniently *failed to submit to the Michigan PS.C an NRC-in-house report critical to the nuclear combine. I trust you will correct the record as quickly as possible with the ~ichigan PSC and .

suggest* that you cons.+/-der sengJng the Triner report to all. PSC' s

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8367

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Page Two Mr. William A. Anders March 12, 1975 throughout the United States so that state bodies realize the economic problem which can arise from jumping into nuclear power without adequate foundation or economic base.

Finally, I am making a request for a copy of your March 4, 1975 letter together with all of the enclosures and I am asking that in the future, when you cqmmunicate with anyone in connection with matters in which I and my clients have filed an appearance, that I promptly be served with copies. While I am prepared to regard the failure to send me the March 4, 1975 letter and enclosures as bureaucratic oversight, I do believe that in the future, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should take care to see that all interested persons receive copies of correspondence in a contested case.

MMC:KK c.c. Commissioner William R. Ralls Commissioner Lenton G. Sculthorp Chairman William G. Rosenberg Michigan Public Service Commission Enclosure (New York Times article referred to on page 1)

By DAVID BURNHAM SP"ci.al to 1~1* N*>< York 'rlrnu WASHINGTON, March 8-A Federal study h<i~ concluded "Probably* one or the most /

'that the utilities that own most seriou's issues that the interven- "

A.meiican nuclear reactors- ors can .raise today, with good

• statistics to* back their case, not sufficientl.y I

whi~h have recen'tly been gen* is tha:t nuclear plants *have not era ting. only about 55 ~er cent performed. with the degree of '

of their power capacity~are reliability we would expect concerned .from machine.~ .~uilt with the about the safety and perform~ care. and attent.1on to safety.

ance of tqeir reactors. , and reliability that. often has I The study further* charges* been claimed for nuclear:

that the slate commissions that) plants," Dr. ~asn~ussel'\, wa.s

• are supposed to *regulate the* quoted as saying ~n an *Ap.nl utilities have ~'little or no *ino report by the Atomic I.ndustnal fluence" on the design process Forum, an industry lobbying that COUid make reactO'rS more group supported by major reac-reliable and efficient. . 11 tor builders, the utilities and The analysis of reactor relia- engineers.

bility and what steps the Fed- Dr. Triner's five-page analy*

era! Government *should take sis of reactor reliabiliity, dated to improve it was written b~i !Jee. 2, 1974 was made avai\a*

Edwin G. Triner, director of ble by the Nuclear Regulatory 1' the* Office of Policy Planning Commission in response to a *

~11 the Nuclear Regulatory Com. request by Daniel Ford, staff mission. '.

• director of the Union of Con- '

Dr. Triner said the. utilities*; corned Scientists, an organiza- ;

in theory, should have prime 'tion .that has been critical. of r responsibiHty for making sure atomic power.

that the reacto.rs they: buy ar" Dr. Triner's study described both safe and efficient. ' a number of factors that he "The reality, however, Is that felt contributed to the reliabili-without external suasion the ty problem. . ,

likelihood f the utility custom* . "By and l.arge: ~he uti ~ities -

er taking aggressiv.e . ~ctio.11 are. f!Ot tha! sop~,isticate~. the* 1 I to improve plant rehabrhty 1s official said. 11rnre 1s no not very great," he said. , ;1 evidence, for example, that There are 55 nuc!ear pl<j.nt~ / they

• have. c9f!tractually drn-operating in the Umted States I posed reliab1lity

• standards that generate about 7,5 per' upon their architect-engineers.

cent of the country's electricity.

• Very few of the utilities exer-.

Because of various problems I cise *very much.. influence at

, ii). the continuing supply o. f j ~11. over the .de~i~n ;prckess as 1oil and natural gas, the For<l it impacts rehab1hty...... , ,\

Administration is committed to*

building hundreds of additional

/ reactors in the next IO years.

\.. Comment O!l Reliability

)' Norman C. Rasmussen, a t

• professor of nuclear engineer-ing at Massachusetts Institute Of Technology who is the direc-tor of *a major Atomic Energy *. ;_:*

.. ,ll Commission study on reactor safety, commented on_ the relia-bility issue at an industry con-

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