ML20206D887

Responds to 881015 Postcard Recommending Keeping Seabrook & Pilgrim Facilities Closed & Question Re Nuclear Waste Disposal.Two Levels of Waste for Commercial Nuclear Power Plants Considered

ML20206D887
Person / Time
Site:	Pilgrim, Seabrook, 05000000
Issue date:	11/08/1988
From:	Varga S Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	Shiff P AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
Shared Package
ML20206D892	List: ML20206D887 ML20206D895
References
NUDOCS 8811170311
Download: ML20206D887 (1)

Text

_ .. - -

. e NOV 0 81988 DISTRIBUTION Doctek F11e>50 443 & 50-293 PDI. Reading File NRC PDR PDR  !

Hurley/Sniezek SVarga D. Mossburg, PMAS (0889213) BBoger VNerses DCrutchfield DMcDonald MRushbrook '

RWessman NRC PDR i Mr. Philip B. Shiff # " "9 39 Manton Road Swampscott, Massachusetts 01907 '

Dear Mr. Shiff:

This is in response to your postcard 6 ted October 15, 1988, which recomended keeping the Seabrook and Pilgrim facilities closed and asked a question about nuclear waste disposal.

With regard to keeping the plants closed, the Nuclear Regulatory Comission (NRC),

in carrying out its responsibility to ultimately decide this matter, will use the best information available with a full awareness of our responsibility for the protection of public health and safety. We take this responsibility very seriously. We believe we are taking the necessary steps to assure ourselves that the Seabrook plant will not comence operation and the Pilgrim plant will not restart unless and until we are fully satisfied that safe operations can be performed and that the public health and safety is protected.

With regards to your question on nuclear waste disposal, we consider two levels l of waste for commercial nuclear power plants: low level and high level. Low '

level waste is shipped in a safe container to an out-of-state licensed low level burial site. High level waste is usually spent fuel. There is no geological respository for high level waste at this time. The spent fuel is safely stored on the plant site in a spent fuel pool pending availability of a licensed high level waste geological repository being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sincerely, l Steven A. Varga, Director Division of Reactor Projects - I/II Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation ,

e s811170311 881108 PDR ADOCK 05000293 PDC H *See previous concurrence

, pf0t i n n j

,0FG :LA:PDI.3  : F N PIl .

.....:............; 4.R . 4.....:  : .E DIR/PDI.3 L....::.....

AD y :D DgR.  : '

l:

NAME :*MRushbrook :VPerses :D onald :RWess

B ger t..... :: . F.

7 7Varga(Df..:...........

DATE :11/07/88 :11/'7 /88 :11/"1/88 :11/1 /88 :11/1(/88 :11/7/88  :

OFFICIAL RECORD COPY f