IA-87-415, Responds to .Fact Sheets Re NRC Responsibilities, General Info on Mgt of Radwaste & List of Nuclear Power Plants in Us Licensed for Operation by NRC or Under Const Encl.W/O Encls.Press Release Re Decommissioning Encl
| ML20236C894 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/08/1987 |
| From: | Ingram F NRC OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (GPA) |
| To: | Strauss R AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20236C697 | List: |
| References | |
| FOIA-87-415 NUDOCS 8707300232 | |
| Download: ML20236C894 (5) | |
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July 8, 1987 l Mr. Raymond A. Strauss. III ,
Number 2-4790 P. O. Box 200 Camp Hill, PA 17011
Dear Mr. Strauss:
- This replies to your July 1 letter. First, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency established to see that, if nuclear energy is used
, for civilian purposes in this country, there is reasonable assurance that the public health and safety and the environment will be protected. I am enclosing a copy of a fact sheet which will give you a better idea of the agency's responsibilities.
Second, to the extent that I can, let me respond to your questions in the order they are listed,in your letter.
(1) According to the Special Inquiry Group convened by the Commission to investigate the Three Mile Island accident: "As a result of the radiation exposure to the offsite population within 50 miles of the TMI site, the projected incidence of fatal cancer is less than one; and fatal plus nonfatal cancers is less than 1.5, with zero not excluded. This projection is to be contrasted to the nearly 541,000 cancers (325,000 fatal and 216,000 nonfatal) expected in this population over its revining lifetime that are not relatet to the TMI accident."
(2) I am enclosing a list of nuclear power plants in the United States--
licensed for operation by the NRC or under construction. I do not have a similar list of such facilities worldwide.
(3) Questions about nuclear weapons, etc., should be referred to the Department of Defense (The Pentagon, Washington, D. C. 20301).
(4) The enclosed copies of two fact sheets provide general information on the subject of the management of radioactive wastes.
(5) The operating lifetime of commercial nuclear power plants generally is considered to be on the order of 30 to 40 years. At the end of that time, they are to be decommissioned and individual sites restored to a state where they can be released for unrestricted use. See the enclosed copy of a public announcement of the Commission's proposed decommissioning requirements.
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l(6) .During normal operation, a nuclear power plant releases small amounts of $
? ' radioactivity to the environment on a carefully planned and controlled basis l
and these-releases have minimal impacts on the environment. These impacts are
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. reviewed on a case-by-case basis. by the NRC staff in connection with its review of applications to build and operate nuclear power plants. The release
~I of large; amounts of radioactivity to the environment in the event of an n unlikely, but severe, accident could have significant consequences for the
,y public health and safety and for the environment.
1 y;@. .(7-8) Radioactive materials, contained in drugs, are used for diagnostic
'y ' purposes in nuclear medicine. They are administered by injection, inhalation
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'(T or orally and radiation detection equipment is_used to visualize the-distribution of the radioactive material within the patient for purposes of _ -
/ locating tumors, assessing the: function of various ~ organs or to monitor:the ~
- . , . effectiveness of a medical treatment. In addition, larger quantities of radiopharmaceuticals (radioactive materials contained in drugs) are used for therapeutic purposes in nuclear med..
- ine--such as' treoting hyperactive thyroid conditions and certain . forms of cancer.
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Sealed radioactive sources that produce high radiation fields also are used.
.for radiation therapy, primarily to treat cancer. A radioactive source in a
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teletherapy machine can be adjusted to direct a radiation beam to the part of
- the patient's body to be treated. Smaller sealed sources, with less -
radioactivity, are designed to;be implanted directly into a tumor area or applied on the surface of an area to be treated--a procedure known as
-brachytherapy. In addition, a relatively new development permits the use of
. sealed radioactive sources for diagnostic purposes with a device on the other-side .of the patient used to detect the amount or spatial distribution of radiation that goes through the patient.
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. For more detailed information, you may want to consult with a specialist in nuclear medicine or with a hospital with a nuclear medicine department.
. Sincerely, Frank Ingram o
Assistant to the Director of PA ,
l Office of Governmental and Public Affairs
Enclosures:
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- DATE :7/8/87 :
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NUCLEdR REGULATORY COMMISSION .
-"dn{j/uI, Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 20555 ,
.Ho. 85-19 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel. 301/492-7715 (Monday, February 11,1985)
NRC PROPOSES DECOMMISSIONING CRITERIA
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The Nuclear Regulatory Comission is proposing to amend its regulations to include technical and financial criteria for decommissioning licensed nuclear facilities. The existing regulations cover decommissioning requirements only in a limited way.
As proposed, the decommissioning guidance would deal with planning needs, ti thming, funding mechanisms and environmental review requirements. If adopted, e rules would assure that licensed nuclear facilities would be decommissioned in a safe and timely manner and that adequate funds would be available for decommissioning purposes.
The proposed amendments would apply to all NRC licensees except licensees for low-level radioactive waste burial facilities and high-level radioactive waste repositories which have been addressed in separate regulatory actions.
The proposed rule defines decommissioning as removing from service and reducing residual radioactivity to a level that would permit release of the property for unrestricted use and termination of license.
Three acceptable decommissioning alternatives are contemplated but not specified in the proposed rule. They are:
DECON: under this alternative, equipment, structures, and portions of the site contaminated with radioactivity would be removed or decontaminated to t; a level which would permit the property to be released for unrestricted use shortly after operations have been terminated. It would satisfy the objective of unrestricted release of the property in a much shorter time period than the
. $., other alternatives while protecting the health and safety of workers and j, members of the public.
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SAFSTOR:
- under this alternative, the nuclear facility would be placed 1,_ ; dad maintained in such a condition that it could be safely stored and
-e' decontaminated to levels which would permit release for unrestricted use at a later date. It would be an acceptable alternative if radiation doses to workers involved in the decommissioning process would be reduced significantly
, or in cases where almost all of the radioactivity would decay within a few months or years. It could also become necessary in other cases such as a shortage of offsite radioactive waste disposal space. ,
Q' ENTOMB: under this alternative, radioactive materials would be encased
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in a structurally long-lived material such as concrete and the structure would j
.be maintained and surveyed until the radioactivity had decayed to a level
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, .m permitting the unrestricted release of the property. This alternative'could t
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( ,/ reduce radiation doses to workers as well as the volume of radioactive waste -
but would be expected to be little used because of practical considerations.' -
The proposed rules would require that decommissioning begin shortly after$
nuclear facility operations have been terminated and that the time to reach unrestricted use be minimized. '
parts:As preliminary proposed, planning for decommissioning would be divided into two '
and final.
Preliminary aspects of planning would be financial planning and facili-tating of decommissioning. Current license holders and applicants for new licenses would have to submit either funding plans or certification of finan . !
cial assurance in amounts specified in the proposed rules. Funding plans would l I
have to include a cost estimate and means of providing financial assurance for decommissioning. Generally, facilitating of decommissioning would be con- ;
sidered under the principle of keeping exposures to radiation as low as reasonably achievable; the rule would require specifically only that relevant records be kept to assure adequate information is availtble at the time of.
decommissioning.
Final planning would involve the submission of decommissioning plans for review and approval in advance of initiation of any major decommissioning activity where a significant health and safety question could be involved.
fm These final plans would have to include as appropriate:
(1) a description of decommissioning procedures to be used including plans for processing and disposing of the radioactive waste;
' (2) a description of methods used to ensure the safety of workers and
. members of the public; (3) a plan for a final radiation survey to ensure that the property is suitable for release for unrestricted use; and (4) a cost estimate to ensure that adequate funds would be available before decommissioning activities were initiated.
A number of alternative methods for assuring that funds for decommissioning--either prematurely or at the end of operations--would be .
available are set forth in the proposed rule. They include:
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(1) Prepayment--under this alternative, funds would be set aside, prior D* ' to commencement licensee funds, of operations, in an account segregated from other bdi (2) Surety or insurance--this alternative involves a method to guarantee
.n' that decommissioning costs would be paid should the licensee default.
(~N (3) External sinking fund--under this alternative, funds would be set I (V )',
aside periodically over the life of the facility in an account segregated fr.om other licensee funds. This segregated account would be coupled with a surety guaranteeing funds for decommissioning in
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(4) Internal reserve--under this alternative, allowed only for utilities, funds would be set aside periodically. over the life of l the facility in an account which would be part of or invested in licensee assets.
(5) Federal', state, or local certification of the availability of funds for decommissioning.
'(6) Other funding methods which an applicant could demonstrate would provide comparable assurance to the other alternatives.
For electric utility owners of nuclear power plants, the amount of funds to be assured could be based on a facility-specific cost-estimate included with '
a decommissioning funding plan or on an amount to be specified in the regula. i tions. As proposed, that amount would be $100,000,000 in 1984 dollars. i If adopted, the new requirements would reduce the specific requirements for environmental reviews related te decommissioning by:
'(1) Providing that the decommissioning of reactors and certain materials facilities would no longer require environmental impact statements
' unless specifically determined by the Commission; environmental assessments would bc prepared, however.
(2) Providing that information concerning environmental impacts would be submitted by licensees as a supplement to previously developed environmental reports.
.' (3) Providing that approval of funding plans would be a categorical exclusion (a category of action which does not individually or '
i cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and no environmental review is required).
Written comments on the proposed decommissioning criteria, written as
' amendments to Parts 30, 40, 50, 51, 70 and 72 of the NRC's regulations, should be submitted by May 13, 1985. They should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and Service Branch.
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