ML19309D662
| ML19309D662 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 03/14/1980 |
| From: | Harold Denton Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Spellman K AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19309D663 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004110099 | |
| Download: ML19309D662 (3) | |
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UNITED STATES
[ f..., f j NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g. " '-
C WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 Nb,/
March 14, 1980
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j Mr. Kevin M. Spellman 8 Highwoods Court St. James, New York 11780
Dear Mr. Spellman:
Your letter of January 30, 1980, to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked a number of questions. Answers to those questions are enclosed.
I hope they will be useful to you.
Sincerely, hO Harold R. Denton, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Enclosure:
As stated 1
8004220o99
's ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASKED 1.
How many nuclear power plants are in working condition, supplying cities with power as of today?
As of January 31, 1980, 67 nuclear power reactors were licensed to operate and had accumulated 447 reactor years of operation.
j 2.
How many plants are in the building process, but will be used by the year 2000?
As of January 31, 1980, 73 reactors were actively under construction and an additional 17 had construction permits. All of these were planned for operation before the year 2000.
L 3.
What are the chances of another nuclear power accident, like Three Mile Island, occurring in any plant in the United States?
Actions have been taken and others are planned to prevent the occurrence of another accident like the one at Three Mile Island.
4.
How much radiation was actually exposed in the Three Mile Island accident?
The collective dose to the population from radioactivity released during the Three Mile Island accident was about 1% of that received annually from natural background radiation by persons living within 50 miles of the plant and about 10% or less by persons living within 5 miles. The President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island stated that the release of radioactivity will have a negligible effect on the physical i
health of individuals.
i 5.
In an event of a nuclear power plant emergency where radiation is exposed in the air, how many miles around the plant would have to be evacuated?
Studies have indicated that, if emergency actions such as sheltering or evacuation were taken within about 10 miles of a nuclear power plant, there would be significant savings of early injuries and deaths from the most severe atmospheric releases of radioactivity.
In the case of such a release, radioactivity deposited on the ground could enter the food chain and be ingested; the downwind range within which significant contamination could occur would generally be limited to about 50 miles from the plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has endorsed the use of Emergency Planning Zones having a radius around a nuclear power plant of about 10 miles for airborne exposure and about 50 miles for contaminated food.
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2 6.
How many nuclear plants are being or will be shut down because of their location or closeness to major cities?
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering what special measures should be taken for nuclear power plants in areas of high population to reduce the probability of a severe reactor accident and to lessen the consequences of such an accident by reducing the amount of radio-active releases or delaying such releases in order to provide additional time for evacuation.
Interim measures have already been ordered for the nuclear power plants at Indian Point in New York and at Zion in Illinois.
7.
How much money would be saved in the use of a nuclear power plant as opposed to oil use?
If an existing large nuclear power plant 'is operated instead of an equivalent capacity of existing oil-burning plants, the savinas in fuel cost would currently be more than $10,000,000 per month.
8.
Where are nuclear waste disposal areas located? How many are there?
The Department of Energy stores its high-level radioactive wastes at its facilities in Hanford, llashington, and Savannah River, South Carolina.
There are commercial burial grounds for low-level wastes at Hanford, d
i ilashington; Beatty, Nevada; and Barnwell, South Carolina. Two other commerical burial grounds at West Valley, New York, and Maxey Flats, Kentucky, are closed, and another one at Sheffield, Illinois, has reached its licensed capacity.
9.
What other types of fuel are made by nuclear power plants besides plutonium, which I believe is radioactive?
The only nuclear fuel other than plutonium that can be produced in nuclear reactors is uranium-233 made by irradiating thorium. This is being done in two advanced reactors, a gas-cooled reactor at Fort St. Vrain, Colorado, and a light-water breeder reactor at Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
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