ML18031A237

Submits Summary of Areas of Concern Re Des.Requests Extension in Order to Continue Review & File More Detailed Comments

ML18031A237
Person / Time
Site:	Susquehanna
Issue date:	08/17/1979
From:	MANN D SUSQUEHANNA ALLIANCE, LEWISBURG, PA
To:	MILLER D Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 7908210311
Download: ML18031A237 (5)

Text

REGULRYINFORMATIONDISTRIBUTISYSTEM(RIDS)ACCESSIONNBR:7'70821031iDOC.DATE:79/08/17NOTARIZED:NOFACIL:-.squehannaSteamElectricStation>UnitiiPennsglva50-388~squehannaSteamElectricStation>Unit2iPennsglvaATH.NEAUTHORAFFILIATIONMANiD.SusquehannaAllianceRECIP.NAMERECIPIENTAFFILIATIONMILLER'.Divisionof.SiteSaFetg5EnvironmentalAnalysis

SUBJECT:

SubmitssummaryoFareasofconcernreDES.Requestsextensiontocontinuereview8:filemoredetailedcomments.DISTRIBUTIONCODE'0028COPIESRECEIVED:LTRQENCL0SIZE'ITLE:ENVIRON.COMMENTS.,DOCKET¹0500038705000388NOTES:so<o~~E.9sF58~Nc.morsz.IEuFr&nlddRAIRECIPIENTIDCODE/NAMEACTION:.05PMPdE~H18LAERR>MINTERNAL:'EGFIL.010CSTBNFTANL12ADSITETECH15EFLTTRTSYS19DIRDSEADSITEANALYCOPIESLTTRENC112'12111RECIPIENTIDCODE/NAME17BCEPD~~ADnvooRF02NRCPDR09ENVNSPECBR11TA/EDO14ACDENTANALYihRADASMTBRADENVIRONTECH.OELDCQPIESLTTRENCLEXTERNAL:03LPDR120NATLLABg/t/L504NSICACRSLWCwCcuJW~~8CQQ'j~~74(dIgI5ilgwu/0TOTALNUMBEROFCOPIESREQUIRED:LTTR28'NCL DanielMullerDirector,DivisionofSiteSafetyandEnvironmentalAnalysisOfficeofNuclearReactorRegulationUSNuclearRegulatoryCommissionWashington,D.C.20555SusquehannaAlliancePOBox249Lewisburg,Pa17837August17,1979

DearMrMuller,

Inalettertoyou,datedAugust7,IrequestedanextensionofthepubliccommentperiodonbehalfoftheSusquehannaAlliance,fortheDraftEnvironmentalStatementrelatedtotheoperationofSusquehannaSteamElectricStations1and2(DocketNos50-387and50-388).IhadindicatedinthatletterthattheSusquehannaAlliancewasundertakingareviewofthestatementandfeltthatanextensionshouldbegrantedtoallowtimeforinclusionofdatanowbeingcollectedonthecausesandeffectsoftheaccidentatThreeMileIsland.Specifically,wefeltthatthepexiodshouldbeextendedbeyondOctober25,1979atwhichtimethePresidentsCommissionisexpectedtoissuetheirfinalreport.Thisextensionwouldalsoallowtimeforwiderpubliccommentonthestatement.Weknowofmanycitizenswhoonlylearnedoftheavailabilityofthedocumentduringthepastcoupleweeksandhavenothadsufficienttimetoobtainacopyandreviewit.InaconverstiononAugust16withMrLeech,ProjectManager,Ilearnedthatmyletterhadnotyetbeenreceivedandthatitwasunlikelythatadecisionwouldbemadeontheextensionuntilaftertheinitialdeadline,August21,hadpassed.IamthereforesubmittingtoyouasummaryoftheareasofconcernthattheSusquehannaAlliancehasregardingtheDraftEnvironmentalStatement.Weanticipatethatyourofficewillgranttherequestedextensionandwewill,duringthattime,continueourreviewandfilemoredetailedexplanationsofourconcerns.Here,then,areourinitialcomments:1)Severalcommentsinthestatementwithregardtothepreservationofculturalresourcescauseconcern.Thestaffindicatesthattherehavebeenindicationsthat.culturalresourcesmayexistontheplantsiteandonassociatedPPSLpropertiesandthatiftheyexisttheymightqualifyforinclusionintheNationalRegister.Nosystematicsurveyhasbeenundertakentodetermineifsuchsitesexistyetthestaffseemstofeelstronglyenoughaboutthepossibleexistenceofsuchsitestoincludeawarningintheirsummarythatsuchsitescouldbedamagedifnopreventativemeasuresaretaken.Yetthestaffdoesnotrequireaculturalresourcesurveybeundertakentodeterminewhatsitesmayexistandwillbe(orhavealreacLy,Peen)damagedbytheconstructionoftheplantand44~i~~lfgoalQ~l~gQ~,(gljj(l(,,',I',',lp1'~}pg0Q08' associatedprojects.Thestaffspecificallymentionstherecrea-tionalareaneartheriver.Itisourunderstandingthattheapplicanthasrecentlybegun..constructiontherewithoutaculturalresourcesurveyhavingbeencompleted.GuidelinesbasedontheNationalEnvironmentalPolicyActandestablishedthroughtheCouncilonEnvironmentalQualityandtheAdvisoryCouncilonHistoricalPreservationrequirenotonlytheprotectionofpropertieslistedintheNationalRegisterbutalsothoseeligible.Furthermore,ifnosystematicsurveyoftheareahasbeencompleted,itmustbeinitiatedandthedatasubmittedtotheOfficeofArchaelogyandHistoricPreservationforadeterminationofeligibility.Wefeeltheseactionsshouldbeundertakenimmediately.2)Thediscussionoftheeffects..oftheuraniumfuelcycleappearstobeincomplete.Table4.14doesnotlistanyvalueforthe",effectofRadon222.ThestaffnotestheabsenceofthisfigureandthenproceedstodeveloptheirowncriteriaforevaluatingtheeffectofRadon.What,theyfailtomentionisthatthisnumberwasvacatedfromthetableastheresultofevidenceproducedduringthehearingsforthelicensingofThreeMileIslandUnitIIinwhichDrChaunceyKepford,anintervenor,indicatedthat.thevaluepreviouslyusedwasinerrorbyanorderofmagnitudeofwellover100,000.Hiscalculationswerebasedonthepreviousnumberusedbut.extendedoverthefullperiodduringwhichRadonwouldbeemittedtotheatmosphere.Thistopicisstillunderconsiderationbythecommissionandtheirfinalreportshouldbeincludedintheenvironmentalstatement.Thestaffdrawstheconclusionthat,dispitetheextremetoxicityofhighlevelwastes,therewill.benoenvironmentalimpactrelatedtotheirstorageinaFederalrepository.Thisdoesnottakeintoaccountthecurrentcontroversyoverwhetherornota100%saferepositorycanbefound(ordeveloped).Therearereportsfromseveralgovernmentagenciesindicatingthatnodemonstrablysafemethodexistsofdisposingofthesewastes.ThedamagedonetotheenvironmentbyleaksattheHanfordlowleveldisposalsiteandthereprocessingplantatWestValleyshouldbesufficienttoraisesuspicionsaboutthefeasibilityofdevelopingsucharepository.3)InthediscussionofthepotentialradiologicaleffectsofaccidentsattheplantsitethereisonlyafootnoteabouttheaccidentatThreeMileIslandindicating"thesecalculationsdonottakeintoconsiderationtheexperiencegained...".Therearethosethatcontendthattheaccidentwasinfactaclassnineaccident.Toour.knowledgenofinalrulinghasbeenissuedonthis.Sincethe'improbable"seriesofeventsdidhappenatThreeMileIsland,theeffectsofother"improbabl~eaccidentsshouldbeconsidered.Thefulleffectsofthisaccidentshouldbestudiedandincludedinanyenvironmentalimpactaccidentissuedinrelationtotheoperation(orconstruction)ofanuclearplant.

4)The.reportdoesnotfairlyrepresentthegrowingcontroversyovertheeffectsoflowlevelradiation.Timeaftertimetheassumptionismadethataslongastheradiationcontributedtotheenvironmentissufficientlylowerthannormalbackgroundlevelsorisbelowexistingfederalstandards,thatthehealtheffectswillbeminimal.Thisdoesnottakeintoaccountthegrowingfeelingamongthescientificcommunitythatthereisnotaradiationlevelbelowwhichtherearenoilleffects.Mentionshouldbemadeofthereportswhichindicatethatcontinuedexposuretoevenlowlevelsofradiationcanbedamagingandthosethatproposethatinlightofrecentstudies,federalstandardsbelowered.n5)Thereportdoesnotfairlytreatthepossibilityoftheuse'fananthracitefiredplantasanalternative.TheuseofsuchaplantinthemidstofPennsylvania'santhracitefieldscouldhaveatremendousbeneficialimpactonthearea.Theuseofmoderntechnologytominetheanthraciteintheareawouldofferopportunitiesfortherevitilizationofaneconomicallydepressedarea,reclamationoflandspreviouslysurfaceminedandimprovementofthewaterquality.Theobviousbenefitsoflowertaxesandmorejobsshouldbeweighed.Inaddition,thenumbersusedtoillustratethecostofoperatingacoalfiredplantandtheenvironmentalimpactofitsoperationshouldbebasedupontheoperationofananthracitefiredplant.Thereportdoesindicatethatattheoperatinglicensestage,considerationsofalternativesinvolvesonlythedecisionastowhethertheplanshouldoperateornot.However,ascanbeseenfromtheprojectedreservemarginsshownintables7.4and7.5,theoperationoftheSusquehannastationasanuclearplantwillprecludetheneedforananthracitefacilityformanyyearstocomeandwillthereforeprecludethepossibilityoftheareareceivingthebenefitsthatwouldbeassociatedwithsuchaplant.Afulldiscussionofthisalternativeshouldbeincluded.6)Thebenefit-costanalysisshould,ofcourse,beaffectedbyalltheabovecomments.Inadditionitisinterestingtonotetheinclusionofadecommissioningcostof59milliondollars.Isthisanestimatebasedonarealisticplanfordecommissioning?Inlightoftheestimated$400millionto"cleanup"ThreeMileIslandUnitII,itseemsunrealistictoexpect,tobeabletodecommissiontwounitsforthestatedprice.Anoutlineoftheexpectedmethodofdecommissioningshouldbeincluded.Thebenefit,-cost.analysisdoesnotincludeanyinformationwithregardsto,thepsychologicaleffectsontheresidentsoftheareaiftheplantisallowedtooperate.Surveysatabusinesslocatedneartheplantshowedthat50%oftheemployeeswouldquittheirjobsiftheplantwasallowedtooperate.Manyarearesidentshavealreadybeguntomakeplanstoleavethearea.Ananalysisoftheseeffectsshouldbeincluded.

Thebenefit-costanalysisalsoassumesthattheproductionof2100MWofelectricalenergyisenoughtooffsettheaccumulatedcosts.Thisassumesthattheadditionalcapacityisneeded.However,tables7.4and7.5seemtoindicatethat.withouttheoperationoftheplanttherewouldstillbesufficientreservestomeetboththerequirementsoftheinterchangeagreementandtherecommendationsoftheFederalEconomicRegulatoryCommission.Therefore,thebenefitoftheadditionalpowerseemsquestionable.7)IntheJuly23FederalRegistertherewasanoticethatlistedtheNuclearRegulatoryCommissionasoneofthoseagenciesthathadnotpublishedproposedprocedurestobringtheminalignmentwiththenewNationalEnvironmentalPolicyActregulationsadoptedbytheCouncilonEnvironmentalQualityandeffectiveJuly30,1979.Itisourassumption,then,thatthisdraftoftheenvironmentalstatementmaynotfollowthesenewregulationsandwefeelthecommissionshouldpublishtheirproposedproceduresandhavethemapprovedpriortoreleasingthefinalversionofthisreport.Aswestatedabove,wearegoingtocontinueresearchonthesetopics.Withtheanticipatedextensiontothereviewperiodandthehelpofvariouslocalagencieswehopetomorecompletelyevaluatethedraftenvironmentalstatement.Inthewakeofthiscountry'worstnuclearaccidentitis,wefeel,advantageoustoprovideasthoroughananalysisaspossibleofthepotentialeffectstheoperationofthisplantcouldhaveontheenvironment.DavidMannforTheSusquehannaAlliance