ML20063H044

Response to Secretary Stating That Testimony from Intervenor Witnesses Would Not Be Useful in Revising Current Emergency Plans.Testimony Essential to Correct Major Deficiencies Noted by Fema.Svc List Encl

ML20063H044
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	08/30/1982
From:	Freehand J, Posner P PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT
To:
References
ISSUANCES-SP, NUDOCS 8209010294
Download: ML20063H044 (7)

Text

.f UNITED STATES OF AMERICA l p-NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION  !

DOCKETED USNRC

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Yn the Matter of -

) '82 M y g CONSOLIDATED EDISON COMPANY OF )

NEW YORK (INDIAN POINT, UNIT 2) ) 0FFICE OF SECRETARY

) Doc {gEg C 2 8 POWER AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF ) 50-286-3P NEW YORK (INDIAN POINT, UNIT 3) )

August 30, 1982 PARENTS CONbERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT RESPONSE TO NRC SECRETARY CHILK'S LETTER OF AUGUST 23, 1982 PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN EOINT received a copy of your letter of August 23, and offers the following commentis in addition to nrguments made by attorneys for UCS/NYPIRG, with which we concur.

- I. THE TESTIMONY PRESENTED BY PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT IS ESSENTIAL TO CORRECT MAJOR DEFICIENCIES NOTED BY THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

PARENTS cannot agree with the opinion stated in your letter of August 23, "that to hear testimony regarding what is likely to be a rapidly changing situation would be wasteful of the time and the resources of the Board and the parties. . ."

Far from wasting time and resources , testimony from in-tervenor witnesses would be most useful in revising the current emergency plans. One of FEMAts major concerns in its " Interim Findingd"* is Planning Standard J - Protective Response.(page 18). The plans are "significantly deficient" because " authority and capabilities for

'" Interim Findings on the Adequacy of Radiological Emergency Response Preparation of State and Local Governments at the Indian Point Nuclear Power Station," July 30, 1982. All page numbers refer to this document.

l 8209010294 820830 PDR ADOCK 0S000247 0

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ob'taining necessary information is not clearly defined. . ." Nancy Elliott, Supervisor of the' Town of Yorktown, and John Iurato, Assis-tant principal of Croton-Harmon High School, are two of PARENTS' witnesses also concerned by the deficiency in this planning standard.

These witnesses can inform the planners of the specific information they will need to fulfill their responsibilities. Many lives will depend on the confidence that they have in the source of that information.

Another reason that Planning Standard J is seriously deficient is that the "means for notifying all segments of the transient and resident population are not adequately described. . ."

As Richard Altschuler mentioned in his pre-filed' testimony, no real attempt was made to identify the target populations.

• Judy Kesselman, Co-ordinator of Suburban Schools , Tiorati, Harrison State Park, and Ronnie and Paul Schwartz, a teacher and the director at Camp Rainbow in Croton-on-Hudson, are people who deal daily with transient populations. They would have information as to how their client populations can best be notified.

The media has not been adequately preapared to notify the affected population. Beth Waterfall, Betty Ramey, and Professor Donald Smith can advise planners how best to guide media represent-atives.Hea,ing r the testimony of Luis del Pilar, Affirmative Action Co-ordinator, Rockland County, will help in notifying the Spanish-speaking community. Clifford and Nancy Rowley are deaf parents active as advocates for the deaf. Their expertise .

is essential to making plans for noti.fying the deaf population, t

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" Evacuation of non-institutionalized mobility-impaired persons is not addressed."' Handicapped people must be involved in planning for their own emergency response. Evan Litty and Hattie Coffee, wheelchair-bound witnesses for PARENTS, can assess the viability of the plans.

" Commitments from public 'and private bus operators are not available." Transport Workers Union leader Sonny Hall, indepen-dent contractors Seth Corwin and Tom Turner, school bus driver Fern Narod-Shiek, and Yorktown Central Schools Transportation Officer Richard Alexander, are only representative of the hundreds of bus personnel who should be consulted in plan revisions.

II. TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES FOR PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT

- INDIAN POINT WILL SHOW MAJOR DEFICIENCIES IN PLANNING STANDARDS THAT FEMA CONSIDERED TO BE MINOR.

While FEMA noted deficiencies in 14 out of 15 planning If the only standards, only five were ranked as "significant."

criteria for successful planning is the five significant deficiencies contained in the FEMA " Interim Findings ," flaws noted by our wit-nesses will not be corrected.

Planning Standard A, Assignment of Responsibility: "Re-visions of the State REPP submitted to the RAC still contain a con-flict in primary organizational responsibility for transportation."

(page 8) Planning to date shows a lack of understanding of the func-tioning of county departments of transportatinn and school di[) strict bus arrangements. The government has no direct authority over bus drivers, as witness Cleland S. Conklin, Superintendent of Building, Grounds and Transportation in the South Orange School District ela-b orat es .

Planning Standard C - Emergency Response Support and Resources: " Agreement letters from support organizations in state and county plans are missing." (page 9) PARENTS is concerned that perfunctory assurances from supervisors are the goal of current revisions rather than a demonstrated commitment from the emergency workers themselves. Planners should' hear from ambulance corps vol-unteers such as Earle Ellefson, Edward Connelly, and Albert Johnson, as well as fire-fighters such as Stanley Brooker.

Our experience with the planning effort to date is that unsubstantiated assurances have been given. The emergency planning booklet, " Indian Point , Emergency Planning, and You, " is a case in point. A reader would conclude that school reception centers are fully prepared to welcome evacuees but Anthony J. Napoli, Principal

1. of Port Chester High School, will testify that he has been inade-quately informed.

Planning Standard F - Emergency Communications: "Over- ,

all, deficiencies in this planning standard were considered minor."

(page 12) PARENTS cannot agree with this assessment:

Richard Wishnie, Supervisor, Town of Ossining Richard Herbek, Village Mangger, Croton-on-Hudson Ronald Goldfarb, Chief of Police, Village of Ossining Anita Curran, Commissioner, Westchester County Department of Health Rbth Northrup, Rockland County Department of Social Services Chief Kralik, Rockland County Sheriff's Department Leon Bock, Superintendant, Lakeland Central School District are only a few of the responsible officials who have submitted testi -

mony emphasizing the practical problems communication will pose in a radiological emergency.

No revisions will be adequate while these officials remain unable to communicate with their emergency workers without relying on the telephone.

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At a meeting on April 19, 1982 with licensees and county officials, local Bell Telephone representatives admitted the possi-bility that "any public orders to evacuate or to prepare for evacu-ation would probably result in a traffic overload on central offices 4

within the Emergency Planning Zone."

III. TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES FOR PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT WILL SHOW MAJOR DEFICIENCIES IN PLANNING PROCEDURES NOT ADDRESSED BY FEMA.

Some of PARENTS' strongest criticisms of the plans will not be subject b revision because they were not noted as significant deficiencies by FEMA and are not covered by NRC/ FEMA guidelines.

One prime example is the issue of evacuation of school chil-dren. The plan requires students to be evacuated 'oy the school ad-ministration while parents proceed in a different direction. Dr.

Barry Brazelton points out in his pre-filed testimony that this pro-vision contradicts our strongest parental instinct, to be with and to care for our children in danger.

l Kathy Pierpont, Karen Ford, Sheilah Rechtschaffer, and Daniela Misch are among the many parents willing to testify that they will not obey this order.

That such a major flaw in the plans is not even consider &d in NRC guid& lines or FEMA planning standards shows a disturbing lack i of sensitivity to human behavior.

IV. CONCLUSION l

Any fact finding procedure which evaluates emergency plan-

' ning merely according to paper guidelines is grossly inadequate to correct the difficulties of a timely evacuation. If area residents and responsible workers are involved in the planning process the l

public would have a greater commitment to makips the plans work. If the plans can be improved, these witnesses are among the people who can do it. NOW is the time for the public to communicate their know-ledge and expertise: to the ASLB, to the NRC, to FEMA, and to each other. If the standard by which the public will judge this plan is not recognized and met , confidence in official government infor-mation and orders will be destroyed.

Therefore, PARENTS feels that our witnesses should be heard without any more delay. We are concerned that the NRC may have grate-ly undermined the authority and credibility of the ASLB by intruding into this proceeding. In the future the licensees can be expected to bypass the ASLB by appealing directly to the Commission on any adverse ruling.

Furthermore, we consider an informal letter from Mr.

3amuel J. Chilk, which did not have the full consideration of all the commissioners and which gave no encouragement. for intervenor comment, to be highly questionable. If this letter is allowed to stand, it will suggest that the Commission is more concerned about its responsibility and potential liability to the licensees than to the public.

Respectful Submitted August 30, 19 82 Pat Posner

[ I b Service list attached i __ flJJLV1K)(

J lianna Freehand v '

PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT INDIAN POINT

i' SEMCE LIs7 % !o Atcmic Saf ety and Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory C:x:mrission Ma. Janice Meere '82 AGO 31 Accanic Plbd"'** '

Saf ety and Licensing Appeal Cffice of Executive Legal Director Board Nuticar Regulatory Casa OFFICE OF SECRETA.S. Nuclear Regulatory Ccumnission ectington, D.C. 20555 00CKETING & SERV 8Aahington, D.C. 20555 BRANCH Docketing and Service Section Stanley 3. Klimberg Office of the Sec-" = y G;naral Counsel U.S. Nuclear Regulatcry r*==4 "4 =

N w York State Washingt=n, D.C. 20555 Energy Office 2 R:ckefeller State Plaza Louis J. Carter, Esq., Chairman Jeffrey M. Blum, Esq.

Albany, NY 12223 Administrative Judge New York University Law School Atemic Safety and Licensing Board 423 vanderbilt Hall 7300 City Line Avenue 40 Washington Square South 0; ald Davideff Philadelphia, PA 19151-2291 New York, NY 10012 Dir:ctor, REPG Zapire State Plaza Dr. Cscar H. Paris Zipporah S. Fleisher Tow;r 31dg Ra 1750 Administrative Judge West Branch C:nservation Albany, NY 12237 Atomic Saf ety and Licensing Board Association U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Ccanission 443 Luena Vista Road Washington, D.C. 20555 New City, NY 10956 N:w York City Council c/o National Energency Mr. Frederick J. Shon ,

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,,.,ccr Civil Liberties Committee Administrative Judge Rockland Citi: ens for Safe Inergy 173 Fifth Ave Suite 712 Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 300 New He=pstead acad N:w York City 1C010 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Ccr=sission ATTN: Craig Kaplan Washingtca, D.C. 20555 New City, NY 10956 Brent L. Brandenburg, Esq. Charles A. Scheiner ,

Kuthanne Miller, Esq.

L = Ulerk. AS & L3 Assistant General Counsel Co-Chairperson U.S. N.R.C. Consolidated Edison Ccmpany of Westchester People's Action New York, Inc. Coalition, :ne.

Wochington, D.C. 20555 4 Irving Place P.O. Box 488 New York, NY 10003 White Plains, NY 10602 Charlos J. Maikish, Esq.

Litigation Division Lorna Sal: man Paul F. Colaru?li, Esq. Mid-Atlantic Representative Tho Port Authority of Joseph w. Levin, Jr., Esq.

N:w York and New Jersey Friends of the Earth, Inc.

Pamela S. Horowitz, Esq. 208 West 13th Street Ons-World Trade Center Charles Morgan, Jr., Esq. New York, NY 10011 New York, NY 10048 l

Morgan Associates, Chartered l Ez:n I. Bialik, Esq. 1899 L Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036 Eric Thorsen, Esq.

I Sttwo Leipsis, Esq. County Attorney, C:unty of l

Environmental Prctection Bureau Rockland Charles M. Pratt, c sq. 11 New Hempstead Road New York State Attorney Scmas R. Frey, Esq.

G ncr:1's office. New City, NY 10956 Power Authority of the State Two World Trade Centen of New York New York, NY 10047 Geoffrey Cobb Ryan 10 Colu= bus Circle Conservation Coc::mittee New York, NY 10019 Chairman, Director Alfr:d B. Del Bello W3ctch3 ster County Executive New York City Audubcn Society David H. Pikus, ,sq.

_ 71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1828 W:stchsster County R,tenard F. w_ aja, ssq.

148 M utin Avenue New York, NY 10010 Whito Plains, NY 10601 330 Madisen Avenue New Terk, NY 10017 Creater New Ycrk Council en Andrew S. Roff e, Esq. In*I9Y New York State Assembly Ellyn R. Weiss, Esq. c/o Dean R. Corren, Director Albany, NY 12248 William S. Jordan, :::, Esq. New York University Harmon & Weiss 26 Stuyvesant Stree t Renoo Swartz, Esq. 1725 : Street, N.W., Suite 506 New York, NY 10003 Batcin, Hays, Sklar & Herzberg Washington D.C. 20006 Attorn0ys for Metropolitan Honorable Richar., . 3redsky Transporation Authority Joan Holt, Project Director Member of the County Legislature

, 200 Park Avenue Indian Point Project Westchester w,ounty i New Ycrk, NY 10166 New York Public Interes: County Cf fice Building Research Creup White Plains, NY 1060.

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! Honorable Ruth Messinger 9 etc.:rav Stree. /

Member of the Council of the New Ycrk, NY 10 0 07 Mayor George 7. Segany City cf New Yczk village of Buchanan District 34 Ks. Amanda Petterfield, Esq. 236 Tate Avenue City Ecli P.O. Scx 384 Suchanan, NY 10511 New York, NY 10007 Village Statica New Ycrk, NY 10014 [