ML20199K492
| ML20199K492 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Davis Besse  |
| Issue date: | 11/19/1997 |
| From: | Shirley Ann Jackson, The Chairman NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Kaptur M HOUSE OF REP. |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20199K496 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9712010139 | |
| Download: ML20199K492 (2) | |
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g November 19.-1997 The Honorable Marcy Kaptur United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515-3509 Dear Congresswoman Kaptur.
I am responding to your letter of September 12,1997, transml+ ting a letter dated July 31, 1997, from one of your constituents expressiilg a concem regarding the meteorological information program at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power plant. He had been employed as the onsite meteorologht, performing reviews of meteorological monitoring system data on a daily basis, and interfacing with contractors performing system calibrations. As he indicated, it is our understanding that the individual and seven others were laid off as a part of an ongoing downsizing effort by the utility.
L The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has had several telphone contacts with your constituent between July and October 1997. Your constituent's concem was that t
he had personally verified, on a daily basis, that the environmental monitoring system was ft.nctioning properly, and this would not be done in his absence. While your constituent was sware his functions were assigned to another individual, an Instrumentation and Control -
Technician, he was concemed that the duties were to be ancillary functions, and the assigned individua; would not be a trained meteorologist. The NRC staff performed an independent review of his concems, and concluded that this reduction in staff would not __
affect the licensee's ability to meet regulatory requirements or provide an adequate level of sr.fsty.
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The Davis-Besse Emergency Plan requires system calibrations every sir mo1ths and c daily system function check. Routine maintenarce and calibration of the meteorological 1l measurement system are accomplished under the licensee's preventive maintenance (p
- programs and are inspected by the NRC staff on a periodic basis. During the last inspaction of the system at Davis-Besse by an NRC meteorologist, no concems were identified, and system reliability was approximately 97 percent, which is an acceptable level.- During the NRC staff's recent conversa' ions with your constituent, they understood that the system reliability had continued sit apprcximately the same level.
While we appreciate the concem that the meteoroingical monitoring system will not receive the same degree of oversight it received during your constituent's employment, we believe ggggggg Ws 0
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7 the current program meets both our requirsments and comrnit.nents made by tne utility. We do not believe that the elimination of this position poses a threat to the plant or tlee surrounding population.
If I or the NRC staff may be of any further assistance in this matter, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely, Shirley hnn Jackson 4
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