ML19029A816

Letter Requests NRC to Consider Re Full Core Discharge Capability at Salem

ML19029A816
Person / Time
Site:	Salem
Issue date:	06/26/1979
From:	Onsdorff K State of NJ, Dept of the Public Advocate
To:	Kornblith L, John Lamb, Milhollin G Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
References
Download: ML19029A816 (4)

Text

DEPARTMENT OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE DIVISION OF PUBLlC INTEREST ADVOCACY STANLEY C. VAN NESS PU SLIC ADVOCATE Gary L. Milhollin, Esq.

Chairman, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 1815 Jefferson Street Madison, Wisconsin 53711 Dr. James c. Lamb, III Member, Atomic Safety and Licensin~ Board Panel 313 Woodhaven Road P.O. BOX 141 TRENTON. NEW JERSEY oss2:;

June 26, 1979 t/)l?/il Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Mr. Lester Kornblith, Jr.

Member, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel u.s. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.

20555 CARLS. BISGAIER DIRECTOR TEL. 609-292-1693 Re:

Salem One Reracking Application Docket No. 50-272 Gentlemen:

In their brief in opposition to the NRC staff's objection to Board Question Three, intervenors, Coleman, pointed out that they supported full disclosure of all relevant factors pertaining to the instant operating license amendment, induding the perceived prudence of maintaining full core discharge capability and the potential consequences of a Class 9 accident on the SFP.

We noted, however, that such a policy of full cons.ideration of all relevant factors must be applied consistently to be fair.

Thus, the Colemans requested that if the Board determined to exclude the core melt-dor.vn issue as being beyond the safety regulations applicable to licensing reviews, it do likewise to the interrogation of Mr. Liden relating to the safety consideration involving the full core discharge capability.

Should the Board determine to retain this latter testimony, it is respectfully requested that the NRC's public position on this issue, as reflected by the statements of Mr. John Kopeck be included in this hearing record.

As reported in the Salem Sun-beam, newspaper, Mr. Kopek was questioned by a reporter concerning what would have New Jersey Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

Gary L. Milhollin, Esq.

Dr. James C. Lamb, III Mr. Lester Kornblith, Jr.

Page 2 occurred when Public Service decided in May 1979 to remove the full Salem One core to inspect all its fuel assembly support straps for d~ge, _if the SFP had not been nearly empty.

(Copy of article May 18, 1979 attached as Exh. A)

Mr. Kopeck con~

firmed in a letter to me dated June 19, 1979 that the absence of full core discharge c:.*..

capability would not present a safety problem because cooled fuel in the pool could be moved to another reactor pool with available space or to the General Electric AFR Storage facility in Morris, Illinois.

(Copy of Kopeck letter of June 19, 1979 attached hereto as. Exh.B).

It is respectfully submitted that this public position by the NRC should be considered by the Board if it intends to give any consid.eration to the desirability of maintaining full core discharge capability at the Salem One Nuclear Generating Station.

Respectfully submitted,

~r"-1~ cu)dt~(

KEITH A. ONSDORFF

///

ASSISTANT DEPUTY PUBLIC--AiJ OCATE KAO/lme cc:

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Hy Ri>BERT KRAVITZ _51 1fwas no(~ d~i~. problem.<~-*,~:.";; -}f -'~

Sunbeam Slatr He said the a~mblies may hav~:-*.

AHTIFICIAL. ISLAND -

After shifted ouL of line during shipment a;,

1Jmpleting the removal of all l of the very small amounl ~ !Ute

• one-~~

rue~* assemblies from. theSalem I.. thousandth of an inch -

and that may:_-;

nuclear reaCtor; PubliC Servie9 Electric - : have caused scraping as the assemblies ;:

and (ias Co. officials have discovered<.. were either loaded or.unl0ad~ in. the,;:~

that* a total pf 29 assemblies are

• reactor.

• - *_._._ ;l damaged.

Lenehan said it was unlikely tha~ the:~~

• i:he damage has con~isted of scral*

.- damage "'.'as caused by metal fati~;;J thcs: nicks, and tom pieces.from the from pressure, because the meta!Jhat i; thi~m~tal edging. or straps, around the.

w_a~ _s_uir. ~tact was in, -~~len~.,~~

grids tnal hold the uranium fuel~rods

• d1tion~,,

--*'vf.

trigeliler.

• Neithef' the extent of the damage nor~

• ~1\\ccordin~ tB PSE&G spokesman. : the cause can be determined for s~ *.

,\\[t.hur Leneh~n. ~o of the assemblies

• _-*::,::_: <Coatiirued 00 page ~).. ~.,,, *

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lta\\'~ <;'raps With p1~es Of U to seve 1nche5.nissing.

e straps themselves.

hold the rods together.-:-_**-;-~~~*,.,.~-~~

<.1re ab*1Ul a sixteenth of an inch th~~k:~*

• The damage to the grid.straps was

• ~

The other 19 damaged assemblies,..

initially discovered last week whfu!

1 J.cne~an said, have. only minor scrat-

. workers at *the plant were removing ch~

assemblies during the reactor's first

• -!.cnehan

• said the utility is now r:.e.f.u.elilig.~

.. I

\\'.11r:.King on retrievini,. the.... torn-off

• ~ssemblies were scheduled to-fragments usingrelevision cameras ano

• be removed and placed in the spent fuel me1:han1CaT grasping devices.

• pool. but the utility decided to remove * ~

~ime or the fragments have been

• and inspect all of the.assemblies when fou!]d on the floor of the reactor vessel, ~-

the damage was found.

~:

hc:said, and others are being.looked for_,

.. The spesl fuel rac.lit at the plant was :1

!!_the canal tietwei:n the reactor and the.

• empty before the refueling began, so it*.

~-

• .;pent fuel PQQl.

had rOQm to hold the entire core Of fuel.. *

• -~

ror fragments lo be hf.**

from the reactor.

the reactor while il is o~ralln because**

. *: Jopn Kopeck, a spokesman for the iney cou get into t e pumps an 1n-.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ~id 1erfcre witn ~hn.

full~re "off-loading" capacity in spent*

.enc an said Westinghouse Electric ~-

fuei pools is not -a requirement for

• C:rr._**the* manu~rthe fuel nuclear plants, although it is considered u:;semhlie5. is analyzing the ca~ and "prudent to maintain."

. g~le.!!!....2!J.heaamage.

.... ~ *.. *

• He said ~hat if a ful! c:gre had to be off *

. The report is expedeoto b4! completed

-~oaded when lhet"e wa~ not enough room in *a week.

m the spent fuel pool, some of the cooled

• r.cnetia*n said there was a possibility..

fuel in the pool could be shiP_PE!d.... ~o lnai oo~ of the S200,000 fuei ~mblies

.. ~lr;;'n~i~~r pool or to a repository m

\\~ ould have ~ b4! re?.l~ced.,,s1nce 40 of_

. J:o'uel assemblies a..re very h<>L..and tne assemblies are~~

and were *.

highlv radioactive when they are first

• t being.* removed frilm * - The

• r~clor.,

removed from a reactor, but much of any~ay.

. their heat and most intense readiatioo

/.*

Lenehan also said *ther:e was a good

• decl_ines_ during t.be first six monµis of

~.'!

possibility that the* damage to ll!e 1. cooling m a spe~t fuel pool.

a~emblies was caused in handling, arid

)..Before the grid strap damage was * *;

. * ** *** / "

discovered, Salem I was scheduled to

( Coo°:11ued ~m page l)

. ~ \\: finish refueling and* go.back into.

however, until Westinghouse complet~.,

operation on July 1.

its report. Lenehan said.

Lenehan 5aid the date for going *back "We really can't speculate on the,. on line is now uneertain..

outcome with *any certainty until we *:;::..:....j, * -..:.;,_~.. *---~~-***-~:.......... ~.'~~~r-;:....~::.;.;i have the analysis," *he said.

Lenehan said one possibility being )_;

studied was* usin fuel a blies deliv Salem It if any of the Salem I assemblies n o be replaced the fuel for Salem II is on site, but.,..;u not be loaded into the reactor until the new plant r~ives its operating license, which is expeded this year.

Lenehan said there has been no*

damaae to the fu~ rods themS<!lves in:.

the Salem I assemblies, and no damag_e *..:

to the parts qf the grids that actually ;

Exh. A i

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C. 20555 Mr. Keith Onsdorff Department of Public Advocate 520 East State Trenton, NJ 08625

Dear Mr. Onsdorff:

June 19, 1979 In response to your request during our conversation yesterday, my comment was in connection with a hypothetical, eme_rgency situation that would require the movement of a full nuclear fuel core to a reactor site where a storage pool was empty or to the Morris, IL, storage facility.

An action of this sort would, of course, require a license amendment and would be a temporary transfer in that the uti 1 ity most certainly would want the fuel returned for use later an.

Sincerely, I..

11 Q_g_,~r~

./,.,-'!-

• Jahn Kopeck Public Affairs Officer Office of Public Affairs Exh. B

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