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STATUS OF 60-DAY RESPONSE TO ORDERS MODIFYING LICENSES REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS 4.2,5.1, AND 7.1 OF THE NEAR-TERM TASK FORCE RELATED TO THE FUKUSHIMA DAI-ICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT

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Greetings,

The Waste Confidence Directorate received feedback that the webcast for the November 14 afternoon scoping meeting cut off at 4pm EST.  We were able to get the webcast running again after a short delay; however, if you missed the end of that meeting, you can view archived video of the meeting at http://video.nrc.gov/.  After you open the webpage, scroll down to the table of Archived Videos.  The afternoon scoping meeting is titled: Waste Confidence Scoping Meeting for the Environmental Impact Statement (Part 1).  The evening meeting (Part 2) is also available for viewing.

Transcripts for the November 14 meetings are now available in ADAMS:

Afternoon meeting transcript (ADAMS Accession No. ML12331A347): http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber='ML12331A347

Evening meeting transcript (ADAMS Accession No. ML12331A353): http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber='ML12331A353

If you missed the November 14 meetings, please join us for our December 5 (1pm-4pm EST) and December 6 (9pm-12am EST) webinars.  The information presented and format of the webinars will be the same as the November meetings.  The NRC staff will start each webinar with a short presentation (view the slides here), and then we’ll open the phone lines for your questions and comments.  The webinars will be identical, and both will be transcribed so any comments presented over the phone will be included in the Waste Confidence docket.

To register for the December 5 or 6 webinars, please see our meeting notice (ADAMS Accession No. ML12326A911):  http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1232/ML12326A911.pdf
You can also call Ms. TR Rowe at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 492-3133 or Ms. Susan Wittick, ext. 492-3187 if you have questions about the webinars.

And finally, we have updated our Waste Confidence website with some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):  http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/faq.html

Sincerely,
 
Staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Waste Confidence Directorate

Twenty years ago today, Don Prevatte and I submitted a report under 10 CFR Part 21 to the NRC regarding a substantial safety hazard at nearly three dozen nuclear power plants.

Twenty years later, that substantial safety hazard still afflicts nearly three dozen nuclear power plants (slightly less now, because the Unit 1 reactor at the Millstone nuclear power plant permanently shut down in the interim).

How?

Why?

Who didn't do what?

The following blog post highlights, or lowlights, the case along with links to key documents along this safety cul-de-sac:

http://allthingsnuclear.org/20-years-of-nrc-inaction-and-counting/

Some of the stuff (like the NRC not realizing every other page was missing or falling asleep during our presentation on the subject) sounds made up. It wasn't. It was NRC inaction. (Nice if that someday became three words instead of two and it became easier to distinguish NRC's managers from store mannequins).

Will this substantial safety hazard remain unresolved twenty years from now?

Time will tell.

One would hope that a federal agency professing to give a hoot about nuclear safety might just be able to resolve a substantial safety hazard within forty years.
 
Thanks,
Dave Lochbaum
UCS

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING 2011 STEAM GENERATOR TUBE INSPECTION REPORT (TAC NO. ME8735)

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Hello:

Attached please find Pilgrim Watch Comment Regarding Additional Requirements For Containment Venting Systems For BWRs With Mark I And Mark II Containments In Support Of Filters And Rupture Discs prepared for the NRC Commissioners that will vote on whether or not to require filters and rupture discs on vents used to relieve pressure from the containment in a severe accident.

In a severe accident the amount of radioactivity released offsite from an unfiltered vent would be very large and damaging. It makes no sense not to add a filter to protect our families and property from contamination. Filtered systems are available, tested and in use today - for example  in Sweden, Germany, France, Switzerland and will be installed in Slovenia and Japan that learned the hard way the danger of not requiring filters and rupture discs before the accident.

Rupture discs are necessary so that neither water nor electrical supply is needed and operator intervention is not necessary to actuate the venting system to save containment in a pressure buildup.

Lessons learned from Fukushima showed the importance of requiring reactors designed like Mark I & II’s in the U.S. to install filtered DTV’s in order to:

     ·  Protect public health in the event that it is necessary to release.
     ·  Assure operators follow orders to open the vent. As in Japan, properly trained operators here are likely to decide not to open the DTV when they should because they fear the effects offsite of significant unfiltered releases.

As part of the Fukushima Lessons Learned Task Force, NRC Staff assigned to study whether to recommended filtering, did do (November 2012). It only made sense when considering that during normal operations and design based accidents gaseous releases are filtered but they are not filtered during severe accidents when the releases offsite will be the greatest.

Please consider contacting the NRC Commissioners in support of the attached comments ASAP; and also alert your members and elected officials to do the same.  I attached a word version for your convenience.

Vents affect all Mark I and Mark II BWRS that includes: Mark I BWR Reactors: Browns Ferry 1, 2 & 3 (AL); Brunswick 1 & 2 (NC); Cooper 1 (NE) Dresden 2 & 3 (Il); Duane Arnold 1 (IA);  Fermi 2 (MI);  Fitzpatrick 1 (NY);    Hatch 1 & 2 (GA); Hope Creek 1 (NJ); Monticello 1 (MN); Nine Mile Point 1 (NY);  Oyster Creek 1 (NJ);   Peach Bottom 2 & 3 (PA) ; Pilgrim 1 (MA); Quad Cities 1 & 2 (IL); Vermont Yankee 1 (VT). Mark II BWR Reactors: Columbia (WA); LaSalle, 1&2 (IL); Limerick 1 &2 (PA); Nine Mile (NY); Susquehanna, 1&2(PA)

Thank-you !

Mary Lampert

Pilgrim Watch, Director

148 Washington Street Duxbury, MA 02332

SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 _ NRC BASELINE SECURITY INSPECTION REPORT O5OOO387/201 2405 AND 05000388/2012405

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Dear Stakeholder:

On November 1, 2012, the PA PUC issued a Secretarial Letter granting EDCs the ability to file their Act 129 Phase II EE&C Plan any time between November 1st and November 15th. This extension was granted in recognition of the need for EDC personnel to focus on storm response duties due to Hurricane Sandy.

PPL Electric Utilities would like you to know that we filed our Act 129 Phase II Plan on November 15th. The Phase II Plan is available for your review on our website by clicking here.

On behalf of PPL Electric Utilities, I’d like to thank you for your participation in our stakeholder meetings, as well as the input and ideas you shared with us during the plan development process.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mary Thompson Grassi at methompsongrassi@pplweb.com
Thank you.
 
Tom Stathos
Director, Customer Programs and Services

From Newsvine:

The North Pacific - Kuroshio Current flows from 40 to 120 kilometer each day over a distance separating Japan from California of just under 9,000 kilometer. Radioactive sea water began to contaminate the Pacific from California to Alaska in March 2012.

This carries sea water from Japan to the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Don't think you won't be affected if you don't live near the Pacific. 80% of seafood is imported to the US.

Read Article

To the Act 129 Email Distribution Group,
 
With the abundance of reports and plans coming into the Commission all at once, I wanted to send out an email clarifying how the utilities will be filing documents related to Act 129 EE&C.

Phase I Quarterly and Annual Reports: These should be filed under the EDCs’ respective M-2009-####### docket numbers.

Phase II EE&C Plans: The Commission’s Secretary’s Bureau will be assigning these new M-2012-####### docket numbers.  This will help delineate between Phase I and Phase II filings and prevent dockets from getting overburdened with documents.

Phase II Quarterly and Annual Reports: These will be filed under the EDCs’ new M-2012-####### docket numbers.

As always, the Commission will try to post these documents within the Act 129 pages of its website.  We always recommend using the Search for Public Documents tool to find documents that may not be on the 129 pages.  Additionally, the EDCs are to post all EE&C plans, as well as their quarterly and annual reports, on their websites.  We have links to their websites on the Act 129 Reporting page of our website.

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Please pass this on to anyone I may have missed.

Thanks!
Megan
 
Megan G. Good
PA Public Utility Commission
Bureau of Technical Utility Services
Policy & Planning

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING 30-DAY REPORT FOR EMERGENCY CORE COOLING SYSTEM MODEL CHANGES PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR 50.46 (TAC NO. ME8237)

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