Saturday, November 23, 2013
Race for the Fallen 5K; NRC docs for Browns Ferry 11/16 - 11/23/13
Race for the Fallen 5K - Florence, AL - 11/23/13 - 7 PM
- ML13312A884 - Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Branch Chief Reassignment for Plant Licensing Branch II-2.
- ML13318A082 - IR 05000259-13-004, 05000260-13-004, & 05000296-13-004, July 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013, Browns Ferry, Integrated Inspection Report and Exercise of Enforcement Discretion.
- ML13298A702 - Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - RAI Regarding LAR to Request Adopt National Fire Protection Association Standard 805 Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Generating Plants (TAC Nos. MF1185 - MF1187).
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Just one example of misunderstanding in the BEST/MATRR "report"
The BEST/MATRR report
In Section II. HEALTH HAZARDS POSED BY REACTOR MELTDOWNS - B. Estimates of Casualties (p. 15 of the pdf file), the authors cite casualty estimates based on a Sandia National Laboratories report entitled Technical Guidance for Siting Criteria Development/ (aka CRAC-2). A group named Riverkeeper tried to use the CRAC-2 report as a partial justification to impede the operation of the Indian Point nuclear plant via a 10 CFR 2.206 petition. The following is what Samuel J. Collins (the former Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation of the NRC from 1997 to 2003) had to say in denying the Riverkeeper petition (pages 25-26 of the pdf and pages 12-13 of the decision):
"The Petitioners refer to the 1982 Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) Report, “Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences” (CRAC-2 Report), and cite this report as a basis for concern that a terrorist attack could result in a massive release of radioactive materials. The reactor siting studies in the CRAC-2 Report were performed as part of research on the sensitivity of various plant siting parameters. The studies used generic postulated releases of radioactivity from a spectrum of severe (core melt) accidents, independent of the probabilities of the event occurring or the impact of mitigation mechanisms. The studies were never intended to be realistic assessments of accident consequences. The estimated deaths and injuries resulted from assuming the most adverse condition for each parameter in the analytical code. In the cited studies, the number of resulting deaths and injuries also reflected the assumption that no protective actions were taken for the first 24 hours. The studies did not, and were never intended to, reflect reality or serve as a basis for emergency planning. The CRAC-2 Report analyses used more simplistic models than current technologies. The two basic conclusions from the SNL siting studies were that the mean estimated number of health effects from the assumed releases for all reactor sites varied by up to more than 4 orders of magnitude and that the financial costs of the releases were dominated by clean-up costs and replacement power costs. The SNL studies provided a useful measure to compare sites, not to analyze plant-specific accident consequences."
A more modern tool/study by the NRC is the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA).
In Section II. HEALTH HAZARDS POSED BY REACTOR MELTDOWNS - B. Estimates of Casualties (p. 15 of the pdf file), the authors cite casualty estimates based on a Sandia National Laboratories report entitled Technical Guidance for Siting Criteria Development/ (aka CRAC-2). A group named Riverkeeper tried to use the CRAC-2 report as a partial justification to impede the operation of the Indian Point nuclear plant via a 10 CFR 2.206 petition. The following is what Samuel J. Collins (the former Director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation of the NRC from 1997 to 2003) had to say in denying the Riverkeeper petition (pages 25-26 of the pdf and pages 12-13 of the decision):
"The Petitioners refer to the 1982 Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) Report, “Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences” (CRAC-2 Report), and cite this report as a basis for concern that a terrorist attack could result in a massive release of radioactive materials. The reactor siting studies in the CRAC-2 Report were performed as part of research on the sensitivity of various plant siting parameters. The studies used generic postulated releases of radioactivity from a spectrum of severe (core melt) accidents, independent of the probabilities of the event occurring or the impact of mitigation mechanisms. The studies were never intended to be realistic assessments of accident consequences. The estimated deaths and injuries resulted from assuming the most adverse condition for each parameter in the analytical code. In the cited studies, the number of resulting deaths and injuries also reflected the assumption that no protective actions were taken for the first 24 hours. The studies did not, and were never intended to, reflect reality or serve as a basis for emergency planning. The CRAC-2 Report analyses used more simplistic models than current technologies. The two basic conclusions from the SNL siting studies were that the mean estimated number of health effects from the assumed releases for all reactor sites varied by up to more than 4 orders of magnitude and that the financial costs of the releases were dominated by clean-up costs and replacement power costs. The SNL studies provided a useful measure to compare sites, not to analyze plant-specific accident consequences."
A more modern tool/study by the NRC is the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA).
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
WAFF is touting a report that talks about Browns Ferry and radiological hazards posed to North Alabama
They're supposed to do a report on Thursday. The commercials they are running almost make it sound like they have exclusive access to this piece. If I'm right about what they are talking about, they don't. The report was created by several anti-nuclear concerns in North Alabama (and elsewhere) and published by a small local publishing company. I have my own opinions regarding the report, but you can draw your own.
2013 Krispy Kreme Challenge results; NRC docs about Browns Ferry for 11/9/13 - 11/16/13; We Run Huntsville
- ML13309A747 - The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Nuclear Power Group Commercial Grade Dedication Recovery Project - October 2013 Status Report.
- ML082401219 - NRC Bulletin 96-003, "Potential Plugging of ECCS Strainers by Debris in BWRs."
- ML082490807 - NRC Bulletin 95-002, "Unexpected Clogging of RHR Pump Strainer While Operating in Suppression Pool Cooling Mode."
- ML13274A657 - Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Interim Staff Evaluations and Request for RAI Regarding the Overall Integrated Plan for Implementation of Order EA-12-051, Reliable Spent Fuel Pool Instrumentation (TAC NOS. MF0881, MF0882, and MF0883).
For a LOT of pictures from the Dizzy 50 and the 2013 Krispy Krreme Challenge, visit http://werunhuntsville.smugmug.com/Other-1/2013-Dizzy-50/i-B9dd89r! The individual responsible for the pictures does a great job and covers many Huntsville races. Here's me right before the finish line:
