Radiation Protection and Release Prevention

Radiation Protection & Release Prevention Program
Monthly Highlights
December 2006

If you would like a hard copy of the full monthly report, including appendices, please E-mail Betty Sigafoos.

On December 20, 2006, Governor Jon Corzine, along with Department of Labor Commissioner David Socolow, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson, Board of Public Utilities (BPU) President Jeanne Fox and State Homeland Security Director Richard Canas, met with AmerGen officials and toured Oyster Creek. Other state personnel in attendance included Director Jill Lipoti, DEP, and Sam Wolfe, BPU, staff from the Governor's office, and one representative from the Bureau of Nuclear Engineering. In lieu of the pending U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision concerning the future of Oyster Creek, Governor Corzine and high level staff wanted to see Oyster Creek first hand, discuss important issues of concern, ask questions, and gather information about Oyster Creek. Governor Corzine remains active in the Oyster Creek license renewal process.

Representatives of AmerGen/Exelon included the Chief Nuclear Officer, the Oyster Creek Site Vice President, the Vice President of Communications and many other management and staff personnel.

The formal presentation began about 1:10 PM with AmerGen presenting and overview of the history of Oyster Creek, the plant layout, security features, cooling water usage, and spent fuel floor features.

The Governor and others asked questions related to the electrical output from Oyster Creek as compared to Salem and Hope Creek, water leakage inside and outside the drywell, hypothetical locations for cooling towers, and the location of the sassafras tree with elevated Cesium and the cause.

A walking tour of parts of the plant was conducted following the presentation and discussion. Due to the size of the crowd, there were two tour groups. Plant personnel were located at the areas of interest to provide an overview of that area and answer questions. The areas toured included two floors of the Reactor Building, the Refueling Floor and the 51 foot elevation, and the intake and discharge area. In addition, Director Canas was given a tour of several areas of importance for plant security.

The Governor and the Cabinet Members were clearly engaged in the discussion and the tour. AmerGen expressed their willingness and availability to host additional information sessions and tours for any of the state officials. Following the departure of the state officials, AmerGen personnel discussed the visit and concluded that the event was positive and that they should reach out to state officials to offer to provide further information on terrorism and spent fuel accidents.

On December 5, 2006 staff attended and spoke at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) public meeting on the SMC Decommissioning Plan. Every public comment was against the issuance of the Long Term Control License (LTC). On December 12, 2006 staff attended the NRC scoping meeting for the Environmental Impact Statement. Again, members of the public expressed their strong opposition to issuance of the LTC. US Senator Menendez also spoke in opposition to the LTC. The NRC has not made a decision on whether the LTC license will be issued. They explained their review process will take two years.

In the meantime, on December 22, 2006, the Attorney General of New Jersey issued a petition to review the determination of the US NRC to finalize revisions of NUREG-1757, Consolidated Decommissioning Guidance, to the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 26, 2006 the Attorney General of New Jersey issued a Petition for Rulemaking, a Petition for a Stay on any action on the SMC Decommissioning Plan, and a Petition for a Hearing on NUREG-1757 to the US NRC. The petitions are available on the Radiation Protection and Release Prevention website under News Topics at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/News.htm.

3. Bureau of Radiologic Health (BRH) Technology License Database is Linked to NJEMS

The Bureau has successfully completed the first phase in linking its data to the Department's NJEMS database system. On December 5, 2006 the Bureau, working with the computer vendor, activated an application program interface (API) that automatically populates People Masterfile with radiologic technology licensee information. Over 22,000 records were initially uploaded to the People Masterfile system. License updates and new licensee information is also immediately uploaded into People Masterfile as it is entered into the Bureau's database system. The uploading of technologist license information into People Masterfile clears a major hurdle for the Bureau to offer "on-line" license renewal capabilities in the future. The Bureau will pursue this capability with Office of Information Resource Management staff in the upcoming months.