Scientists question U.S. nuclear plant safet -Reply

[RON LAVERA <lavera.r@nypa.gov>]

As a worker at a nuclear power plant, I find the UCS
statement ( as quoted in the following message ) to be
erroneous.  

I know from personal experience that the "internal auditors"
find problems.  I find that workers at all levels are identifying
problems and working hard to correct them as they are
found.  I also believe that any organization that is truly 
dedicated to improving their product would find similar
problems.

I have also found that the NRC inspectors are dedicated and
concerned individuals.  They are here to ensure that the plant
is SAFE.  If you don't believe that, then you should ask all of
the people that work at plants in the USA that have had the
pleasure of being on the NRC watch list, or have been shut
down to address NRC concerns.  Based on my humble
experience, there is no other commercial industry in the US,
including the air transportation industry, that has the degree
of inspection and enforcement that is the routine for the
nuclear industry.  

I think is would be interesting for some members of the
public that think nuclear power is not safe, to be exposed to
the level of control that we are exposed to every day, for
some routine task that they perform that have MUCH higher
risk factors.  For instance, MANY people are KILLED ( a
statistically significant number I might add  ) each year in
traffic accidents.  If each person involved in a fender bender
had to endure the level of post event inspection that occurs
as a result of less risk significant events at power plants, I
would be willing to bet that fatalities due to traffic infractions
would drop drastically.

I for one will be glad when the nay sayers of the world look at
what is REALLY killing us in the good ole US of A.  Traffic
accidents, violent crime, air pollution and water pollution.  If
they would look at that with an unbiased view, I think that
they would find that the DEFINITELY DEAD out weigh the
maybe ( statistically ) dead.

A good management practice is to focus your efforts on
fixing those issues that result in 80% of your problems.  We
( the USA ) should be focused on reducing our KNOWN
death rate by 80%.  I think that nuclear power, with the low
pollution and HIGH safety factors, could go a long way
towards that goal.

These musings are clearly mine and mine alone.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ron LaVera

>>> "Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net> 06/17/98
04:38pm >>>
For general interest:

Wednesday June 17 3:21 PM EDT 

By Tom Doggett 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The safe operation of the nation's
104 nuclear power 
reactors is at risk because of careless inspectors and
frequent worker 
mistakes, according to a new study by the Union of
Concerned Scientists. 

"Although we found some encouraging signs, it appears that
safety conditions 
at nuclear plants across the country may be worse than we
previously 
believed," said David Lochbaum, the UCS' nuclear safety
expert and author of 
the report. 

The report's conclusions, released Wednesday, are based on
the monitoring of 
10 plants from November 1996 to January 1998. 

The most serious finding in the report was that internal safety
inspectors 
missed more than 200 problems that occurred at the plants
last year. 

"Plant workers found some problems, inspectors from the
Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC) found others, and some became obvious
when equipment 
broke down. But the internal auditors did not identify a single
problem," the 
report said. 

The group also uncovered that a large number of plant
problems were caused 
by human error (35 percent) and faulty procedures (44
percent). 

"If not for human mistakes and bad procedures, the Three
Mile Island and 
Chernobyl disasters might have been prevented," said
Lochbaum. "The nuclear 
industry is too old to be experiencing so many preventable
safety problems," 
he added. 

The UCS is recommending that internal auditors and workers
get additional 
safety training, and that the NRC improve its enforcement of
federal safety 
regulations. 

In addition, the group said Congress should review whether
NRC guidelines can 
ensure the public is adequately protected. 

"This congressional inquiry should happen now. It should not
be deferred until 
after the next major reactor accident," the group said. 

A spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) defended
the performance 
of the nation's nuclear power plants, adding that the safety
problems mentioned 
in the report were not serious. 

"There's no question nuclear power plants are safe," said
Steven Kerekes. He 
said the NEI supported the group's recommendation that
Congress review the 
effectiveness of the NRC's rules and procedures. 

The plants monitored by the UCS were Indian Point located
24 miles north of 
New York City; Calvert Cliffs 40 miles south of Annapolis,
Md.; the Cooper 
plant in Nebraska; the LaSalle plant in Illinois; and the
Millstone complex near 
New London, Conn. 

The group also reviewed the Oconee plant 30 miles west of
Greenville, S.C.; 
Oyster Creek in New Jersey; the River Bend plant 24 miles
from Baton Rouge, 
La.; the TVA's Sequoyah plant near Chattanooga, Tenn.; and
the Surry power 
plant 17 milesnorthwest of Newport News, Va.

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3111
  
sandyfl@earthlink.net
sperle@icnpharm.com

ICN Dosimetry Website:
http://www.dosimetry.com

Personal Website:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -

The opinions expressed are solely, absolutely, positively,
definitely those of the author, and NOT my employer