[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 245 (Thursday, December 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31444]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 22, 1994]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
In the Matter of All Reactor Licensees With Installed Thermo-Lag
330-1 Fire Barrier Material Receipt of Petitions for Director's
Decision Under 10 CFR 2.206
Notice is hereby given that by separate letters dated October 21,
1994, the GE Stockholders' Alliance and Dr. D.K. Cinquemani; by letter
dated October 25, 1994, the Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy; and by
letter dated October 26, 1994, R. Benjan (Petitioners) request that the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) take action with regard to the
use of Thermo-Lag by all reactor licensees and that their letters be
treated as Petitions pursuant to Sec. 2.206 of Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR).
Dr. Cinquemani and Toledo Coalition for Safe Energy request that
the NRC immediately shut down all reactors where Thermo-Lag is used
until it has been removed and replaced. GE Stockholders' Alliance
requests shutdown of all reactors where Thermo-Lag is used until it has
been removed and replaced with fire-retardant material meeting NRC
standards. R. Benjan requests immediate shutdown of all reactors where
Thermo-Lag is used.
As the bases for their requests, the Petitioners state, either
individually or collectively, that
(1) the widespread use of Thermo-Lag, in more than 70 reactors,
presents a safety crisis;
(2) the NRC has known since 1982 that Thermo-Lag fails NRC
performance standards for material that protects vital electrical
cables for ampacity rating and fire resistance;
(3) Thermo-Lag has failed not only NRC tests, but almost all other
independent tests;
(4) Thermo-Lag is combustible, contrary to NRC regulations, and is
an ineffective fire barrier;
(5) the use of Thermo-Lag could lead to shorts, to failure of the
cables in an emergency, and to fire;
(6) Thermo-Lag is faulty in that fraudulent ampacity ratings
allowed utilities to use smaller cable than permitted by design
requirements, causing the cable to overheat and its insulation to
deteriorate;
(7) the NRC has stated that fire at some nuclear power plants can
contribute as much as 50 percent of the risk to a core meltdown, and a
typical reactor will have three to four significant fires during its
licensed lifetime;
(8) Thermal Science, Inc., the manufacturer of Thermo-Lag, and its
president were indicted by Federal grand jury on seven criminal charges
related to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Government in regard to the
effectiveness of Thermo-Lag; and
(9) the hourly fire watches at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power plant
operated by Toledo Edison do not replace fire barrier material and do
not prevent fires.
The Petitions are being treated pursuant to 10 CFR 2.206 of the
Commissions regulations and have been referred to the Director of the
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR 2.206,
appropriate action will be taken on these petitions within a reasonable
time. By letter dated December 15, 1994, the Director denied the
requests of GE Stockholders' Alliance, Dr. Cinquemani, Toledo Coalition
for Safe Energy, and R. Benjan for immediate suspension of the
operating licenses of all reactors where Thermo-Lag is used.
Copies of the Petitions are available for inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room at 2120 L Street, NW, Washington, DC.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of December 1994.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
William T. Russell,
Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 94-31444 Filed 12-21-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
