Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

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77 accident recovery, emergency actions, and health effects that will never be available form our safety research programs. Therefore, it is important that the U.S. be involved in IAEA and other international efforts to fully understand and evaluate the Chernobyl accident. Thank you for this opportunity to address this Committee.
78 The Chairman. Thank you. Dr. Bunch. STATEMENT OF DR. DELBERT F. BUNCH, ACTING DEPUTY AS- SISTANT SECRETARY, REACTOR DEPLOYMENT, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Dr. Bunch. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have three points I would hke to make and I will briefly describe each of them. First, the reactor at Chernobyl had what I consider to be inherently undesirable safety characteristics. We are now 2 months into that accident; as Mr. Denton has described we have gone to a great deal of trouble to understand what the Soviets have said about that plant, and what the technical literature says. We continue to work with the international community to obtain a better understanding of that plant, but it is important to recognize at this point what we believe to be the situation about that plant. Second, a point I will also discuss in a little more detail, I think there has been a situation in which too many people are rushing to judgment about the implications of Chernobyl on the safety of the U.S. plants. The third point is not one of safety, but, as you have discussed this morning in the colloquy, one of restoring or achieving public confidence in the safety that we do have. I think your committee's efforts to secure legislative reform of a new licensing process would be a great step toward that direction. Back to the first point. I think the reactor at Chernobyl has undesirable safety characteristics. First, the nuclear properties of the plant, as were alluded to by Mr. Denton, were what I would call unstable. Disturbances in the plant would cause unwanted changes in power which placed stress both on the operators and on the safety system. The engineering details of the plant, how the plant was actually put together, have little of what we have come to expect in the U.S. approach toward defense indepth. I think it is fair to say that the Soviets in the last decade or so have put a great deal of attention on instituting a new safety regime in their practices for the engineering of nuclear power plants in the Soviet Union. In my own view, it seems to be, at least with respect to Chernobyl, too little, too late. What has been done was simply not enough to overcome those intrinsic safety features in the plant. Second, it is my view that too many have rushed to judgment about the implications of Chernobyl. I think my own view, as a member of the task force, was that we saw a certain measure of instinctive reaction on the part of the technical community immediately following the accident. There were those who are strong opponents of nuclear power who seem to say—see, I told you so. Those who were strongly in support of nuclear power very quickly moved to say Chernobyl would never happen here. I think the arguments that Mr. Denton has just given about the steps that we are taking to try to understand, apply, and learn
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CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR ACCIDENT DOCUMENT
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About BACM Research - PaperlessArch
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days, so they left nearly everythin
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The 1986 Report of the U.S. Departm
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S. Hrg. 99-869 THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDE
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RES
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY THE CHERNOBYL
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statement of Senator J. Bennett Joh
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We will contiue to work to make nuc
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. - the foreign reactor market that
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STATEMENT OF HON. HOWARD M. METZENB
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11 with the wrong report. He came u
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13 The residents of the state of Oh
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15 Yes, I am not satisfied with eve
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17 We accomplished our work by coll
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19 Senator Metzenbaum. Mr. Chairman
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21 The work of the Task Force was t
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23 On May 3 the State Department se
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25 The first elevated levels of rad
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Page 44 and 45: 29 By way of comparison, you might
Page 46 and 47: 31 - 2 - around the world. In the i
Page 48 and 49: 33 4 - In addition to these meeting
Page 50 and 51: 35 - 6 radiological release mechani
Page 52: 37 DESCRIPTION OF THE CHERNOBYL SIT
Page 55 and 56: 40 SIX OPERATING PUMPS (8 PUMPS TOT
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Page 61 and 62: 46 10 I. 3 c o u .>$ «o
Page 63 and 64: 48 12 H
Page 65 and 66: 50 14 SUPPRESSION POOL ARRANGEMENT
Page 67 and 68: 52 16 SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Page 69 and 70: 54 18 EXTRAPOLATION FACTORS (BACK T
Page 71 and 72: 56 20 FUTURE PLANS PREPARE REPORT I
Page 73 and 74: 58 The Department's Nuclear Safety
Page 75 and 76: 60 STATEMENT OF MARY L. WALKEK ASSI
Page 77 and 78: 62 to minimize and manage risks so
Page 79 and 80: 64 Third, the United States nuclear
Page 81 and 82: 66 The priority the Department plac
Page 83 and 84: 68 of the reactor core melted. Unli
Page 85 and 86: 70 Introduction As a member of the
Page 87 and 88: 72 questions concerning fuel behavi
Page 89 and 90: 74 While each of these areas are pa
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Page 95 and 96: 80 The most important actions we ca
Page 97 and 98: 82 Nonetheless, I will try to recou
Page 99 and 100: 84 I doubt If I can today convert e
Page 101 and 102: 86 All of our eggs are In the baske
Page 103 and 104: 88 8 safety margins and more fall -
Page 105 and 106: 90 10 The existing emergency planni
Page 107 and 108: 92 12 Further, If we want to ensure
Page 109 and 110: 94 14 never survive the kind of pro
Page 111 and 112: 96 firmed, but at least suspected t
Page 113 and 114: The Chairman. If we were to 98 have
Page 115 and 116: 100 2 THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, MR
Page 117 and 118: 102 THE SOVIET UNION ALSO AGREED TH
Page 119 and 120: 104 6 MR. CHAIRMAN, IT WILL DO US L
Page 121 and 122: 106 12 tific developments. includin
Page 123 and 124: 108 14 The participating States a^^
Page 125 and 126: no speculation in the press that it
Page 127 and 128: 112 than the Soviet Union. They hav
Page 129 and 130: 114 We find that as a glimmer that
Page 131 and 132: 116 Mr. Denton. I don't have that a
Page 133 and 134: 118 My next question is what is the
Page 135 and 136: 120 Mr. Meyers. These are the Easte
Page 137 and 138: 122 Los Anpeles Times, 5/22/86 Radi
Page 139 and 140: 124 us trig au m ifistead of a u to
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128 Mr. Meyers. Mr. Chairman, may I
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130 -2- The health assessment subgr
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— 132 and ask my questions. If he
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134 Mr. Denton. I do not think they
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136 Senator Melcher. To clarify you
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^ 138 human error then, leading to
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140 are 25 BWR units with Mark I co
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142 engineering safeguards for ther
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144 STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE REC
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146 2 - Process Heat for the chemic
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. 148 - ^ THE HEAT IS TRANSPORTED B
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150 Senator Domenici. Mr. Taylor, w
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152 Of that, over the many, many ye
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154 statement to Senate Committee o
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. 156 have become vital and continu
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158 NRC and our industry to produce
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s" 160 on the facts and to ensure t
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. 162 the fuel elements and light w
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164 generations of RBMK designs to
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166 • Third, the design appears t
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168 and ramifications of flow and h
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— 170 Senator Domenici. Thank you
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172 Soon we will have seen a fivefo
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174 Testimony to the Energy and Nat
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176 o The June 1986 folder entitled
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178 Corporate Evaluations Evaluatio
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180 EVENT ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION
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182 accessible from remote terminal
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184 o INPO has also developed good
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186 Members of the full Board are l
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. 188 NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR NUCLEAR
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" 190 o In May and June of 1985, th
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192 identified during INPO evaluati
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194 increased awareness at all leve
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196 o Collective radiation exposure
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198 Establishment of these long-ter
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200 Senator Domenici. Thank you, ve
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202 STATEMENT SUBMITTED FOR THE REC
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. 204 -2- capacity, and has long be
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206 • 4- Temperature Stability Th
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208 In addition. It also appears th
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210 Senator Domenici. Thank you. Dr
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212 The billions of dollars per yea
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214 As a nuclear physicist who has
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216 industry and strong reaction fr
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218 -5- Nevertheless, despite our o
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220 Citizen groups are going to int
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] 222 -9- Footnotes and References
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224 THE BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIE
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226 clear power plants since 1975
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228 Jan Beyea, a physicist, is a se
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230 ... a filtered vent system coul
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232 It is possible that it will tak
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234 Senator Domenici. I appreciate
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APPENDIX Responses to Additional Co
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. . 239 A2 . As noted above, we wou
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241 QUESTION 1. Some people have sa
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243 QUESnON_l. (Continued) 3 - For
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245 QUESTION C.tt . What do we know
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247
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: 249 -S-Vi9S>-ftv\.S>6)N^>^ -^'S^V
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251 QUESTION 2. (Continued) - 2 - P
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253 fiU E S no N_2 . (Continued) -
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255 QUESTION 3 . Just to set the re
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257 QUESTION 5. If you were to choo
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259 2UEST|0N_5. (Continued; 3 - Fir
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261 SMilII2!!_Z- ^° "^ "°" ^^^^ ^
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263 SMilllO^l-^- You attended the I
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I A 265 QU E ST 1 N_ 1 , year ago,
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267 QUESTION 10. (Continued) 3 - in
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269 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 5 Wi
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271 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 7 su
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I 273 QUESTION 10. (Continued) - 9
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: i 275 QUESTION 11. (Continued) -
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277 QUESTION 12. (Continued) - 2 -
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279 QUESTION 1 2. (Continued) - 4 -
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281 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATOR
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283 g U E S T 1 N 13. What are the
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I 285 POST-HEARING QUESTIONS AND AN
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287 2 maintained current. Computer
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289 QUESTIONS FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A
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297 -2- Answer 7 (continued): posse
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299 -2- Answer 8 (continued): The S
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301 -2- Answer 9 (continued): The f
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303 Answer 10 j. -- xu (continued):
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305 nUESTION FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A.
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307 QUESTION FROM CHAIRMAN JAMES A.
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309 Answer 14 (continued); 2. Early
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311 Answer 15 (continued): verifica
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313 -2- Answer 16 (continued): Desi
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315 -2- Answer 17 (continued): forc
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317 POST-HEARING QUESTIONS AND ANSW
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319 2 b. By legislation, existing D
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321 Question 3: Has the DOE designe
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, 323 JAMU A. WeCLUW. OAHO. CHAMHAN
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PROF. DR. RUDOLF SCHULTEN Direklor
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327 Questions from Senator Wallop 1
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329 i-ooi trnl Electric Power Resea
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: 331 J. A. McClure -2- July 08, 19
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333 J, A. McClure -4- July 08, 1986
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.. 335 ES, TUESDAY. JUNE 3. 1986 NE
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337 INPO RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS BY
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339 Answer: INPO's strength is in i
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SAN 341 SENATE COMMITT-E ON F'-'fm;
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343 Answer There is wide participat
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S. Hrg. 102-765 EFFECTS OF THE ACCI
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,,0S10H PUBUC UBRWV- COMMITTEE ON E
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EFFECTS OF THE ACCIDENT AT THE CHER
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It is clear that the remaining RBMK
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the Federal prosecutor of the USSR
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With growing urgency, the Ukrainian
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We did check soil samples and radia
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11 the cancer registry data in gene
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13 we are medical investigators and
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15 standard of medical diagnostic a
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17 nobyl. An American-Ukrainian Med
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19 The temperatures, however, were
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21 down on the kind of horizontal p
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23 those who got, shall we say, bla
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25 Well, in the May 1992 issue of t
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27 people just haven't complained a
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29 — physicians that come in. Bec
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31 tumor registries together. There
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33 like on the 1st of January 1995
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35 Ukraine, and two in Lithuania. T
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37 the training of the operators, e
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39 issue. The directions that the w
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41 Further, there is no easy way of
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43 I thank you for your attention.
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45 • WERs that have not been turn
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47 thank you for convening this hea
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I am am 49 INTRODUCTION My name is
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1 . 51 The Ukrainian Ministry of He
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53 information on the actual doses
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55 First, it is well known that wit
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57 1) The U.S. Government should in
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59 Level of malignant tumors of Lym
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61 Level of Malignant Diseases amon
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63 The Level of non-malignant hemat
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65 The Children of Chornobyl Relief
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2 67 TB8TIMOHT Of rr«d K, MattlMT,
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pnxlucing ihere 69 Pan H 4. Public
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• , t ( (iiiiiii i M 71 P«n H ev
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73 TESTIMONY OF WLADIMIR WERTELECKY
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. 75 education. The same comprehens
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77 Should epidemics and other medic
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. 79 Massive psychological effects
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81 American-Ukrainian Medical Scien
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83 circumstances in Ukraine, there
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85 flep:acaBHa AyMa yKpaiHM Kojieri
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I I 87 C.KHOliA (DMKl'AHUI Mxl'AIlK
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89 MiHiCTepCTBO OXOpOKH 3flopoB'a P
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. 91 m XAPKIBCbKA OBflACHA AEP>«AB
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93 U.S. Senate Committee on Environ
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95 What Happened The Chernobyl acci
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97 -? 15 U) (0 < Figure 1. Estimate
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99 form lava.' This material ran th
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101 V) S O aċo V) (A « aQ. 3 W f
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103 Unit 4 of ChernoSvt A'PP after
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105 3 O) (0 £ Q. O o
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107 •M E Mr -n. 136 \sss .4U>-^
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109 Natural processas of decay have
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Ill Clean up actions should be take
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113 those involved in 1986 and part
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115 Prepared Statement of Murray Fe
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117 with those who are classified a
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119 economies. Economic chaos and h
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121 Table 1.—Operating Reactors i
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123 FORMULA FOR FUNDING American as
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125 their transition to a new forms
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127 Table 1.—Cost Estimate—Cont
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129 Nuclear Materlai;s Management U
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131 Weeks Seven and Eight—Prelimi
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133 Four sets dictation and transcr
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. Develop 135 Ukrainian entrepreneu
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137 be achieved during the first ph
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139 tion measures. As required, the
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141 and services. The laboratory wi
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143 The reactor vessel, primary shi
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145 • fixation, • restrictions
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147 environmental compartment to an
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149 In order to plan for and accomp
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151 4.1.2.2 Ground Water Contaminat
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— 153 should provide direction on
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— 155 relative sensitivity of the
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. . and . . they 157 ( Prepared Sta
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. . and 159 generator. The result i
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161 5 mln hectares of agricultural
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' 163 Not only Ukraine, but the who
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165 taking forceful steps to help c
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167 late seventies." ^° Although t
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169 actors; this information gap ma
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171 To encourage this implementatio
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173 production is solid fuels, eith
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175 the energy efficiency of the ec
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177 ' Because closing costs will in
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. May BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ..Hopki
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BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 9999 U^/ 0275
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. 'HE LEGACY OF CHORNOBYL 1986 TO 1
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COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERAT
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THE LEGACY OF CHORNOBYI^1986 TO 199
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— The Helsinki Commission is very
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and its Belarus but any single coun
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Over 10 years after the events, I c
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Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr.
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— 11 If you look at standardized
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13 births. We find it difficult to
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15 leagues have made a long-term co
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17 7's commitment? Of the assistanc
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19 burg is not too far. Greographic
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21 Mr. Smith. Dr. Feshbach, can you
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23 One of the problems with the Int
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25 Mr. KuzMA. There's quite a large
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— 27 bombardment of low-level rad
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29 are proposals that Kyiv be procl
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31 good people there, everywhere, a
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33 Only one percent of the territor
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35 an extent possible the consequen
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37 up of the Consequences of the Ac
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39 Ukrainian people realized that t
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41 presses the brake pedal to slow
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43 The "Sarcophagus" facility was t
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45 8 Rivers and lakes in the vicini
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47 10 According to maximum estimati
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49 12 Immediately after the acciden
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51 14 experienced radiation doses t
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53 16 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES Over th
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55 18 LEGISLATION ON CHORNOBYL The
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57 20 children affected by the Cher
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59 22 - ensuring proper infrastruct
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61 24 private religious, non-profit
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63 26 environmental effects of radi
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65 STATEMENT BY ALEXANDER B. KUZMA
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67 uncontaminated. Two weeks ago, a
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69 towards other health concerns ex
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71 the enoimity of the task that li
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73 Testimony of Dt. Natalia Lakiza-
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75 About 5 mln people continue to l
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77 Changes in the childbearing func
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79 - a possible many-fold increase
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This is a U.S. Government publicati
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