Meeting Minutes



		MEETING MINUTES Yankee Rowe Community Advisory Board October 13, 1999 The ninth meeting of the Yankee Rowe Community Advisory Board (CAB)was held at the City Hall in North Adams, Massachusetts on Wednesday, October 13, 1999. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Brad Councilman at 8:23 PM. CAB ATTENDEES Carol Angelo Gail Cariddi Brad Councilman Doris Lewis Lenny Laffond Bill LeQuier Nina Newington Bruce Lessels Allan Twitchell Rick Williams Ken Plumley CAB member, Nina Newington, noted the minutes from the last meeting, August 8, 1999, stated "CAN members made comments" when in fact some were local residents. She also pointed out that no note was made of her statement that Yankee was using CAB to pressure DOE and public representatives to remove spent fuel without adequate concern for public safety. Nina also objected to the question "When will nuclear fuel be removed? Bill LeQuier indicated that his name had been omitted from the attendee list. These corrections were approved and the minutes of the 8/11/99 meeting were accepted. PRESENTATIONS Don Reid, Plant Decommissioning manager, Decommissioning update: -There are no dramatic changes - The plant's primary focus is safely operating the spent fuel pool - 200 people are still on site - Yankee is in various final stages of site characterization - Contaminated concrete is still being removed in containment - Non radiological material is still being removed from turbine building i.e. PCB's, lead paint and chromium - Yankee is preparing to demolish the diesel generator safety injection cinderblock building Bruce Lessels asked when the turbine building will be removed and was told between 1999-2003. The containment is scheduled to be removed in 2003 after the spent fuel is moved to dry cask storage. Nina Newington asked about the July 14, 1999 NRC inspection violation. Don Reid explained that when Yankee was preparing to clean a purification system, an operator crossed a boundary without a permit or the pre-job briefing. Fortunately no action was in progress that could cause a problem. Lenny Laffond commented on Yankee's safety record as a construction site and it was noted that 2 1/2 million hours or 4 1/2 years had passed without a lost time accident. Dry Cask update: - Yankee is waiting for final NRC approval of storage and transfer center and expects to hear later this year - Construction will begin shortly on components for dry cask i.e. liners, canisters and overpacks - The design for the pad is nearly completed and work is being done on the support systems such as air, water and ventilation - In August eight fuel bundles were inspected looking for irregularities - A team has been assembled to study dry cask and has visited ANO,Palisades, and Trojan sites - Construction on the pad and road leading to it will begin in the spring and will be completed by 2001 - Fuel will begin to move to site in the spring of 2001 and completed by fall of 2001 OBSERVATIONS/PALISADES DRY CASK STORAGE FACILITY Chairman Councilman circulated pictures taken on trip. The following comments and observations were made by those who visited Palisades: Nina Newington Nina found it interesting but alarming confirming for her that this is an experiment because you can't predict everything. Although they can monitor the welds in the lids you can not monitor the welds in the seams of the canisters. The canisters were built to stand still but now Yankee intends to transport using these canisters. Lenny Laffond Lenny was impressed with the training that prepared the employees for loading casks. He was surprised at the size, finding it smaller than he imagined and didn't expect the facility to be so close to the lake. Lenny also mentioned the simulated call of a paragon falcon that repeatedly sounds to scare off other birds. Allan Twitchell Allan was glad to be able to ask questions, and was pleased with the trip Doris Lewis Doris found the trip informative and calming, but still feels she would feel better if the casks were buried. Gail Cariddi asked if the casks would be constructed on site. Don Reid a company in Bennington, Vermont may make them. NEW BUSINESS A discussion was held on a letter sent to Rocco Marcello by the Franklin Regional Planning Board stating they will not send a representative to the CAB as it does not provide an independent forum for residents and agencies. A lively discussion followed: Lenny complained that the Planning Board wants to tell us what to-do but will not sit at a table with us. Bruce Lessels said he understands why the composition of the board created by Yankee might cause questions of legitimacy. Allan Twitchell said Whitingham select board appointed him to the CAB, not Yankee. Nina found the letter from the board "cheering" as the CAB does have a "current" in favor of Yankee. The group decided to table the issue for further discussion at the next meeting. The next meeting will be held on December 1, at 7 PM at the Charlemont Inn in Charlemont, Massachusetts. The meeting was closed 9:23 PM. Video available for viewing. Call Mandy Comai at 413-424-5498. Respectfully submitted, Doris Lewis