EIS-0113_Section_9 - Hanford Site

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the Savannah River reactors in South Carolina, which already
produce about 1500 kilograms of plutonium annually and are
leas vulnerable than the N-Reactor to catastrophic accident.
Shutting down the N-Reactor and the PORE% reprocessing plant
would also protect the people of the Northwest from the threat of
2.5. 6 cmtaetropbic nuclear accidents that could involve either facility.
At my Subcommittee's hearing on May 19 here in Po rt land,
independent experts on graphite reactors testified that an N-
Reactor accident on the scale of the Chernobyl disaster, causing
.4.3.1 thousands of injuries, was distinctly possible. The expert.
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identified several unresolved safety problem., including:
1. Reaction of the uranium metal fuel with water to produce
hydrogen and the potential for explosion.
2. The possibility of single pipe failures that could disable
both the primary and emergency core Cooling system and lead to
melting of 70 fuel rode per failure.
3. Ignition of a self-sustaining graphite fire by the heat of
melting fuel.
4. Contamination of the Columbia River by the once-through -
emergency Core cooling system.
S. Multiple pressure spikes defeating the filtered confinement fj
system and resulting in unfiltered re leases of radioactivity.
6. Absence of seismic support appropriate for the seismicity of r+
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the area. (ROE's FY 1987 budget request itself states that 1..
the lack Of seismic upgrades could lead to an M-Reactor
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meltdown.)
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Possible core overheating due to release of Nlgner energy
stored in the cooler portions of the graphite core and
reflector.
E. The absence of tested emergency planning for serious accidents
releasing radioactivity beyond the Hanford Reservation.
9. Other problems, such an lack of control room habitability
during an accident, redundant cables routed through the same
spreading room and subject to fire, broken valve parts caught
in the cooling system, and lack of adequate neutron monitoring
equipment.
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