ustxtxb_obs_1984_11_09_50_00013-00000_000.pdf

Page 20

by

8est \(Jester! woclIt3wtOt tOOGINO told me they were still using the liquid penetrant test, and I said then it doesn’t matter, you’ll never find them.” As to inspections, Butler said, “I hardly ever saw a Brown & Root inspector down there and I never saw an NRC man; as far as I know it was never inspected. I spent two or three months making repairs and there was never any paper work . . . no numbers, like weld seam certification numbers. “I was concerned then and I’m concerned now because procedures weren’t right . . . it was just one big cover-up.” In September, under persistent questioning by Peter Bloch, chairman of the ASLB, Tom Brandt, an engineer for Texas Utilities, admitted under oath that documents which would have confirmed that the inspections on the stainless steel liners in the spent fuel pool, in particular inspections done for cleanliness before welding was done, had been “lost” and that plant builders could not document that the inspections weere done, even though Brandt said that he was “very confident” the inspections had been performed. Meddie Gregory told the Observer that, in 1979, when Butler made his allegations and when the NRC conducted its investigation into the validity of the welds in the liners, “document control was totally out of procedure .. . in other words there were no documents for the NRC to review because threefourths of the chits [used to verify materials and welder qualifications] were lost.” At the time, she said, “no one at the plant knew who welded on the liners or if it was ever done. Those ‘lost’ chits,” she said, “were part of the documentation brought to Suzy [Nuemeyer] to sign in 1982.” Brandt later testified that the plant’s document control center had been out of procedure from 1977 until 1982.* Questions raised by other whistleblowers, concerning cover-ups by paint contractors who have been charged with using defective paint inside the reactor containment building, paint which could slough off and clog critical cooling systems needed in an emergency to safely shut down the reactor, are still pending before the board along with further testimony on harassment and other technical issues. A ruling on the license request is not expected until some time in 1985, but for the first time in the long and frustrating fight to deny Texas Utilities an operating license, opponents speak Direct Reservation Phone 214-231-8477 of the real possibility that the plant may not go on line. Roisman, who feels strongly that the license will be denied, says that more than any other thing, Texas Utilities is “doing it to themselves. “It’s like they’re pouring themselves a glass of lye and then drinking it,” he said earlier this fall, an analogy which gave Nader’s closing summation at the press conference in Fort Worth added weight: “Some utilities,” Nader said, “need to be saved from themselves.” 11:1 WORLDWIDE LODGING gest w e stern for business or pleasure . . . Congenial service at an Economical Rate. Conve nient North Dallas location, minutes to famous stores … great shopping and ice skating … finest restaurants, entertainment centers … Medical City Hospital, Texas A&M, SMU campuses, Surtran Terminal. Expressway to downtown, airport. 205 fine rooms, swimming pool, free parking, courtesy van, valet service, Home Box Office, complimentary Surtran pickup, J. Fred Armadillo’s Lounge and Grill, dancing. Banquet and meeting facilities. Special week-end rates. Children under 18 free when accompanied by parent. DALLAS Best Western Inn LBJ The perfect place to stay on your visit to write for free brochure *The controversy surrounding the integrity of the welds in the spent fuel pool liner takes on added significance because of the NRC ruling that nuclear power plants may soon be required to store spent on site for the lifetime of the plant \(about 30 to plus 30 years after decommissioning. \(TO, Comanche Peak, whose spent fuel pool was designed and built to hold spent fuel for a maximum of seven years before it would be moved to make way for additional waste from the reactor. the change will mean a dangerously cramped storage space with highly radioactive waste stored in Somervell County for 60 years or more. With that in mind, the issue of the defective welds in the liner is even more a safety issue today than it was in 1979. NAME ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP BEST WESTERN INN-LBJ 8051 LBJ Freeway at Coit Rd. DALLAS, TEXAS 75251 214-234-2431 DALLAS, TEXAS 75251 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 13