FUTURE STUDIES 

 Without a doubt, woodborers remain the most important species 

 monitored by exposure panels, given the economic consequences should 

 power plant operation cause increases in their abundances. Teredo 

 bartschi , a non-native species common to subtropical coastal waters, has 

 been collected from our undiluted effluent since 1975. The presence of 

 this immigrant species raises the question as to its potential impact on 

 local environments with a doubling of the flow rate of the thermal 

 effluent at MNPS during three unit operation. The litigation resulting 

 from the destruction of docks and pilings by woodborers in Oyster Creek, 

 New Jersey and the eventual out-of-court settlement of Jersey Central 

 Power and Light Company for 2.5 million dollars with marina owners 

 created the present concern for power plant impacts on woodborers. The 

 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (OCNGS) changed the salinity of 

 two previously freshwater creeks and raise the temperature of these 

 poorly circulated areas by 3 to 6 C, which caused a severe increase in 

 destruction of wooden structures within the Oyster Creek and Forked 

 River areas (Turner 1973; Maciolek-Blake et al. 1981). At MNPS, the 

 thermal effluent is discharged into a well circulated, open coastal area, 

 where docks and pilings are scarce. However, the species most responsible 

 for wood destruction in the Oyster Creek area is _T. bartschi , the same 

 non-native species collected in the MNPS undiluted effluent (Hoagland 

 and Turner 1980). This concern for potential power plant impacts caused 

 by woodborers was reflected in the NRC's request for us to specifically 

 address this problem in the Millstone Point area prior to three unit 

 operation (Appendix III) . 



32 



