IR 05000057/1990002
| ML20058M500 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Buffalo |
| Issue date: | 07/27/1990 |
| From: | Bores R, Roth J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20058M486 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-057-90-02, 50-57-90-2, NUDOCS 9008100150 | |
| Download: ML20058M500 (4) | |
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v U. S, NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION I
Report No. 50-57/90-02
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Docket No. 50-57
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License No.
R-77_
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Licensee:
St. ate Univ 0rsity of New York at Buffalo fotary _ Roa'J South Campus
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Buffalo, New York 14260
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Facility Name:
Buffalo Materials Research Center l
Inspection At:
Buffalo, New York Inspection Conducted: June 21 and July 18, 1990 Inspectors:
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J. Rof)b, Proje'ctTEngineer, dite
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EffluVnts' Radiation Protection Section, Facilities Radiological Safety anc;; Safeguards Branch,
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Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards Approved by:
ib 7/27/M R. J. Bore Ch1ef, date
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Ef fluent'.[..acitation' Protection Section, l
Facilities Radiological, Safety
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and Safeguards Branch, Division of Radiation Safety and Safeguards
' Inspection Summary:
Inspection Conducted on June 21 and July 18, 1990
'(Inspection Report No. 50-57/90-02)
Areas Inspected: -
Special, announced inspection by one region-based inspector i
to. review procedures and actions taken to transfer irradiated fuel assemblies
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_from'the reactor tank into the adjacent hot cell.
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Results: No significant problems were identified and the transfers were made in a professional and safe manner.
One apparent noncited administrative violation, involving the movement of a fuel assembly in the reactor tank without the approval of the Fuel Transfer Supervisor, was identified.
In addition, the
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licensee committed to provide the NRC Region I office with a detailed procedure
- prior to' first use_ af that procedure for the removal of activated reactor components from the reactor tank and their storage, t
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-1.0 Individuals Contacted
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L. Henry, General Manager, Buf falo Materials Research Center (BMRC)
-P..Orlosky, Operations Manager, BMRC q
D. Sullivan, Director, BMRC
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2.0 ~ Purpose-
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iThis inspection was conducted for the. purpose of reviewing the licensee's procedures pertaining to the_ transfer inco and temporary storage of-
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. irradiated -fuel assemblies in a hot cell: located adjacent to the reactor
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- facility.
In' addition, the actual transfe of irradiated ful assemblie:,
i from the reactor tank into the hot cell was also observed.
l 3.0 Facility Tour-
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The inspector examined all areas of the facility in order to become familiar
with the relationship between the reactor and other facility components,
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e.g.,
hot cell, at the site.
It was noted that there was a cut-out (reduced j
- W tM ekness) in the hot cell adjacent to the reactor tank. According.
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to licensee representatives, this cut-out was designed so that the hot
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teli could be used as.a gamma irradiation facility.
The licensee stated
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that this cut-out~ would be filled with concrete block or-steel and lead
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sheeting prior to placing t:1e irradiated fuel in the hot cell in order to l
reduce the radiation' transmission through thi3 wall into the reactor tank.
-Procedure-Review
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Duringithe June'21, 1990 site visit, the inspector conducted a review of l
the draf t procedure for the transfer of irradiated fuel assemblies from-
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. the reactor tank into the hot cell. 'The inspector noted.that the'
Lprocedure-covered the transfer of the fuel assemblies from the stcrage
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rack into the hot cell but did not cover transfer of the fuel assemblits from'the reactor core into the storage rack. According to' licensee
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representatives, the-latter transfer was covered by a. separate procedure
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which was also provided to the inspector for review.
This procedure,
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Operating Procedure No. 9 " Fuel Handling and Storage", was examined by the inspector and was found to provide appropriate transfer instructions
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to the workers to assure safe transfer of fuel assemblies from the i
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. reactor core to the storage rack.
During the July 18, 1990 site visit, the inspector. reviewed the final I
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transfer procedure, as reviewed and approved by the licensee, and noted
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- that;survtillance activities had been removed from that procedure and described in a separate procedure. These surveillance activities were to be performed while-the irradiated fuel assemblies were stored in the hot i
cell. The required surveillance activities included assuring that the g-appropriate water level.was maintained in the storage tank, that area and
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y hot cell openings ' are properly posted and ' locked, that hot cell mani-p pulators and t' e crane were locked out-of-service, that. the radiation
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level in the reactor tank did not change, that the temperature of. the
water in the storage tank did not ch&nge, and that the tank water will be L
checked weekly. for.pH, conductivity and radionuclide concentration.
The
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inspector determined that, these procedures appeared to be adequate and.
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appropriate for the intended activities.
5.0 Fuel Transfers
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The inspector observed as licensee personnel initiated und conducted transfer'of the first 15 of 40 fuel assemblies'from the reactor core to c
the reactor tank storage rack and from the storage rack to the hot cell storage tank. All activities were conducted in a safe professional manner and with one exception in accordance with written procedures.
The exception involved placement of the second fuel a sembly (No. 33) into the
fuel assembly transfer cart in the reactor tank without the permission of
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the Fuel Transfer Supervisor. The Fuel Transfer' Supe'e sor was observing activities taking place in the hot cell and was not available ;to provide the permission required by Section II.b of the Fuel Transfer Procedure.
Failura to obtain this permission was identified as an administrative violation.
The inspector verified that there was no impact on the safety j
of the operation as a result of this violation. Therefore, this was.
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identified as an apparent nor> cited violation (57/90-02-01), in that the criteria:specified in 10 CFR 2, Appendix C, Section V.A, were met.
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criteria included: 1) corrective actions were:immediately taken and
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completed by the licensee, 2) this was a Severity Level V violation, and
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3) this violation was not willful. Adequate corrective actions were q
completed by the -licensee prior to the end of this inspection, in that, personnel who were involved were immediately retrained in the procedurtl requirement.to obtain apprcpriate permission prior to any transfer of fuel assemblies.
In.acccrdance with the criteria of 10 CFR 2, Appendix C, Section V.A, no Notice of. Violation will be issued for.this apparent
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violation.
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The inspector noted that transfer of the first assembly required a one-hour lapse time, but the length of tire for each transfer approached 20 to 25 minutes by the end of the first day.
The licensee terminated transfers for'the day at 15 assemblies since this was a natural hold point in the
. procedure, -The reactor core was designed to oo critical with 16 assemblies pr ent.
Tb m fore, this was an appropriate hold point to have the Reactor Safety Committee review the transfer activity thus far to assure that t
. criticality could not occu: with the addition of the sixteenth assembly to
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the storage tank.
This review was scheduled to take place the following l
morning, subsequent to this inspection.
Transfer of the assemblies was
completed without incident on Friday, July 20, 1990. The maximum radiation level on the operating side of the hot cell after completion of the transfers wes about 0.2 millirem per hour.
The maximum radiation level on the reactor tank side of the hot cell was less than 5 taillirem per hour in f ront of the." cut-out".
No other violations or other concerns were identified.
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_6.0.1 Future A:tions'
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cSubsequent to removal'of the' irradiated fuel assemblies from the reactor-
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tank, the licensee expected to prepare detailed procedures for the removal
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.and storage of activated reactor structural components, such as= guide tubes ~, rabbit tubes, and reactor _ support structures. The licensee committed-to provide copies of these procedures-to the NRC Regional Office for revied.
These procedures are expected to be completed prior-to-the'end of August, 1990.
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,7 7.0 Exit Interview
- The inspector met with' the ' licensee representatives denoted in. Paragraph 1.0 at=the conclusion of the-inspection on July 18, 1990. The inspector
summarized the scope and findings of the inspection.
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