IR 05000182/1981001
| ML20008E705 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Purdue University, 07000152 |
| Issue date: | 02/05/1981 |
| From: | Fisher W, Peck C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION III) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20008E703 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-182-81-01, 50-182-81-1, 70-0152-81-01, 70-152-81-1, NUDOCS 8103090485 | |
| Download: ML20008E705 (7) | |
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P U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
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OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
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REGION III
Reports No.
50-182/81-01; 70-152/81-01 Docket Nos. 50-182;70-152 Licenses No. R-87, SNM-142 and 13-02812-04
Licensee:
Purdue University West Lafayette, IN Facility Name: Purdue University Reactor h
Fast Breeder Blanket Facility
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Inspection At: West Lafayette, Indiana l
t Inspection Conducted: January 12-14, 1981
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Inspector:
C. C. Peck
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Approved By:
W. L. Fisher, Chief e2 /fI/d7/
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Fuel Facility Projects and Radiation Support Section i
t Inspection Summary:
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Inspection on January 12-14, 1981 (Report No. 50-182/81-01; 70-152/81-01)
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Areas Inspected: Routine, announced health and safety inspection, including:
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organization, safety committees, criticality safety, radiation protection, and
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i radioactive waste management. The inspection required 14 hours1.62037e-4 days <br />0.00389 hours <br />2.314815e-5 weeks <br />5.327e-6 months <br /> onsite by one NRC inspector.
Results: No apparent items of noncompliance were identified in the areas
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inspected.
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8103090485
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DETAILS i
1.
Persons Contacted
- Dr. P. L. Ziemer, Radiological Control Officer
- Dr. F. M. Clikeman, Nuclear Engineering Laboratory Director Dr. R. R. Landolt, Associate Radiological Control Officer
Dr. Gordon Born, Assistant Radiological Control Officer E. R. Stansberry, Reactor Supervisor V. L. Morris, Health Physicist
- Denotes those present at exit interview.
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General
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The inspection began at 1:00 p.m. on January 12, 1981, and was concluded f
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at 10:45 a.m. on January 14.
The inspection was conducted to determine compliance with License SNM-142 for the Fast Breeder Blanket Facility
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(FBBF) and health and safety requirements of License R-87 for the research reactor. A followup of some waste packaging and storage activities in-spected in January 1980 (50-182/80-01) was also included.
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B. M. Kosla of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards accompanied the inspector to discuss requirements for renewal of License SNM-142 with r
licensee representatives. The licensee applied for renewal of the i
original SNM-142 license before its expiration date of January 31, 1979, and is operating in timely renewal. The license was developed before the t
FBBF was operable, and the discussion during the inspection concerned license changes that would be appropriate for an operating facility. The
licensee indicated that a revised application would be submitted in early i
1981.
3.
Organization There have been no significant changes in recent years in the responsibili-
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ties for operation of the FBBF and the Research Reactor.
Both facilities
are part of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.
Operation of the FBBF
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and devising of experiments performed are the responsibilities of the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory Director and Assistant Director for the FBBF,
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who were appointed by the department head. Experiments are conducted by a small group of approved graduate students. The Reactor Supervisor, who reports to the Nuclear Engineer Laboratory Director, is responsible for reactor operation. He is a licensed reactor operator as are the Laboratory Director and the Assistant FBBF Director.
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The Radiological Control Officer supervises a Health Physicist and techni-cians and is responsible for radiation surveys, facility monitoring, and personnel monitoring on campus including the FBBF, the Reactor, and lab-
oratory activities conducted under the University broad scope byproduct
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licenses. He is a member of the Radiological Control Committee. The
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committee establishes radiation safety policy, and reviews and approves projects, license amendments, and the uses of radioactive materials.
j There has been one recent change in the radiological control organization.
Dr. Gordon Born replaced Dr. R. J. Vetter as Assistant Radiological Control Officer.
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4.
FBBF Operation
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The FBBF has been operable since 1978.
It is a subcrtical facility with
K of 0.40, designed to simulate the neutron flux conditions.that exist
in[heblanketofafastbreederreactor. The facility consists of two
cylindrical inner converter regions containing rods enriched 4.8% in uranium - 235 surrounded by a blanket containing about 6000 natural uranium rods. A californium - 252 neutron source in the center of the assembly may be raised remotely from its storage location beneath the facility to operate
the facility and lowered to shut it down. The FBBF is housed in a concrete enclosure to maintain outside radiation levels at near background. The entrance is locked during operation and an interlock prevents entry while j
the source is in the raised position. Operation of the FBBF is controlled from a console outside the enclosure. Experiments that are performed in the FBBF are measurements of neutron spectra, foil reaction rates, fission distributions, and gamma ray heating. These require long periods of con-
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tinuous operation during which coatinuous attendance in the area is not l
required.
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The FBBF enclosure is located in a basement room, B-28, of the Physics Building. The room contains a ventilated hood for disassembly and assembly of experimental blanket rods, a desk area for those working with the FBBF, and a storage cage for unused fuel which is presently almost empty. The single entrance to the room is locked when the room is unoccupied and keys i
are assigned to the FBBF directors and authorized student users of the
facility.
Safety related systems and instruments described below were inspected and
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found to be operable as required by the license application.
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A ventilation system continuously exhausts air from inside the FBBF enclosure during operation through a HEPA filter to an exhaust stack at about 700 cfm. A minimum differential pressure of 0.05 inches of water across the filter is required.
The differential was 0.15" during the inspection. A plugged filter or
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ventilation system failure causes the lowering of the californium i
source to its storage location and shutdown of the FBBF. Exhaust air
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from the FBBF is continuously sampled upstream and downstream of the
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filter. Samples are periodically analyzed by the health physics staff.
i A radiation monitor inside the enclosure provides a continuous measure-
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ment of radiation levels in the FBBF at the console outside.
When the
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facility is in operation, the level is about 110 mrem /hr, principally
from fast neutrons. This drops quickly to a near background level af ter shutdown.
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Entry into the FBBF enclosure with the californium source in the
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raised position is prevented by an interlock between the neutron monitoring system in the enclosure and the entrance door.
Panic buttons at the console and inside the FBBF enclosure are provided to lower the source to its storage position in.the event of an emergency. There are two criticality monitors on the concrete shielding wall outside the FBBF, set to alarm at 7.5 mR/hr. These alarm in room B-28, the outside hallway, and at the police station.
The licensee has a procedure for testing these emergency systems.
They are tested at six month intervals by the Laboratory Director and were last tested in December 1980.
Work with experimental rods, principally the insertion an:d removal of
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test foils, is done in a ventilated hood in room B-28.
The hood has a number of access ports which are closed when the hood is not in use.
Administrative procedures require the ventilation system to be operating and limit the number of open ports in the hood to three when work in the hood is in progress to assure a flow of at least 100 feet per minute through the ports. The ventilation system is similar to that for the FBBF. Air is exhausted at about 600 cfm from the hood through a HEPA filter to a stack. The air is sampled on both sides of the filter. An air sampler is also located on the hood in the worker's breathing zone.
A locked storage cage in room B-28 was intended for safe storage of
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enriched FBBF fuel. At the time of the inspection, the cage contained only some scrap pellets and a few natural uranium rods. Fuel rods for the FBBF, enriched 1.3 percent and 4.8 percent in uranium - 235, are stored in locked enclosures in Duncan Annex in rooms adjacent to the research reactor. The inspector observed the stored fuel during a tour of the reactor facility.
Portable survey instruments for low, intermediate, and high levels of
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radiation are available in the FBBF. There are a number of dosimeters in the FBBF enclosure, room B-28, and in adjacent rooms, located as described in the approved license application for the FBBF.
Postings and radiation signs required by 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 were
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adequate.
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Ne items of noncompliance were identified.
5.
Essearch Reactor The inspector toured the Research Reactor to determine compliance with the
health physics requirements of License R-87 and the regulations. The
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facility is a pool-type reactor licensed to operate at steady state power
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levels not in excess of one kilowatt. The reactor supervisor, Nuclear
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Engineering Laboratory Director and the Assistant Director of the FBBF
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are NRC licensed reactor operators. The facility is used to train nuclear engineering students. Also, items are irradiated for use at the university
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in licensed laboratory activities. The reactor was not operated during the inspection.
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The inspector observed the following conditions related to radiation safety in the reactor area:
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A continuous air sampler located near the pool was in operation.
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Air is continuously exhausted from the reactor room through a HEPA filter. This air is not sampled because air is sampled near the pool.
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Portable survey instruments covering low, medium, and high range are
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available. Stickers indicated the instruments are being calibrated
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at six month intervals.
Three area radiation (criticality) monitors were in place, and set
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to alarm at 7.5 mR/hr.
Calibration stickers indicated calibration within the last six months.
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Postings and radiation signs required by 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 were
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in place.
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No items of noncompliance were identified.
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6.
Ra3iation Protection A professional health physicist and HP technicians are responsible for area surveys, personnel monitoring, instrument calibration, and waste management. The health physicist reports to the Radiological Control
Officer. The health physics staff services ac'.ivities licensed under the university broad scope licenses 13-02812-04 and -07 as well as the
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FBBF and the Reactor. The inspector examined survey and monitoring i
records for both facilities as described below:
Film badges sensitive to beta, gamma, and neutrons are used to
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measure external exposure of people who frequent the FBBF and
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reactor areas. Finger rings are required to be used when handling fuel. Badges and rings are changed monthly. For 1980 through c
October, the records showed no measurable whole body dose to anyone associated with the reactor or FBBF. Three individuals had slight hand exposures, the highest being 70 mrem.
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The licensee has no routine bioassay program. There have been no
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recent occurrances requiring urinalysis.
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Smear surveys are made monthly in the FBBF and the reactor areas.
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Records for 1980 disclosed no contamination significantly above background.
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Sealed sources used in the reactor and FBBF areas are leak checked
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periodically. The most recent tests in late 1980 disclosed no leak-age. These included checks of the californium-252 source in the FBBF and the five curie plutonium-beryllium reactor startup source.
- Records for portable survey and fixed monitoring instruments
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indicated that calibrations are being made at six month intervals.
In September 1980, nine portable instruments, the three remote area
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(criticality) monitors in the reactor area, and the constant air
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monitor in the reactor area were calibrated. Each instrument was
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calibrated at several points over its range.
I No items of noncompliance were identified.
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7.
Radioactive Waste Management l
No liquid waste is generated in the reactor or FBBF areas. Loss of pool l
water from the reactor is by evaporation. Demineralized water is added
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as necessary. Neither facility generates any measurable gaseous or air-t borne waste. Results of air samples taken in the reactor area and from
the exhaust ducts in the FBBF were examined and showed no activity above l
background.
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Small quantities of contaminated and potentially contaminated solid waste are generated at the FBBF and the reactor. These are deposited in waste a
containers which are appropriately marked. There is one such container in
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each area. The waste is collected as needed by the health physics staff and may be combined with wastes collected from other laboratories on campus which generate radioactive wastes in the use of materials licensed under
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the university broad scope materials licenses.
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During a previous inspection in January 1980 (Report 50-182/80-01), the inspector examined the licensee's actions taken in response to IE Bulletin 79-19,
" Packaging of Low-Level Radioactive Waste for Transport and Burial."
The bulletin required licensees to develop procedures, provide training, conduct audits, and take other actions to assure that low-level radioactive
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waste shipments met DOT and NRC regulations. The inspector visited the licensee's off-campus waste storage area as part of the inspection. While no radiological hazards were found, the large accumulation of toluene in j
open drums and containers was considered to be a fire hazard and to be
the principle cauce of poor housekeeping in the storage area.
The inspector did not tour the vaste storage area during this inspection but obtained the following information on the progress that has been made in disposing of the toluene.
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Lids have been placed on the drums containing toluene. Open top
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vessels (bird baths) from which toluene was being evaporated have been disposed of.
A rough estimate of the total volume of toluene is about 1000 gallons.
f A license amendment has been obtained permitting incineration to
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f reduce waste vo'umes and an incinerator is in place.
Incineration
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of toluene as well as solids is being considered. Toluene would be
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injected into the incinerator at an estimated rate of three gallons per hour.
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E The university fire department has a permit for open burning.
Burning
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is planned to dispose of the large backlog of toluene, after which incineration would be used, if successful, to dispose of future waste.
t A second annual management audit of waste packaging and transport, as requested by IE Bulletin 79-19, was conducted on October 23, 1980, by the
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RCO and Assistant RCO.
j No items of noncompliance were identified.
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Safety Committees
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The Radiological Control Committee meets at least twice per calendar year.
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The inspector read minutes of meetings in March, May, June, and October t
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1980.
f No items of noncompliance were identified.
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Exit Interview r
The NRC representatives met with licensee representatives identified in i
Paragraph 1 at the conclusion of the inspection. The inspector decribed t
the scope of the inspection and said that no items of noncompliance had been identified.
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Other subjects discussed during the meeting were the submittal of a revised l
license application for the FBBF, plans for disposal of toluene, and waste i
packaging and transport. The inspector stressed the importance of assuring i
that all waste drums were free of defects when shipped to burial sites.
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