IR 05000262/1984001
| ML20140D680 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000262 |
| Issue date: | 01/23/1986 |
| From: | Ireland R NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20140D659 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-262-84-01, 50-262-84-1, NUDOCS 8602030095 | |
| Download: ML20140D680 (6) | |
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APPENDIX
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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSI0N
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REGION IV
W NRC Ins'pection Report: 50-262/84-01 License No. R-109; -
Docket: 50-262 Licensee: Brigham Young University (BYU)
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- Provo, Utah
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Facility ~Name: L-77 Reactor (10 Watt)
Inspection Conducted: May 23, 1984 and October 25, 1984 Inspector: R. E. Ireland, Chief Engineering Section
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Consultant: .J. E. Hyder Los Alamos National Laboratory Approved: _
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E. Ireland, Chidf, Engineering Section I/zM/L Date
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- - Inspection Summary Inspection' Conducted'May 23 and October 25, 1984 (Report 50-262/84-01)
' Areas Inspected: Routine unannounced inspection of records, logs, and
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organization; reviews and audits; requalification training; procedures;
_ surveillance activities; experiments; fuel-handling activities; radiation
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control; radwaste. management; emergency planning; and physical security and
' safeguards. The inspection involved 6 inspector-hours 'onsite by one. contractor
. inspector and'4 inspector-hours by one NRC inspecto Results: No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this inspectio .
8602030095 DR 960129 ADOCK 05000262
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-2-DETAILS Persons Contacted
+Dr. Gary Jensen, Licensed Senior Reactor Operator
- Dr. Max Hill, Chairman Reactor Safety Committee
! +Mr. Fred Nelson, Campus Radiation Safety Officer
- Indicates those present at the exit interview on May 23, 1984
+ Indicates those present at the exit interview on October 25, 1984
, General The Brigham Young University (BYU) L-77 Reactor had been operated.54-times since the last inspection. . The reactor was last operated on May 11, 198 The university has decided to decommission the reactor, and it has been put in a permanent shutdown status. By letter dated April 4, 1983, the i
NRC Division of Licensing advised the university that it should not submit a formal application for decommissioning until after fuel had been removed and shipped from the site. The fuel, uranyl sulfate solution, is owned by the Department of Energy-(DOE). However, at the time of the October 25, 1984 inspection, DOE had not located containers suitable for shipment of liquid fuel, and the schedule for defueling the reactor was
unknow . Organization, Logs, and Records
The facility organization was reviewed and verified to be consistent with the Technical Specifications. The minimum staffing requirements were:
verified to be present during reactor operation ,
The reactor logs and records were reviewed to verify that: Required entries were made,
. significant problems or incidents were documented,
' the facility has been maintained properly, and records were available for inspectio .-No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
- Reviews and Audits lThe licensee's review and audit program records were examined by the inspector to verify the following
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-3- Reviews of facility changes, operating and maintenance procedures, design changes, and unreviewed experiments had been conducted by a safety review committee as required by Technical Specification The Reactor Safety committee was composed of qualified members, and quorum and frequency of meeting requirements had been me Required safety audits had been conducted in accordance with '
Technical Specifications requirements, and any identified problems were resolve The last regular meeting of the Reactor Safety Committee was conducted in
September 1983. Subsequent to that date, all Reactor Safety Committee matters have been covered during formal meetings of the university's Radiation Safety Committee. From discussion with the licensee and review of minutes of the Radiation Safety Committee, the NRC inspector determined that all requirements including meeting frequency and content of Reactor Safety Committee business were being covere No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Requalification Training l
The inspector reviewed procedures, logs, and training records and interviewed personnel to verify that the requalification training program Wds being Carried out in Conformance With the facility's approved plan and NRC regulations. The two senior reactor operators received license renewals effective May 12, 1983, but have not operated the reactor since that time. The licensee acknowledged that they must be recertified to the l Commission before removing fuel from the reactor. It was anticipated by i the licensee that such certification would be based on full rehearsal of l fuel removal procedures since the reactor is permanently shutdown. The
- possibility that fuel removal and shipment could be delayed beyond the
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expiration dates of the SR0 licenses was discussed with the license The
! licensee was encouraged to make early contact with Region IV operator licensing staff to seek guidance if such a delay were to become likel No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Procedures The inspector reviewed the licensee's procedures to determine if procedures were issued, reviewed, changed or updated, and approved in accordance with Technical Specifications requirements. This review also verified that The procedure content was adequate to safely operate and maintain the facility, the responsibilities were clearly defined, and the required checklists and forms were use ..
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The inspector determined that the required procedures were available and that the contents of the procedures were adequat The licensee currently is developing the procedure for the removal of fuel from the reactor. The NRC inspector reviewed the Atomics International document, TI-L77-13-001 " Fuel Loading Procedures For The Brigham Young University 'L-77 Research Reactor," dated January 24, 1967, upon which the new procedure would be based. It appeared that all i necessary procedural steps and precautions for fuel removal were presented in the Al document. Prior to removing fuel, the licensee staff will fully rehearse all steps of the procedur No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Surveillance Activities
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The inspector reviewed procedures, surveillance test schedules, and test records and discussed the surveillance program with responsible personnel to verify that
, when necessary, procedures were available and adequate to perform the tests, i tests were completed within the required time schedule, and 4' test records were available.
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The Technical Specifications do not require any particular surveillance
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for the reactor while it is shut down. All required activities were completed appropriately through the last day of~ operation. The campus Radiation Safety Office now performs radiation and contamination surveys
- at approximately 6-month interval No items-of noncompliance or deviations were identified.
! 8. Experiments The inspector verified the following by reviewing experiment records and l other reactor logs:
l l Experiments were conducted using approved procedures and under l approved reactor condition New experiments or changes in experiments were reviewed properly and
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approve The experiments did not involve any unreviewed safety question Experiments involving potential hazards or reactivity changes were r identified in the procedures.
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e Reactivity limits were not or could no't have been exceeded during the
' experimen ~The reactor was operated a total of 54 times between July 23, 1980, and May 11,1982. Approximately two-thirds of the reactor runs were for class
'related demonstrations, and/or irradiations, the remaining runs were for maintenance and surveillance purpose No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Radiation Control The inspector reviewed records, interviewed personnel, and made observations to verify that radiation controls were being carried out in accordance with the license and NRC regulation The areas covered were: Posting and labeling of areas and radioactive material Control of irradiated sample Calibration of radiation-detection instruments, Required periodic-dose and contamination survey Exposure records of personne Posted areas of the facilit Personnel trainin No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie . Radwaste Management The very limited radioactive waste generated by this reactor has been collected by the Radiation Safety Officer, combined with other campus generated waste, and packaged correctly and shipped to an approved disposal site'.
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No items of noncompliance or deviations were identifie ~
1 Emergency Plan The licensee submitted an Emergency Plan to the Commission by transmittal letter dated December 13, 1982. The NRC had requested more information concerning the Emergency Plan. However, since the reactor has been put in
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n a permanent shutdown status,'the NRC advised the University in '
August 1984, that a response would not be necessar .
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-6-12.-- Physical Security and Nuclear Materials Safeguards The fuel is still in the reactor, which is in the locked Reactor Laboratory. The controls and necessary tubing connections for fuel handling are behind a locked pane The Reactor Laboratory is equipped with an Intrusion Detector that alarms in the University Police Offic The NRC inspector verified that all locks, alarms and associated physical security devices were operable and in good conditio No violations or deviations were identifie . Exit Interview The inspector met with a licensee representative (noted in paragraph 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on May 23, 1984, and summarized the scope and findings of the inspectio The NRC inspector met with licensee representatives on October 25, 1984, and discussed the results of both the May 23 and the October 25, 1984, inspections.
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