IR 05000274/1981001
| ML19345H071 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Issue date: | 03/11/1981 |
| From: | Dickerson M, Westerman T NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19345H070 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-274-81-01, 50-274-81-1, NUDOCS 8104300382 | |
| Download: ML19345H071 (7) | |
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-4 U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT
REGION IV
Report No. 50-274/81-01 Category F Docket No. 50-274 License No. R-113 Licensee:
U. S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Denver Federal Center
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Denver, Colorado 80225 Facility:
Triga Research Reactor (1 MWT)
Inspection Conducted:
February 17-18, 1981 Inspector:
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'M./W. Dickerson/ Res4'dyf}/ Reactor Inspector
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Approved by: i.M
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'4. F. Westerman,Shief g
/Date Project Section 1 Inspection Summary:
Inspection on February 17-18, 1981 (Report No. 50-274/81-01)
Areas Inspected:
Routine, unannounced inspection of reactor operations including organization, safety committee reviews and audits, operations and maintenance records, operator requalification training, procedures, refueling, surveillance, new experiments, radiation protection, environmental protection, licensee event followup, followup on previously identified problems, followup on previous items on noncompliance and IE Circular followup.
The inspection involved 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br /> on site by one NRC inspector.
Results: Within the 13 areas inspected no violations or deviations were identified.
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DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted U. S. Geological Survey
- A. P. Marranzino, Reactor Administrator
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- D. H. Rusling, Reactor Supervisor P. G. Helfer, Senior Reactor Operator R. E. Perryman, Senior Reactor Operator W. L. Smith, Reactor Health Physicist
- Attended Exit Interview.
2.
Licensee Action on Previous Inspection Findings (Closed) Noncompliance (50-274/80-02) Shipments of Radioactive Waste.
The
" Procedures and Instructions for Collecting and Handling Low-Level Radio-active Waste" has been revised tc include a requirement (for each drum being prepared for shipment) that monitoring for radiation emissions be performed by two people using an appropriate open-side window G-M instrument.
(Closed) Unresolved Item (50-274/79-02) Emergency Planning Agreements with Support Agencies.
Current written agreements for support have been obtained from Rocky Flats and the University of Colorado Medical Center.
3.
Reactor Organization, Logs and Records Within the area of organization the inspector observed that the facility organization is consistent with the Technical Specifications.
The following logs and records for the period of March 23, 1979 thru February 18, 1981, were reviewed:
a.
Reactor Operations Logs b.
Reactor Startup and Shutdown Checklists c.
Reactor Monthly Checklists d.
Instrument Calibrations Logs e.
Maintenance Logs f.
Fuel Element History Log In addition to the above, the inspector also reviewed applicable sections of the "Triga Reactor Operations Manual" as reviewed and approved by the Reactor Operations Committee.
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During a review of the Reactor Operations Log for January 5, 1981, the inspector noted that a piece of aluminum approximately four inches long and one-half inch in diameter had been dropped into the fuel pool and had~
not been retrieved.
This occurred during examination of the control rods and the piece was being used to align the reattachment of a control rod.
Examination of the areas in core rings A and B (removal of the elements)
and under the control rods, plus vacuuming of the pit floor area and
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examination of the whole area with binoculars did not reveal the location of the piece of aluminum.
An evaluation of continuing operation with the piece of a aluminum still missing has been completed by the operating staff.
The evaluation is to be reviewed by the Reactor Operations Committee on February 23, 1981.
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This matter is considered open pending completion of the Committee's review.
(8101-01)
During this review the inspector also noted that new fuel elements had been inserted in the reactor core and that the core configuration had been changed.
This matter will be discussed later under " Refueling."
The inspector had no additional questions in this area.
4.
Procedures The inspector reviewed the procedural requirements as required by the Technical Specification and determined that procedures relative to the following areas had been reviewed and approved by the Reactor Safety Committee:
a.
Testing and calibration of reactor operating instrumentation and control systems, control rod drives, area radiation monitors and air particulate monitors.
b.
Reactor startup, routine operation and reactor shutdown.
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c.
Emergency and abnormal conditions, including evacuation, re-entry and recovery.
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Fuel loading or unloading.
e.
Control rod removal and replacement.
f.
Maintenance operations which may effect reactor safety.
No violations or deviations were identified.
5.
Surveillance By review of the logs and records noted previously the inspector determined that all required surveillance activities had been performed in accordance with Technical Specifications.
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The records identified below were reviewed and indicated that limits associated with core excess reactivity, control rod worth, shut down margin, pool temperature, conductivity, safety circuits, interlocks, alarm points, ventilation systems, reactor power and auxiliary systems have been met.
Start-up and Shutdown Checklists
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Monthly Checklists Reactor Operations Logs Maintenance Log Fuel Element History Log Radioisotope Request and Receipt Experiment Authorizations Quarterly Reports for 1979, 1980 Annual Reports for 1979, 1980 Health Physics Log At the time of the inspection the licensee reported the following Core reactivity parameters:
Core Excess Reactivity - $5.53 Total Control Rod Worth - $10.69 Maximum Worth Control Rod - $3.21 (Regulating)
Additionally, no pulse mode operation was conducted by the licensee during j
this report review period.
No violations or deviations were identified.
6.
Recualification Training At the present time there are three licensed operators at the facility, one of whom was the reactor supervisor and as such is exempt from the requalification program.
The written examination and reactor manipulation records for the two operators who remained under the requalification program were examined and found acceptable.
Examinations were also com-pleted in January 1981, however these have not been graded and will be reviewed during the next inspection.
No violations or deviations were identified.
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7.
Review and Audit The minutes of the licensee's Reactor Operations Committee (ROC) Meetings were reviewed.
The responsibilities of the ROC are outlined in Technical Specifications H.2, and Section 3.8 of the Reactor Operations Manual.
Records indicated that the ROC met on the following dates:
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February 26-27, 1979; August 13, 1979; August 27, 1979; February 25, 1980; February 26, 1980; and August 18, 1980.
No violations or deviations were identified.
8.
ExperimentsSection I of the Technical Specifications specifies the requirements for approval of new experiments.
Those requirements are implemented in Section 4.5 of the licensee's Operations Manual.
Class II experiments were approved by the ROC and the Class I were approved by the Reactor Supervisor.
The following experiments were approved during this inspec-tion period:
Class I 1.-78, L-79, L-80, C-15, C-16, and P-13
Class II P-12, P-14, and 0-5 No violations or deviations were identified.
9.
Annual Operating Report The inspector reviewed the annual operating reports for the USGS Triga reactor for the periods January 1, 1979 through December 31, 1979 and January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1980.
No violations or deviations were identified.
10.
Radiation and Environmental Protection The inspector reviewed the health physics log, argon-41 instrument calibration, personnel exposure, radiation survey, and visitor control records.
The inspector verified compliance with 10 CFR Parts 19 and 20 and noted that all whole body exposures for 1979 and 1980 were less than 0.045 rem.
The highest hand exposure was 0.30 rem.
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The inspector reviewed effluent releases from the facility, consisting primarily of argon-41 and tritium, and concluded that releases were within 10 CFR Part 20.106 limits.
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The licensee's Environmental Protection Program is described in Section 8.8 of the Operations Manual.
Soil and water samples are collected within a 4 mile radius of the facility every two years. Soil samples collected in
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1980 had not been analyzed at the time of this inspection.
Water sam collectedin1980indicatedamaximumgrosgalphaactivityof1.4x10~gles uc/ml and a gross beta activity of 9.4x10- uc/ml, both for the offsite locations of Sloans Lake.
Four environmental TLD stations are located at the exhaust stack and in the vicinity of the facility.
The stack TLD indicated a net gamma dose of 0.0564 rem for 1979 and 0.1615 for 1980.
No violations or deviations were identified.
11.
IE Circulars The inspector verified by record review, observation, and discussion with representatives of the licensee, the actions taken in response to IE Cir-culars.
The follcwing Circular was reviewed:
80-14 Radioactive Contamination of Plant Demineralized Water System and Resultant Internal Contamination of Personnel - This has been reviewed by the licensee for applicability and they have determined that no corrective action is necessary.
12.
Refueling
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The inspector verified by record review and discussion with the licensee l
the fuel inspection required by Technical Specifications and changes to the core configuration which occurred during January 1980 and again in January 1981.
Inspection of new fuel elements was accomplished during its receipt at USGS.
l The core changes consisted of 10 movements during January 1980, basically l
three fuel elements from the "B" ring were moved into the "G" ring and three new fuel elements were inserted into the "B" ring.
The January 1981 core cninges consisted of twenty-one movements to reposition three elements i
from "F" ring into "G" ring, to insert three new elements into the "B" ring, t
to movi one element from "C" ring into "G" ring and to insert one new l
elemer t into "G" ring.
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The 'uel inspections were accomplished in accordance with Section 5.10.5 of '.ne Operations Manual and the changes in the core configuration were drae utilizing Section 5.10.3 of the Operations Manual.
However, a
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review of the procedure indicates that while it is adequate as a general procedure it should be supplemented for each specific instance of fuel movement by detailed steps indicating the fuel element to be moved, and the location it is to be moved from and to.
Additionally, a means of monitoring the core reactivity during the moves should be specified.
This matter was discussed with the licensee who agreed that in the future a supplemental procedure would be written, approved and utilized.
This will remain as an open item (8101-02).
It should be noted that excess reactivity
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was measured after the core change as required by the procedure.
The inspector had no additional questions in this area.
13.
Review of Licensee Event Reports The inspector reviewed licensee event reporting activities to verify that they were in accordance with Technical Specification including identification details, corrective action, review and evaluation of aspects relative to operations and accuracy of reporting.
The following report was reviewed by the inspector:
On October 10, 1979, the licensee reported that the % Power Channel had experienced a loss of signal at 11:36 a.m. on October 9, 1979.
Other power channels indicated normal readings.
An investigation revealed the cause to be moisture in the connector which had shorted the signal.
The connector was dried, cleaned and a current source utilized to check the operation and calibration of the circuit.
No violations or deviations were identified.
14.
Exit Interview An exit interview was held with representatives of the licensee on February 18, 1981, following completion of the inspection.
At the interview, the inspector discussed the findings indicated in the pre-vious paragraphs.
The licensee acknowledged these findings.
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