ML040300244

Annual Report of the Us Geological Survey Triga Non-Power Reactor Facility, January 1 - December 31, 2003

ML040300244
Person / Time
Site:	U.S. Geological Survey
Issue date:	01/14/2004
From:	Timothy Debey US Dept of Interior, Geological Survey (USGS)
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML040300244 (6)

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United States Department of the Interior U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Box 25046 M.S. 7L Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225 IN RJEPLYREFER TO:

January 14, 2004 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington DC 20555

Dear NRC staff:

The attached annual report of the U.S. Geological Survey TRIGA non-power reactor facility is submitted in accordance with license conditions.

The facility docket number is 50-274.

Sincerely, 7 a7 Timothy M. DeBey Reactor Supervisor Enclosure Copy to:

Al Adams, MS 0-11-D-19

!Th0_

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY TRIGA REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT JANUARY 1, 2003 - DECEMBER 31,2003 NRC LICENSE NO. R-1 13 - DOCKET NO. 50-274

1. Personnel Changes: One personnel change occurred in CY 2003 when Paul Heifer, a SRO contractor, completed his contract.

11. Operating Experience The Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR) was in normal operation for the year 2003. No major facility changes were made during the year.

A synopsis of irradiations performed during the year is given below, listed by the organization submitting the samples to the reactor staff:

Organization Number of Samples Geologic Division - INAA 909 Geologic Division - Geochronology 1352 Non-USGS affiliated 801 Total 3062 A-.Thermal power calibrations were perf6omdiin- M-ayand N-vember, with- - --- -

minor adjustments made to the instrumentation.

B. During the report period, 173 daily checklists and 12 monthly checklists were completed in compliance with technical specifications requirements for surveillance of the reactor facility.

C. Tours were provided to individuals and groups during the year for a total visitor count of approximately 400.

D. Three fuel movements were performed during the year for the purposes of increasing reactivity and performing the biennial control rod inspection.

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Ill. Tabulation of Eneray Generated MWH operated Critical hours Pulses Jan 56.400 58.70 0 Feb 27.400 28.22 0 Mar 61.645 63.02 0 Apr 62.519 64.63 0 May 82.055 87.83 0 June 45.116 46.22 0 Julv 32.143 35.13 0 Aug 43.285 44.97 -- - - _.-_0 Sept 106.917 109.50 0 Oct 73.667 79.10 0 Nov 26.800 29.50 0 Dec 51.201 53.47 0 Totals 669.148 699.76 0 IV. Unscheduled Shutdowns Number Date Cause 993 5/1/03 DAC DIS064 Timeout scram (cause unknown) 994 8/8/03 DAC DIS064 Timeout scram (cause unknown) 995 10/30103 NPI000 high power scram while adjusting rod positions (operator in training) 996 12/2/03 NPP 1000 high power scram while increasing power in

___ _____- - -- -automatic control:--

V. Maior Maintenance Operations

1. The primary coolant ion exchange resin was replaced on July 9, 2003.

2. The GM detector in the continuous air monitor was replaced on July 30, 2003, and the instrument was recalibrated.

3. A new conductivity system (Foxboro) was installed on October 16, 2003.

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4. The Campbelling unit was replaced in the NMIOOO wide range power instrument on November 3, 2003. The instrument was calibrated and functionally verified to be operating properly after the replacement.

VI. Summary of 10 CFR 50.59 changes No 50.59 changes were made during this year.

VII. Radioactivity Releases A. Listed below are the total amounts of radioactive gaseous effluent released to

-the environment beyond the effective control-of the-reactor facility7--

Table 1. Gaseous Effluents Released to the Environment Month Argon-41 License Tritiu1 (HTO) 10CFR20 Allowable Allowable (curies) (Ci) (R-113) (mCi) * (mCi)

January 0.192 5.833 0.184 124 February 0.016 5.833 0.070 124 March 0.148 5.833 0.083 124 April 0.164 5.833 0.060 124 May 0.179 5.833 0.146 124 June 0.210 5.833 0.080 124 July 0.164 5.833 0.100 124 August 0.150 5.833 0.075 124 September 0.403 5.833 0.075 124 October 0.338 5.833 0.157 124 November 0.135 5.833 0.059 124 December 0.190 5.833 0.078 124 Total 2.289 70.00 1.167 1488

%bof Allowable -3.27% - -0.08% =

• Note: The tritium concentrations are estimates based on the amount of water lost by evaporation from the reactor multiplied by the concentration of tritium as HTO. Tritium sample analyses are being performed by Hazen Research.

B. One 55-gallon drum of low-level radioactive solid waste was shipped for burial in Washington State during the year.

Note: The principal radioactive waste generated at the reactor facility is the demineralizer resin. Used resin with small quantities of rinse water was de-watered by evaporation and placed in a 55-gallon drum.

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Vil. Radiation Monitoring Our program to monitor and control radiation exposures included the four major elements below during the operating year.

1. Fifteen gamma-sensitive area monitors are located throughout the Nuclear Science Building. A remote readout panel is located in the reactor health physics office. High alarm set points range from 2 mR/hr to 50 mR/hr. High level alarms are very infrequent and due to sample movements.

2. One Continuous Air Monitor (CAM) samples the air in the reactor bay. An equilibrium concentration of about-1-x-104 gCilml present for two-minuteswill result in an increase of 400 cpm above background. There are two alarm setpoints. A low-level alarm is set at 3000 cpm and the high level alarm is set at 10000 cpm.

Reactor bay air is sampled during all reactor operations. The fixed particulate air filter is changed each week and counted on a HPGE gamma spectrometer counting system. The charcoal filter, fitted behind the air filter, is also changed and counted weekly. In all instances, sample data were less than airborne concentration value (10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B, Table 2) for all particulate radioisotopes produced by the reactor.

3. Contamination wipe surveys and radiation surveys with portable survey instruments are performed at least once a month. All portable instruments are calibrated with a 3-Curie (initial activity) Cs-1 37 source traceable to NBS, and wipes are counted on a Gamma Products G5000 low level counting system. Six contaminated areas were noted during routine wipe surveys with contamination above 30 pCi/1 00 cm2 beta. The three highest had beta activity of 239 pCi/1 00 cm2 and two had 40 pCi/100 cm2 . Soap and water were used to remove the contamination. All other areas were less than 30 pCi/1 00 cm2 beta and 15 pCi/1 00 cm2 alpha. The roof area over the reactor tank is roped off and posted as a radiation area (averaging 2.5 mR/hr) during 1 MW operations.

4. Personnel, X and gamma, beta and neutron film badges are assigned to all permanent occupants of the Nuclear Science Building. LiF TLD dosimeters were used at four outdoor environmental stations. Reactor facility visitors are issued self-reading dosimeters. Reactor staff personnel are issued albedo neutron badges.

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Table 2. Personnel Monitoring Results (2/1/02-11/30103)

Deep Dose Shallow Dose Equivalent Equivalent Name Whole Body (Rem) Whole Body (Rem) Extremity (Rem)

Aakhus-Witt A. 0.010 0.016 0.081 Aspey, N. 0.0 0.0 Not monitored DeBey, T 0.052 0.056 0.093 Heifer, P 0.0 0.0 0.0 Hutchings, R. 0.0 0.0 Not monitored Liles, D 0.069 0.070 0.177 Perryman, R 0.050 0.056 0.252 Note: Personnel dosimetry results from December 2003 are not available at this time.

Reactor visitors and occasional experimenters wore pocket dosimeters that resulted in no individual reading that was greater than one (1) mrem.

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