ML042240097

Annual Operating Report for the University of Utah Triga Nuclear Reactor

ML042240097
Person / Time
Site:	University of Utah
Issue date:	07/30/2004
From:	Krahenbuhl M Univ of Utah
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML042240097 (8)

Text

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Center for Excelknce In Nclear Technology, Engineering mndResearch 30 July 2004 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555 To whom it may concern:

Enclosed is the annual operating report for the University of Utah TRIGA Nuclear Reactor, License No. R-126, Docket number 50407, for the period of 1 July 2003 through 30 June 2004.

This report fulfills the requirements of the TRIGA technical specifications (ITS) 6.10(5).

If there are any further questions or concerns regarding this report, please contact me at (801) 581-4188 Respectfully, Melinda P. Krahenbuhl Reactor Administrator O

4r The University of Utah TRIGA Reactor Annual Operating Report for the period 1 July 2003 through 30 June 2004 A. NARRATIVE.

1. Operating Experience.

The University of Utah Center for Excellence in Nuclear Technology, Engineering, and Research (CENTER) TRIGA Reactor, License No. R-126, Docket No. 50-407, was critical 24.833 hours0.00964 days <br />0.231 hours <br />0.00138 weeks <br />3.169565e-4 months <br /> and generated 1672.577 kilowatt-hours of thermal energy during this reporting year. The reactor was used for educational demonstrations, laboratory experiments, systems tests, power measurements and sample irradiations.

2. Changes in Facility Design.

The documents supporting a forthcoming application to upgrade licensed power from 100 kW to 1.1 MW, are being internally reviewed before submission to the NRC. No facilities changes have occurred.

3. Surveillance Tests.

Documentation of all surveillance activities is retained and stored by the facility.

a. Control Rod Worth Table 1.

Summary of contro rod worth, S and ER Core Configuration #24 #24-B Date 8/27/03 4/02/04 Worth ($) Worth ($)

Safety Rod 2.223 2.923 Shim Rod 1.503 1.713 Regulating Rod 0.280 0.30 Excess Reactivity 0.771 0.879 Shutdown Margin 1.012 1.135

b. Control Rod Inspection.

The Biennial Control Rod Inspection was performed during December 2003.

The control rods were sequentially removed from the reactor core for visual inspection. Each control rod was found to be in good condition with no noticeable deterioration or corrosion having occurred since the last inspection.

Rod drop times were measured on 8/27/03 and 4/02/04. All rod drop times were less than 1.0 seconds.

c. Reactor Power Level Instrumentation.

Calorimetric power calibrations were performed on 8128/03, and 4/08/04 with the following results:

Date Measured % Power Calculated Power Level 8/28/03 90.9 kW 88.71 kW 4/08/04 94.4 kW 93.90 kW

d. Fuel Inspection The Biennial Fuel Inspection was performed during December 2003. Each fuel element was visually inspected while keeping it submerged for shielding.

No deterioration or excessive corrosion of in-core fuel elements was observed since the previous inspection. Pool water is sampled and analyzed periodically for evidence of fission product activity indicative of defective or deteriorating fuel. Analyses of pool water following full-power reactor operations lasting several hours have not shown any indication of fission product leakage.

e. Fuel Temperature Calibration.

Fuel temperature circuits were calibrated on 08//03 and 2/12/04. The circuits were calibrated to less than a 20C error over the range 200C to 4000C.

f. Reactor Safety Committee Audits.

Four Audits were completed during this period.

Table 2.

Audit Summary Audit Period auditor Operation and 1 Jul. 2003 to 31 Dec. 2003 Rian B. Smith Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jul. 2003 to 31 Dec. 2003 Rian B. Smith ALARA Operation and 1 July 2002 to 31 Dec 2002 Rian Smith Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 July 2002 to 31 Dec 2002 Rian Smith ALARA _ _ __ _

No significant deviations from normal operating practices were identified by these audits.

I

g. Environmental Surveys.

Six environmental monitors are located in areas surrounding the CENTER.

Rian B. Smith reported to the RSC a maximum exposure of 50 millirem per quarter to an environmental dosimeter located at building #80. Table 3 contains the average dose recorded for three prior years.

Table 3.

Summary of environmental monitoring Year Average quarterly readings for the 6 environmental monitors (mrem) 2003 36.0 2002 34.04 2001 26.5 B. ENERGY OUTPUT.

The reactor was critical for 24.833 hours0.00964 days <br />0.231 hours <br />0.00138 weeks <br />3.169565e-4 months <br /> and produced 0.070 megawatt days (1672.577 kilowatt-hours) of energy during this reporting period. Since initial criticality, the reactor has been operated for a total of 3172.706 hours0.00817 days <br />0.196 hours <br />0.00117 weeks <br />2.68633e-4 months <br /> with an accumulated total energy output of 8.283 megawatt-days (198790.851 kilowatt-hours).

C. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS:

One inadvertent scram occurred during this period. There were no emergency shutdowns. Summary of the inadvertent scrams are in Table 4.

Table 4.

Summary of Inadvertent SCRAMS Date Run Type Cause Action Number 4/15/04 1470 Safety Removed the key without lowering the N/A I I (Manual) safety rod D. MAJOR MAINTENNANCE.

1) CAM chart recorder has been replaced to a new recoder

2) New pneumatic rabbit system was installed in the D-ring.

E. CHANGES, TESTS AND EXPERIMENTS PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 50.59.

As of the end of the reporting period, the current membership of the Reactor Safety Committee (RSC) as designated by the Licensee is as follows:

James M. Byrne, Chair David M. Slaughter Karen Langely, RSO of University of Utah Melinda P. Krahenbuhl, Reactor Administrator Gary M. Sandquist, Secretary Deter Gehmlich James Thompson Rian B. Smith The RSC has reviewed and approved several CENTER procedures that were modified to update and correct perceived deficiencies. The CENTER staff continues to review and update facility documentation to assure compliance with all applicable regulations.

F. RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS.

1.Liquid Waste - Total Activity Released: none

2. Gaseous Waste - Total Estimated Activity Released: 20.821 plCi.

The TRIGA Reactor was operated for 24.833 hours0.00964 days <br />0.231 hours <br />0.00138 weeks <br />3.169565e-4 months <br /> at power levels up to approximately 90 kW. At this power level argon-41 production is substantially below MPC values for unrestricted areas. The minimum detectable concentration of Ar-41 for the stack monitor has been found to be one-third of 10 CFR 20 appendix B limits for release to unrestricted areas.

The average annual calculated concentration of Ar-41 generated during operations is estimated at 9.265E-1 1ItCi/ml approximately 0.003 % of the DAC for this radionuclide. The total amount of Ar-41 released was estimated at 20.821 pLCi. No phosphorus-32 was released from CENTER during this period. The total amount of all gaseous radioactivity released was estimated at 20.821 pCi. A monthly summary of gaseous releases is given in Table 5.

Table 5.

Sumay of Monthly seous Radioactive Effluent Month Ar-41 (juCi) Estimated Release Total (jiCi)

P-32 and all others July 3.740 0 3.740 August 2.858 0 2.858 September 7.230 0 7.230 October 0.413 0 0.413 November 1.876 0 1.876 December 0 0 0 January 0 0 0 February 0 0 0 March 0.003 0 0.003 April 4.691 0 4.691 May0.006 0 0.006 June 0.003 0 0.003 Total Activity of gaseous effluent: 20.821 PCi

3. Solid Waste - Total Activity: None No solid waste material was sent to the Radiological Health Department for disposal during the period of 1 July 2003 through 30 June 2004.

G. RADIATION EXPOSURES.

Personnel with duties in the reactor laboratory on either a regular or occasional basis have been issued a OSL dosimeter by the University of Utah Radiological Health Department. The duty category and monitoring period of personnel are summarized in Table 6.

Table 6.

Summaiy of Monitored Personnel Name Monitoring Period Duty Category David M. Slaughter 7/01103-6/30/04 Regular/Terminated Gary M. Sandquist 7/01/03-6130/04 regular Melinda Krahenbuhl 7/01/03-6/30/04 regular Dong-ok Choe 7/01/03-6/30/04 regular Justin L. Wilde 7/01/03-6130/04 Regular/Terminated Brenda Shelkey 7/01/03-6/30/04 Regular/Terminated Brian A. Harper 4/1104-6/30/04 Regular Dimitre Assenov 7/01/03-6130/04 regular John D. Bess 7/01/03-6/30/04 regular Ward Chapman 7/01/03-6/30/04 regular Maddock L. Thomas 7/01/03-6130/04 Regular/Terminated James R. Parry 7/01/03-130/04 Regular/Tertninated Measured Doses 7/1/03-613004 Doses: <10 mrem average; 9 mrem highest measured Dose Equivalent Limit Maximum Permissible Dose Equivalent = 5000 mrem/year (1250/quarter).

Minimum Detectable Dose per Monthly Badge =10 mrem.

Five hundred and forty five individuals visited the reactor facility during the period 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004. None of the visitors received a measurable dose. A summary of whole body exposures to CENTER personnel is presented in Table 7.

W Table 7.

Summary of Whole ody Exposures Estimated whole body exposure range Number of individuals in each range:

(rem):

No Measurable Dose (Less than 0.10) 12 0.10 to 0.25 0 0.25 to 0.50 0 0.50 to 0.75 0 0.75 to 1.00 0 1.00 to 2.00 0 2.00 to 3.00 0 3.00 to 4.00 0 4.00 to 5.00 0 Greater than 5 rem 0 H. LABORATORY SURVEYS Monthly surveys of the facility were conducted by the University of Utah Radiological Health Department during the reporting period. The surveys have not indicated any unusual radiation levels over previous years. Records of surveys are retained by the facility.

I. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Environmental monitoring conducted by the University of Utah Radiological Health Department indicated no unusual dose rates in the areas surrounding the Merrill Engineering Building, which houses the reactor facility.

Prepared by: TIC Date: 30 / {

Submitted by. ( Date: Adz /-3 7 Reactor Supervisor Approved by: Date: Y3yd 7 Reac~r Administrator