ML061980026
| ML061980026 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Utah |
| Issue date: | 07/06/2006 |
| From: | Krahenbuhl M Univ of Utah |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML061980026 (8) | |
Text
Center for Excellence in Nuclear Technology, Engineering, andResearch 6 July 2006 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 50-407, for the period of 1 July 2005 through 30 June 2006.
This report fulfills the requirements of the TRIGA technical specifications (TTS) 6.10(5).
If there are any further questions or concerns regarding this report, please contact me at (801) 581-4188 Respectfully, elinda P. Krahenbuhl Reactor Administrator
The University of Utah TRIGA Reactor Annual Operating Report for the period 1 July 2005 through 30 June 2006 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 31.467 hours0.00541 days <br />0.13 hours <br />7.721561e-4 weeks <br />1.776935e-4 months <br /> and generated 1233.489 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 upgrade in licensed power from 100 kW to 250 kW are being reviewed by 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 control rod worth, SDM, and ER Core Configuration
- 24-B
- 24-B
- 24-B
- 24-B Date 8/04/05 11/09/05 12/27/05 2/17/06 Worth ($)
Worth ($)
Worth ($)
Worth ($)
Safety Rod 2.190 2.230 2.227 2.227 Shim Rod 1.467 1.415 1.553 1.557 Regulating Rod 0.270 0.267 0.273 0.270 Excess Reactivity 0.618 0.608 0.761 0.758 Shutdown Margin 1.119 1.074 1.066 1.068
- b. Control Rod Inspection.
The Biennial Control Rod Inspection was performed during December 2005.
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 8/04/05, 11/09/05, 12/27/05 and 2/17/06.
All rod drop times were less than 1.0 seconds.
- c. Reactor Power Level Instrumentation.
Calorimetric power calibrations were performed on 8/05/05, 11/23/05, 12/28/05 and 2/17/06 with the following results:
Date 8/05/05 11/23/05 12/28/05 2/17/06 Measured % Power Calculated Power Level 90.05 92.10 93.00 89.00 89.86 88.00 93.43 86.30
- d. Fuel Inspection The Biennial Fuel Inspection was performed during December 2005. 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 8/25/05 and 2/23/06. The circuits were calibrated to less than a 2°C 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 Jan. 2005 to 30 Jun. 2005 Rian B. Smith Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jan. 2005 to 30 Jun. 2005 Rian B. Smith ALARA Operation and 1 Jul. 2005 to 31 Dec. 2005 David M. Slaughter Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jul. 2005 to 31 Dec. 2005 David M. Slaughter ALARA I
I
_I No significant deviations from normal operating practices were identified by these audits.
- g. Environmental Surveys.
Six environmental monitors are located in areas surrounding the CENTER.
Rian B. Smith reported to the RSC a maximum exposure of 45 millirem per quarter to an environmental dosimeter located at building #80. Table 3 contains the average dose recorded for four prior years.
Table 3.
Summary of environmental monitoring Year Average quarterly readings for the 6 environmental monitors (mrem) 2005 35.59 2004 35.58 2003 36.00 2002 34.04 B. ENERGY OUTPUT.
The reactor was critical for 31.467 hours0.00541 days <br />0.13 hours <br />7.721561e-4 weeks <br />1.776935e-4 months <br /> and produced 0.051 megawatt-days (1233.489 kilowatt.hours) of energy during this reporting period. Since initial criticality, the reactor has been operated for a total of 3262.088 hours0.00102 days <br />0.0244 hours <br />1.455026e-4 weeks <br />3.3484e-5 months <br /> with an accumulated total energy output of 8.380 megawatt.days (201120.926 kilowatt.hours).
C. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS:
There was no inadvertent scram occurred during this period. There were no emergency shutdowns.
D. MAJOR MAINTENANCE.
- 1) PH probe was installed for the reactor pool.
7 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 Dongok Choe, Reactor Supervisor Gary M. Sandquist Robert J. Huber 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: 15.359 [tCi.
The TRIGA Reactor was operated for 51.915 hours0.0106 days <br />0.254 hours <br />0.00151 weeks <br />3.481575e-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 6.835E-11 itCi/ml approximately 0.002 % of the DAC for this radionuclide. The total amount of Ar-41 released was estimated at 15.359 [tCi. No phosphorus-32 was released from CENTER during this period. The total amount of all gaseous radioactivity released was estimated at 15.359 tCi. A monthly summary of gaseous releases is given in Table 4.
r Table 4.
Summary of Monthly Gaseous Radioactive Effluent Month Ar-41 (gCi)
Estimated Release Total (gCi)
P-32 and all others July 0.397 0
0.397 August 3.028 0
3.028 September 1.186 0
1.186 October 0.003 0
0.003 November 1.074 0
1.074 December 2.326 0
2.326 January 0.000 0
0.000 February 4.500 0
4.500 March 2.217 0
2.217 April 0.000 0
0.000 May 0.000 0
0.000 June 0.626 0
0.626 Total Activity of gaseous effluent: 15.359 jICi
- 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 2005 through 30 June 2006.
G. RADIATION EXPOSURES.
Personnel with duties in the reactor laboratory on either a regular or occasional basis have been issued an OSL dosimeter by the University of Utah Radiological Health Department. The duty category and monitoring period of personnel are summarized in Table 5.
Table 5.
Summary of Monitored Personnel Name Monitoring Period Duty Category Jesse Reeves 2/01/06-6/30/06 Regular Melinda Krahenbuhl 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Dong-ok Choe 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Brian A. Harper 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Douglas Crawford 11/01/05-6/30/06 Regular John D. Bess 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Ward Chapman 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Jorge Navarro 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Christy Seiger Webster 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Sang Kyu Lee 11/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Roger Carrasquel 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Ronald Carrasquel 7/01/05-7/31/05 Regular/Terminated Rhett W. Christensen 7/01/05-2/28/06 Regular/Terminated Nathan Brown 7/01/05-6/30/06 Regular Measured Doses 7/1/05-6/30/06 Doses: <5 mrem average; 5 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 two (502) individuals visited the reactor facility during the period 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006. None of the visitors received a measurable dose. A summary of whole body exposures to CENTER personnel is presented in Table 6.
-f Table 6.
Summary of Whole Body Exposures Estimated whole body exposure range Number of individuals in each range:
(rem):
No Measurable Dose (Less than 0.10) 14
- 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 5rem 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.
Date:
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Prepared by:
Submitted by:
Reactor Supervisor Approved by:,,,ý Date:
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C Reaodor Administrator