ML082050236
| ML082050236 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Utah |
| Issue date: | 07/14/2008 |
| From: | Slaughter D Univ of Utah |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML082050236 (8) | |
Text
Center for Excellence in Nuclear Technology, Engineering, and Research 14 July 2008 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 2007 through 30 June 2008.
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) 585-0759 Respectfully,-
David M. Slaughter Reactor Administrator 4D 2-C "11,z
The University of Utah TRIGA Reactor Annual Operating Report for the period 1 July 2007 through 30 June 2008 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 36.445 hours0.00515 days <br />0.124 hours <br />7.357804e-4 weeks <br />1.693225e-4 months <br /> and generated 2004.933 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 Date 8/28/07 1/24/08 2/25/08 Worth ($)
Worth ($)
Worth ($)
Safety Rod 2.510 2.173 2.173 Shim Rod 1.70 1.457 1.493 Regulating Rod 0.276 0.207 0.273 Excess Reactivity 0.85 0.838 0.800 Shutdown Margin 1.126 0.855 0.967
- b. Control Rod Inspection The Biennial Control Rod Inspection was performed during December 2007.
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 8/28/07, 1/24/08, and 2/25/08. All rod drop times were less than 1.0 seconds.
- c. Reactor Power Level Instrumentation Calorimetric power calibrations were performed on 8/29/06, and 2/23/07 with the following results:
Date Measured % Power Calculated Power Level 9/04/07 91.1 88.2 1/31/08 90.7 86.0
- d. Fuel Inspection The Biennial Fuel Inspection was performed during December 2007. 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 8/31/07 and 2/25/08. The circuits were calibrated to less than a 2°C error over the range 20'C to 400'C.
- f. Reactor Safety Committee Audits Four Audits were completed during this period.
Table 2.
Audit Summary Audit Period auditor Operation and 1 Jan. 2007 to 30 Jun. 2007 David M. Slaughter/
Maintenance Rian B. Smith Radiation Safety and 1 Jan. 2007 to 30 Jun. 2007 Rian B. Smith ALARA Operation and 1 Jul. 2007 to 31 Dec. 2007 Rian B. Smith Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jul. 2007 to 31 Dec. 2007 Rian B. Smith ALARA 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 50 millirem per quarter to an environmental dosimeter located at building #80 and ERG.
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) 2007 37.94 2006 36.74 2005 37.53 2004 35.58 2003 36.00 B. ENERGY OUTPUT The reactor was critical for 36.445 hours0.00515 days <br />0.124 hours <br />7.357804e-4 weeks <br />1.693225e-4 months <br /> and produced 0.0835 megawatt-days (2004.933 kilowatt-hours) of energy during this reporting period. Since initial criticality, the reactor has been operated for a total of 3350.996 hours0.0115 days <br />0.277 hours <br />0.00165 weeks <br />3.78978e-4 months <br /> with an accumulated total energy output of 8.517 megawatt-days (202410.162 kilowatt-hours).
C. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS:
Table 4.
Summary of Inadvertent SCRAMS Date Run Type Cause Action Number 8/31/07 1582 Linear Power switch connection-N/A Power Feedback from the reactor power I switch There was 1 inadvertent SCRAM occurred during this period. There were no emergency shutdowns. Summary of the inadvertent scrams are in Table 4.
D. MAJOR MAINTENANCE
- 1) New flow meter was installed.
- 2) Computer based Thermal power calibration, control rod drops measurements, and flow meter reading systems are completed.
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, (Reactor Administrator started as of June 16, 2008)
Karen Langely, RSO of University of Utah Melinda P. Krahenbuhl, Reactor Administrator (resigned as of June 16, 2008)
Dongok Choe, Reactor Supervisor Gary M. Sandquist Robert J. Huber James Thompson Rian B. Smith 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: 24.961 XCi The TRIGA Reactor was operated for 36.4456 hours0.0516 days <br />1.238 hours <br />0.00737 weeks <br />0.0017 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 two-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 1.111E-1 0*tCi/ml approximately 0.004 % of the DAC for this radionuclide. The total amount of Ar-41 released was estimated at 24.961 iCi. No phosphorus-32 was released from CENTER during this period. The total amount of all gaseous radioactivity released was estimated at 24.961 ýtCi. A monthly summary of gaseous releases is given in Table 5.
Table 5.
Summary of Monthly Gaseous Radioactive Effluent Month Ar-41 ([tCi)
Estimated Release Total ([tCi)
P-32 and all others July 0.051 0
0.051 August 2.848 0
2.848 September 1.951 0
1.951 October 2.231 0
2.231 November 3.337 0
3.337 December 0.000 0
0.000 January 2.366 0
2.366 February 4.135 0
4.135 March 0.000 0
0.000 April
- 3.929 0
3.929 May 0.643 0
0.643 June 3.471 0
3.471 Total Activity of gaseous effluent: 24.961 ýtCi
- 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 2007 through 30 June 2008.
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 categoryand monitoring period of personnel are summarized in Table 6.
Table 6.
Summary of Monitored Personnel Name Monitoring Period Duty Category Jesse Reeves 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Melinda Krahenbuhl 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Dong-ok Choe 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Brian A. Harper 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Douglas Crawford 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular John D. Bess 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Ward Chapman 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Jorge Navarro 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Nathan Brown 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Brandalyn Bassett 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Jeff Davis 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Margaret Fitch.
7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Jeniffer Davis 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular/terminated Randall W Morrill 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular David M Slaughter 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Craig L. Seth 10/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Read A. Edward 7/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Ward L. Steven 10/01/07-6/30/08 Regular Chazell E. Russell 2/01/08-6/30/08 Regular Kingston J. Micha 2/01/08-6/30/08 Regular Measured Doses 7/1/06-6/30/07 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.
Four hundred and eighty nine (489) individuals visited the reactor facility during the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008. None of the visitors received a measurable dose. A summary of whole body exposures to CENTER personnel is presented in Table 7.
Table 7.
Summary of Whole Body Exposures Estimated whole body exposure range Number of individuals in each range:
(rem):
No Measurable Dose (Less than 0.10) 20 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:
Submitted by:
Approved by:
Reactisor Reactor Administrator Date:
2-oooI Date:
Date:
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