ML083080190

Initial Examination Report No. 50-264/OL-09-01, Dow Chemical Company Triga Reactor

ML083080190
Person / Time
Site:	Dow Chemical Company
Issue date:	11/17/2008
From:	Johnny Eads Research and Test Reactors Branch B
To:	Krahenbuhl M Dow Chemical Co
Doyle P, NRC/NRR/DPR/PRT, 415-1058
References
50-264/09-001
Download: ML083080190 (16)

Text

November 17, 2008 Dow Chemical Company FAC: Research Reactor ATTN: Melinda Krahenbuhl 1602 Bldg Midland, MI 48667

SUBJECT:

INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT NO. 50-264/OL-09-01, DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY TRIGA REACTOR

Dear Dr. Krahenbuhl:

During the week of October 20, 2008, the NRC administered an operator licensing examination at your Dow Chemical TRIGA Reactor. The examination was conducted according to NUREG-1478, "Operator Licensing Examiner Standards for Research and Test Reactors," Revision 2.

Examination questions and preliminary findings were discussed with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report at the conclusion of the examination.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.390, a copy of this letter and the enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC is forwarding the individual grades to you in a separate letter which will not be released publicly. Should you have any questions concerning this examination, please contact Mr. Paul V. Doyle, Jr. at (301) 415-1058 or via internet e-mail pvd@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Johnny H. Eads, Jr., Chief Research and Test Reactors Branch B Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-264

Enclosures:

1. Initial Examination Report No. 50-264/OL-09-01

2. Written examination with facility comments incorporated cc without enclosures: See next page

Dow Chemical Company November 17, 2008 FAC: Research Reactor ATTN: Melinda Krahenbuhl 1602 Bldg Midland, MI 48667

SUBJECT:

INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT NO. 50-264/OL-09-01, DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY TRIGA REACTOR

Dear Dr. Krahenbuhl:

During the week of October 20, 2008, the NRC administered an operator licensing examination at your Dow Chemical Company TRIGA Reactor. The examination was conducted according to NUREG-1478, "Operator Licensing Examiner Standards for Research and Test Reactors,"

Revision 2. Examination questions and preliminary findings were discussed with those members of your staff identified in the enclosed report at the conclusion of the examination.

In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.390, a copy of this letter and the enclosures will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The NRC is forwarding the individual grades to you in a separate letter which will not be released publicly. Should you have any questions concerning this examination, please contact Mr. Paul V. Doyle, Jr. at (301) 415-1058 or via internet e-mail pvd@nrc.gov.

Sincerely,

/RA/

Johnny H. Eads, Jr., Chief Research and Test Reactors Branch B Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-264

Enclosures:

1. Initial Examination Report No. 50-264/OL-09-01

2. Written examination with facility comments incorporated cc without enclosures: See next page DISTRIBUTION w/ encls.:

PUBLIC PRTB r/f RidsNRRDPRPRTA RidsNRRDPRPRTB Facility File (CRevelle) O-13 D-07 ADAMS ACCESSION #: ML TEMPLATE #:NRR-074 OFFICE PRTB:CE IOLB:LA E

PRTB:SC NAME PDoyle CRevelle JEads DATE 11/ 02/2008 11/12/2008 11/17/2008 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

Dow Chemical Company Docket No. 50-264 cc:

Office of the Mayor 333 West Ellsworth Midland, MI 48640 Office of the Governor Room 1 - Capitol Building Lansing, MI 48913 Alex Pollock Chair, Radiation Safety Committee 2030/410 Dow Center Midland, MI 48674 Dr. Kevin Hool, Level 1 Manager, The Dow Chemical Company 1897 Building Midland, MI 48667 Test, Research, and Training Reactor Newsletter University of Florida 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611

U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OPERATOR LICENSING INITIAL EXAMINATION REPORT REPORT NO.:

50-264/OL-09-01 FACILITY DOCKET NO.:

50-264 FACILITY LICENSE NO.:

R-108 FACILITY:

Dow Chemical Company TRIGA Reactor EXAMINATION DATES:

October 21, 2008 SUBMITTED BY:

Paul V. Doyle Jr., Chief Examiner Date

SUMMARY

On October 21, 2008, the NRC administered an operator licensing examination to one Senior Reactor Operator candidate. The candidate passed all portions of the administered examination.

REPORT DETAILS

1.

Examiners:

Paul V. Doyle Jr., Chief Examiner, NRC

2.

Results:

RO PASS/FAIL SRO PASS/FAIL TOTAL PASS/FAIL Written 0/0 1/0 1/0 Operating Tests 0/0 1/0 1/0 Overall 0/0 1/0 1/0

3.

Exit Meeting:

Paul V. Doyle Jr., NRC, Examiner Melinda Krahenbuhl, Reactor Director, Dow Chemical Siaka Yussuf, Reactor Supervisor, Dow Chemical During the exit meeting, the facility had the following comments with regard to the written examination.

Question B.05; The requirement for a Senior Reactor Operator per Administrative procedure 3.4 was changed to match the technical specifications in July, 2008. Question B.13; The requirement for a seven second scram was removed from the technical specifications as part of amendment #7. Question C.09; The requirement to add sodium hexa-meta phosphate has been deleted from facility procedures. All three comments have been accepted and these questions have been deleted from the examination.

ENCLOSURE 1

OPERATOR LICENSING EXAMINATION With Answer Key DOW CHEMICAL TRIGA REACTOR OCTOBER 21, 2008

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 1 QUESTION B.01 [1.0 point]

The Total Effective Dose Equivalent (TEDE) is defined as the sum of the deep-dose equivalent and the committed effective dose equivalent. The deep-dose equivalent is related to:

a. the dose to organs or tissues.

b. the external exposure to the skin or an extremity.

c. the external exposure to the lens of the eye.

d. the external whole-body exposure.

QUESTION B.02 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following describes the half-life for radioactive material that is disposed of in the Neutron Activation Analysis Group classified as Temporarily Radioactive Material?

a. 15 days

b. 30 days

c. 90 days

d. 150 days QUESTION B.03 [1.0 point]

The General Description of the Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities § 1.6.2 Water Purification System, has a note stating Some highly corrosive materials such as __________ and copper are not removed by the water treatment system. Special care should be exercised when using these materials to prevent adding them to the reactor pool. Which ONE of the following materials belongs in the blank?

a. Sodium chloride

b. Boron-carbide

c. Cadmium

d. Mercury

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 2 QUESTION B.04 [1.0 point]

An accident results in a person being incapacitated in a radiation area with a general reading of 500 R/hr.

Which one of the following is the maximum permissible exposure time per person to attempt to save the incapacitated persons life?

a. 10 minutes

b. 20 minutes

c. 30 minutes

d. 40 minutes QUESTION B.05 [1.0 point] QUESTION DELETED: PROCEDURE CHANGED JULY, 2008 Which ONE of the following scenarios is allowed by technical specifications, but is NOT allowed by DOW TRIGA administrative procedure 3.4 Procedural and Administrative Limitations? During weekend operations

a. a single operator in the control room, the rest of building 1602 empty.

b. a single senior operator in the control room the rest of building 1602 empty.

c. a single operator in the control room, a non-licensed 2nd person in building 1602, the shift senior operator at a meeting in another building 20 minutes away.

d. a single senior operator in the control room and a non-licensed 2nd person in building 1602.

QUESTION B.06 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following is the correct posting required if the radiation level in the area is 75 mr/hr?

a. CAUTION RADIATION AREA

b. CAUTION HIGH RADIATION AREA

c. CAUTION AIRBORNE RADIOACTIVITY AREA

d. CAUTION RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL(S)

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 3 QUESTION B.07 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following reactor operations does NOT require the presence of the Reactor Supervisor or a designated alternate?

a. Manipulation of fuel in the core

b. Maintenance performed on the core

c. Recovery from an unexplained scram

d. Movement of an in-core experiment worth $0.50 QUESTION B.08 [1.0 point]

A survey instrument with a window probe is used to measure the beta-gamma dose rate from an irradiated experiment. The dose rate is 100 mrem/hour with the window open and 60 mrem/hour with the window closed. The gamma dose rate is:

a. 100 mrem/hour.

b. 60 mrem/hour.

c. 40 mrem/hour.

d. 160 mrem/hour.

QUESTION B.09 [1.0 point]

In the event of a reportable occurrence, the reactor shall be shutdown and not restarted until authorized by the:

a. Facility Director

b. Radiation Safeguards Committee

c. Reactor Operations Committee

d. U.S. NRC QUESTION B.10 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following indicates that a Limiting Safety System Setting (LSSS) is being exceeded?

a. Reactor operation at 750 Kw

b. Reactor operation at 300 Kw

c. Reactor operation at 150 Kw

d. Reactor operation at 75 Kw

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 4 QUESTION B.11 [2.0 points, 1/2 each]

Identify whether the following conditions require the entry to be entered into the reactor operations logbook in normal ink (N), in red ink (R), or underlined in red ink (U).

a. Change of operators.

b. Replacing an old fuel element with a new fuel element.

c. Scram due to exceeding LSSS.

d. Moving the neutron source.

QUESTION B.12 [1.0 point]

All of the below listed surveillances are required to be performed annually per the technical specifications.

Which ONE is NOT tested semi-annually per DOW TRIGA procedure 4.1.4.

a. Area Radiation Monitor calibration.

b. Control rod drop time measurement.

c. A power thermal calibration of the NM1000 channel.

d. Control rod reactivity worth measurement QUESTION B.13

[1.0 point] QUESTION DELETED: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS CHANGE #7 DELETED 7 SECOND PERIOD REQUIREMENT Which ONE of the following is the minimum Reactor Period allowed by the DOW Technical Specifications during reactor operation?

a. 10 seconds

b. 8 seconds

c. 7 seconds

d. 5 seconds

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 5 QUESTION B.14 [1.0 point]

A "high radiation area" is an area:

a. where airborne radioactive materials, composed wholly or partly of licensed material, exist in concentrations are In excess of the derived air concentrations (DACs) specified in appendix B, or an individual present in the area without respiratory protective equipment could exceed, during the hours an individual is present in a week, an intake of 0.6 percent of the annual limit on intake (ALI) or 12 DAC-hours.

b. accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.005 rem (0.05 mSv) in 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> at 30 centimeters from the radiation source or from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

c. accessible to individuals, in which radiation levels from radiation sources external to the body could result in an individual receiving a dose equivalent in excess of 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in 1 hour1.157407e-5 days <br />2.777778e-4 hours <br />1.653439e-6 weeks <br />3.805e-7 months <br /> at 30 centimeters from the radiation source or 30 centimeters from any surface that the radiation penetrates.

d. access to which is limited by the licensee for the purpose of protecting individuals against undue risks from exposure to radiation and radioactive materials

Section C Plant and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 6 QUESTION C.01 [2.0 points, 1/5 each]

Using the picture of the Core map provided, identify each of the lettered positions with its correct component listed in column B. (Note: Only one answer for each, all choices must be used.)

Column A Column B

a. Position A

1. Audible Experiment Fission Chamber

b. Position B

2. Lazy Susan Tube

c. Position C

3. Neutron Source

d. Position D

4. NM1000 Uncompensated Ionization Chamber

e. Position E

5. NP1000 Fission Chamber

f. Position F

6. Percent Power Ionization Chamber

g. Position G

7. Pneumatic Tube

h. Position H

8. Regulating Rod

i. Position I

9. Shim Rod #1

j. Position J

10. Shim Rod #2 QUESTION C.02 [1.0 point]

What is the design steady-state capacity of the combined pool cooling systems?

a. 100 kilowatts

b. 300 kilowatts

c. 1000 kilowatts

d. 1100 kilowatts QUESTION C.03 [1.0 point]

WHICH ONE of the following detectors is used primarily to measure N16 release to the environment?

a. NONE, N16 has too short a half-life to require environmental monitoring.

b. Continuous Air Monitor

c. Area Radiation Monitor

d. Water Radiation Monitor

Section C Plant and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 7 QUESTION C.04 [1.0 point]

The PULL ROD is associated with the

a. Rod UP limit switch.

b. Rod DOWN limit switch.

c. Motor UP limit switch.

d. Motor DOWN limit switch QUESTION C.05 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following is the material samples are inserted into the lazy susan which are expected to get warm?

a. polyethylene

b. aluminum

c. cadmium

d. gadolinium.

QUESTION C.06 [1.0 point]

Using the drawing of a pneumatic tube system provided, identify the valve lineup which will result in sending a "rabbit" INTO the core.

OPEN SHUT

a. 1 & 2 3 & 4

b. 3 & 4 1 & 2

c. 1 & 3 2 & 4

d. 2 & 4 1 & 3 QUESTION C.07 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following is the actual method used to generate the rod position indication, for the standard control rods on the control panel?

a. Voltage changes generated by the movement of a lead screw between two coils of a transformer.

b. A ten-turn potentiometer linked to the rod drive motor

c. A series of several reed switches which as the rod moves up close to generate a current proportional to rod position.

d. A servo motor connected to the UP and DN buttons which when either button is depressed generates a signal proportional to rod speed.

Section C Plant and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 8 QUESTION C.08 [1.0 point]

Which ONE of the following is the neutron source utilized in the reactor?

a.

241Am 9Be

b.

239Pu 9Be

c.

210Po 9Be

d.

124Sb 9Be QUESTION C.09 [1.0 point]

QUESTION DELETED: FACILITY NO LONGER ADDS COMPOUND Which ONE of the following compounds is added to ensure proper operation of the secondary system?

a. ethylene glycol

b. sodium hexa-meta phosphate

c. sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax)

d. chlorine bleach QUESTION C.10 [2.0 points, a each]

Identify whether each of the following is associated with the OLD cooling system, the NEW cooling system or BOTH.

a. open loop

b. closed loop

c. chill water system

d. sewer system

e. pump

f.

air separator tank QUESTION C.11 [1.0 point]

The cambelling circuit in the output of the fission chamber, allows the channel to detect over 10 decades of reactor power by

a. the setting of a discriminator voltage which removes the smaller pulses due to gamma and alphas in the detector from the signal.

b. the use of two chambers in the detector, one lined giving a signal due to both alphas, gammas and neutrons; the other not lined, giving a signal due to alphas and gammas only. The cambelling circuit adds the signal output of the two chambers algebraically to give a signal due to neutrons only.

c. the combination of the output of the single detector as both a proportional counter and as an ionization chamber.

d. there is no campbelling circuit associated with the fission chamber, it is associated with the uncompensated ionization chamber.

Section C Plant and Radiation Monitoring Systems Page 9 QUESTION C.12 [1.0 point]

During a survey of the demineralizer 1/2 hour after shutdown, you note that the dose rate has increased by a factor of 10 over the previous day's reading. Is this normal or abnormal, and why?

a. Normal, due to N16 in the coolant.

b. Abnormal, due to the concentration of H3 in the demineralizer.

c. Abnormal, due to fission products in the demineralizer.

d. Normal, due to Ar41 entrained in the coolant system.

QUESTION C.13 [1.0 point]

The purpose of the graphite slugs located at the top and bottom of each fuel rod is to

a. absorb neutrons, thereby reducing neutron embrittlement of the upper and lower guide plates.

b. absorb neutrons, thereby reducing neutron leakage from the core.

c. reflect neutrons, thereby reducing neutron leakage from the core.

d. couple neutrons from the core to the nuclear instrumentation, decreasing shadowing effects.

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 10 B.01 d

REF:

Training Manual, Part B1, Definitions.

B.02 a

REF:

Dow Chemical, Chapter 4, § 4.7.2, p. 4-42. Also NRC examination administered March, 1991.

B.03 d

REF:

General Description of the Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities § 1.6.2 B.04 b

(200 R)/(500 R/hr) = 0.4 hr = 24 minutes.

REF:

Dow Chemical Radiation Safety, § 5.1.5, Figure 5-3. (Rewrite of question from March, 1991 examination.)

B.05 d QUESTION DELETED: PROCEDURE CHANGED JULY 2008 REF:

DOW TRIGA administrative procedure 3.4.

B.06 a

REF:

10CFR20.202.B(2), pp. 303-304. Also NRC examination administered March, 1991.

B.07 d

REF:

Technical Specifications § 6.1.3, p. 35. Also NRC examination administered March, 1991.

B.08 b

REF:

Standard NRC Radiation Health Physics Question B.09 a

REF:

Technical Specification 6.5.2 B.10 a

REF:

Technical Specifications § 2.2, p. 7 B.11 a, N; b, R; c, N; d, U REF:

Dow Chemical Administrative Procedure Section 3.5.6. Rewrite of NRC question administered December, 1987.

B.12 c

REF:

Rewrite of NRC question administered December, 1987.

B.13 c

QUESTION DELETED: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS CHANGE #7 DELETED 7 SECOND PERIOD REQUIREMENT REF:

Technical Specifications, § 3.3.a, p. 13. Also NRC examination administered March, 1991.

B.14 c

REF:

Facility supplied question

Section B Normal, Emergency and Radiological Control Procedures Page 1 C.01 a, 5; b, 6; c, 9; d, 2; e, 7; f, 4; g, 10; h, 3; i, 1; j, 8 Ref:

General Description of Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities, drawing of Core Map C.02 d

REF:

Facility Modification of cooling system, 50.59 review.

C.03 a

REF: Standard NRC question C.04 b

REF:

General Description of Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities § 1.5.3 C.05 b

REF:

General Description of Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities § 1.11.1 C.06 c

REF:

General Description of Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities drawing of Pneumatic Tube system.

C.07 b

REF:

General Description of Dow TRIGA Research Reactor and Facilities § 1.5.3.

C.08 a

REF:

C.09 b QUESTION DELETED: FACILITY NO LONGER ADDS COMPOUND REF:

General Description of DOW TRIGA research reactor and facilities § 1.11.2 C.10 a, OLD; b, NEW; c, NEW; d, OLD; e, BOTH; f, NEW REF:

Facility Modification of cooling system, 50.59 review.

C.11 c

REF:

General Description of DOW TRIGA research reactor and facilities § 2.2.2 C.12 c

REF:

The demineralizer removes ionic impurities. N16, has much too short a half-life, H3 emits much too weak a beta to be detected, and Ar41 is a noble gas, it will NOT concentrate in the demineralizer.

C.13 c

REF:

SAR § 4.2.1, Reactor Fuel, Figure 4.3.