ML101410030
| ML101410030 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Lowell |
| Issue date: | 06/02/2010 |
| From: | Alexander Adams Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch |
| To: | Kegel G Univ of Massachusetts - Lowell |
| ADAMS A, NRC/NRR/ADRA/DPR/PRTA 415-1127 | |
| References | |
| TAC ME2676 | |
| Download: ML101410030 (15) | |
Text
June 2, 2010 Dr. Gunter H. R. Kegel, Director Nuclear Radiation Laboratory University of Massachusetts Lowell Pinanski Building One University Avenue Lowell, MA 01854
SUBJECT:
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL C AMENDMENT RE: SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL POSSESSION LIMIT (TAC NO. ME2676)
Dear Dr. Kegel:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 13 to Facility Operating License No. R-125 for the University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Reactor (UMLR). The amendment consists of changes to the facility operating license and technical specifications in response to your application dated June 29, 2009, as supplemented on May 7 and 14, 2010.
The amendment increases the possession limit of special nuclear material to allow fuel from the decommissioning Worcester Polytechnic Institute Research Reactor to be transferred to UMLR.
The amendment also removes a license condition for the possession of high-enriched uranium that is no longer needed and corrects wording in the possession limits and technical specifications.
A copy of the safety evaluation supporting Amendment No. 13 is also enclosed.
Sincerely,
/RA/
Alexander Adams, Jr., Senior Project Manager Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-223
Enclosures:
- 1. Amendment No. 13
- 2. Safety Evaluation cc w/encl: See next page
ML101410030 OFFICE PRLB:PM PRPB:LA OGC PROB:BC PRLB:PM NAME AAdams GLappert BMizuno JEads AAdams DATE 5/24/2010 5/24/2010 5/25/2010 6/2/2010 6/2/2010
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL DOCKET NO. 50-223 AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE Amendment No. 13 License No. R-125
- 1.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found that:
A.
The application for an amendment to Facility Operating License No. R-125 filed by the University of Massachusetts Lowell (the licensee) on June 29, 2009, as supplemented on May 7 and 14, 2010, conforms to the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the regulations of the Commission as stated in Chapter I of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR);
B.
The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission; C.
There is reasonable assurance that (i) the activities authorized by this amendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public and (ii) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the regulations of the Commission; D.
The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public; E.
This amendment is issued in accordance with the regulations of the Commission as stated in 10 CFR Part 51, and all applicable requirements have been satisfied; and F.
Prior notice of this amendment was not required by 10 CFR 2.105 and publication of a notice for this amendment is not required by 10 CFR 2.106.
- 2.
Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to paragraph 2.B.(2) of Facility Operating License No. R-125 which is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive, possess, and use at any one time up to 6.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichment less than 20 percent in the form of material test reactor (MTR) type reactor fuel for use in connection with operation of the reactor.
- 3.
Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to paragraph 2.B.(3) of Facility Operating License No. R-125 which is hereby amended to read as follows:
(3)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR 30 and 70, to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as may be produced by the operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess and use up to 5 Ci Am-Be and 10 Ci Sb-Be neutron sources in connection with operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess, use and transfer byproduct materials activated in reactors other than the University of Massachusetts Lowell reactor, in the form of Cobalt-60, in quantities not to exceed 1,500,000 curies at any time.
- 4.
Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to paragraph 2.B.(4) of Facility Operating License No. R-125 which is hereby amended to read as follows:
(4)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to possess, but not use, up to 5.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 enriched to less than 20 percent in the form of Worcester Polytechnic Institute MTR-type reactor fuel.
- 5.
Accordingly, the license is amended by changes to the Technical Specifications as indicated in the enclosure to this license amendment, and paragraph 2.C.(2) of Facility Operating License No. R-125 is hereby amended to read as follows:
(2)
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 13, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
- 6.
This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/Johnny H. Eads, Jr. For/
Alexander Adams, Jr., Acting Chief Research and Test Reactors Licensing Branch Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Attachment:
Changes to Facility Operating License and Technical Specifications Date of Issuance: June 2, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL ATTACHMENT TO LICENSE AMENDMENT NO. 13 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-125 DOCKET NO. 50-223 Replace the following pages of the Facility Operating License No. R-125 and Appendix A Technical Specifications with the attached revised pages. The revised pages are identified by amendment number and contain marginal lines indicating the areas of change.
Operating License Remove Insert Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 3 Technical Specifications Remove Insert TS-40 TS-40 Amendment No. 13 June 2, 2010 G.
The issuance of this license will not be inimical to the common defense and security or to the health and safety of the public.
H.
The issuance of this license is in accordance with 10 CFR Part 51 of the Commissions regulations and all applicable requirements have been satisfied; and I.
The receipt, possession and use of the byproduct and special nuclear materials as authorized by this license will be in accordance with the Commissions regulations in 10 CFR Parts 30 and 70, including Sections 30.33, 70.23 and 70.31.
- 2.
Facility Operating License No. R-125 is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:
A.
This license applies to the one megawatt, pool-type nuclear reactor (the facility) owned by the University of Massachusetts Lowell on its campus in Lowell, Massachusetts, as described in the application for license renewal dated February 14, 1985, as supplemented.
B.
Subject to the conditions and requirements incorporated herein, the Commission hereby licenses the University of Massachusetts Lowell:
(1)
Pursuant to Section 104c of the Act and 10 CFR Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, to possess, use, and operate the facility at the designated location in Lowell, Massachusetts, in accordance with the procedures and limitations set forth in this license; (2)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive, possess, and use at any one time up to 6.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichment less than 20 percent in the form of material test reactor (MTR) type reactor fuel for use in connection with operation of the reactor.
(3)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR 30 and 70, to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as may be produced by the operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess and use up to 5 Ci Am-Be and 10 Ci Sb-Be neutron sources in connection with operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess, use and transfer byproduct materials activated in reactors other than the University of Massachusetts Lowell reactor, in the form of Cobalt-60, in quantities not to exceed 1,500,000 curies at any time.
(4)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive, possess, but not use, up to 5.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 enriched to less than 20 percent in the form of Worcester Polytechnic Institute MTR-type reactor fuel.
C.
This license shall be deemed to contain and is subject to the conditions specified in Parts 20, 30,50,51,55,70 and 73 of 10 CFR Chapter I, to all applicable provisions of the Act, and to the rules, regulations and orders of the Commission now or hereafter in effect and to the additional conditions specified below:
(1)
Maximum Power Level The licensee is authorized to operate in the facility at reactor core power levels not in excess of one megawatt (thermal).
(2)
Technical Specifications The Technical Specifications contained in Appendix A, as revised through Amendment No. 13, are hereby incorporated in the license. The licensee shall operate the facility in accordance with the Technical Specifications.
(3)
Physical Security Plan The licensee shall fully implement and maintain in effect all provisions of the Commission-approved physical security plan, including all amendments and revisions made pursuant to the authority of 10 CFR 50.90 and 10 CFR 50.54(p), which are part of the license. This plan, which contains information withheld from public disclosure under 10 CFR 2.790, is entitled Security Plan for Protection of Special Nuclear Material at University of Massachusetts Lowell, with revisions submitted through April 15, 1981.
(4)
The licensee shall submit a startup test report within six months of the initial criticality with low-enriched uranium reactor fuel in accordance with Amendment No. 12. This report shall be sent as specified in 10 CFR 50.4, Written Communications.
D.
This license is effective as of the date of issuance and shall expire thirty years from its date of issuance.
FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
/RA/
Dennis M. Crutchfield, Acting Director Division of Licensing
Enclosure:
Appendix A Technical Specifications DATE OF ISSUANCE: November 21, 1985 Amendment No.13 June 2, 2010
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 5.0 DESIGN FEATURES 5.1 REACTOR FUEL The reactor fuel shall be as follows:
- 1.
Standard fuel element: the fuel elements shall be flat plate MTR-type elements. The plates shall be fueled with low enrichment (<20% U-235)
U3Si2, clad with aluminum. There shall be 18 plates per element with 16 containing fuel and two outside plates of aluminum. There shall be 200 +/- 5.6 grams of Uranium-235 per element.
- 2.
Half-element: same as a standard fuel element except each plate has one half the uranium loading.
- 3.
Variable-load element: same as Specification 1 above, but internal plates are removable.
5.2 REACTOR CORE
- 1.
The reactor core consists of a 9 x 7 array of 3-inch square modules with the four corners occupied by posts. T he r eference cor e f or t hese T echnical Specifications consists of 20 standard fuel elements in a 5 X 5 array with corners r emoved a nd t he c entral l ocation f illed w ith a g raphite-water aluminum c lad flux tr ap element, as s hown i n F igure 2.6 of t he F SAR Supplement for Conversion to LEU Fuel.
- 2.
Cores from 16 standard elements to 28 elements may be used, and cores from 16 elements to 28 elements may contain 2 half-loaded elements.
TS-40 Amendment No.13 June 2, 2010
SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION SUPPORTING AMENDMENT NO. 13 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-125 THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL DOCKET NO. 50-223
1.0 INTRODUCTION
By letter dated June 29, 2009, as supplemented on May 7 and 14, 2010, the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML or the licensee) requested an amendment to Facility Operating License No. R-125 for the University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Reactor (UMLR). The requested amendment would increase the possession limit of special nuclear material (SNM).
During its review, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff identified several other changes needed to the possession limits of the license and technical specifications (TSs) to correct wording and bring the possession limits up to date. A request for additional information (RAI) was sent to the licensee on May 4, 2010, asking the licensee about these additional changes and asking for clarification on several aspects of the licensees request. The licensee has proposed changes to the license and technical specifications to address the issues identified by the NRC staff.
2.0 BACKGROUND
The UMLR is a 1000 kilowatt thermal power (kW(t)) pool-type research reactor that uses material test reactor (MTR)-type plate fuel elements. The research reactor at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has permanently shut down and is planning to decommission. The amendment request would allow the receipt and possession at UML of irradiated fuel from WPI.
The fuel used in the 10 kW(t) research reactor at WPI is also MTR-type plate fuel. Both reactors use low-enriched uranium (LEU) (less than 20 percent U-235) fuel having the same basic physical dimensions. Although the current fuel inventory at UMLR is expected to last 9 years, subsequent usage of the WPI fuel could provide an additional 7.5 years of life assuming an average usage of 20 megawatt-days per year.
3.0 EVALUATION The regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 70 require SNM to be licensed. The UMLR license contains conditions for the receipt, possession and use of SNM.
License condition 2.B.(2), for the possession of SNM, reads as follows:
(2)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive, possess, and use at any one time up to 6.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichments equal to or less than 20 percent in the form of material test reactor (MTR) type reactor fuel in connection with operation of the reactor and 5 Ci Am-Be and 10 Ci Sb-Be neutron sources for use in connection with operation of the reactor.
The NRC staff noted several wording errors in this license condition. Amendment No. 12 to the Facility Operating License issued on July 31, 1997, authorized the conversion of the reactor from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to LEU fuel. However, license condition 2.B.(2) contains an error in the description of the fuel enrichment, the result of which is the continued authorization of HEU fuel. LEU is uranium enriched to less the 20 percent in the uranium-235 isotope. HEU is uranium enriched to 20 percent or greater in the uranium-235 isotope. Because the license condition allows enrichments equal to 20 percent enriched, HEU is authorized. The licensee has proposed wording to correct this error.
License condition 2.B.(2) above also currently authorizes the receipt, possession and use of a 5 Ci Am-Be and a 10 Ci Sb-Be neutron source. These sources consist of byproduct material, not SNM. These sources should be authorized by the 10 CFR Part 30 byproduct license condition, 2.B.(3). The licensee has proposed wording to correct this error.
License condition 2.B.(2), with licensee proposed changes to remove authorization of HEU and the neutron sources, reads as follows:
(2)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive, possess, and use at any one time up to 6.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichment less than 20 percent in the form of material test reactor (MTR) type reactor fuel for use in connection with operation of the reactor.
License condition 2.B.(3), with licensee proposed changes to add the neutron sources, reads as follows:
(3)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR 30 and 70, to possess, but not separate, such byproduct and special nuclear materials as may be produced by the operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess and use up to 5 Ci Am-Be and 10 Ci Sb-Be neutron sources in connection with operation of the reactor, and to receive, possess, use and transfer byproduct materials activated in reactors other than the University of Massachusetts Lowell reactor, in the form of Cobalt-60, in quantities not to exceed 1,500,000 curies at any time.
Because the proposed changes to license conditions 2.B.(2) and 2.B.(3) corrects wording and results in the license conditions being consistent with the intent of Amendment No. 12 and the regulations, the changes are acceptable to the NRC staff.
License condition 2.B.(4) reads as follows:
(4)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to possess, but not use, up to 4.80 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at greater than 20 percent enrichment in the form of MTR-type reactor fuel until the existing inventory of this fuel is removed from the facility.
This license condition was added by Amendment No. 12 to allow possession of the HEU fuel after conversion of the reactor until the fuel was returned to the Department of Energy (DOE). The UML HEU fuel was returned to DOE in 2004. The licensee has proposed that this license condition be removed from the license. Because the HEU fuel has been permanently removed from the UMLR facility, the NRC staff finds that the removal of license condition 2.B.(4) from the license is acceptable.
The licensee has proposed a change to TS 5.1.1 to remove reference to HEU fuel to make the TS consistent with the updated license condition 2.B.(2). TS 5.1.1 reads as follows:
5.1.1 Standard fuel element: the fuel elements shall be flat plate MTR-type elements. The plates shall be fueled with low enrichment (20% U-235)
U3Si2, clad with aluminum. There shall be 18 plates per element with 16 containing fuel and two outside plates of aluminum. There shall be 200 +/- 5.6 grams of Uranium-235 per element.
The licensee has proposed changing this to:
5.1.1 Standard fuel element: the fuel elements shall be flat plate MTR-type elements. The plates shall be fueled with low enrichment (<20% U-235)
U3Si2, clad with aluminum. There shall be 18 plates per element with 16 containing fuel and two outside plates of aluminum. There shall be 200 +/- 5.6 grams of Uranium-235 per element.
Because this change makes the TS consistent with the license condition and the definition of LEU, it is acceptable to the NRC staff.
The licensee has requested an amendment to the license conditions to allow the DOE to transfer fuel from WPI to UML. The licensee states that it needs the fuel to extend the lifetime of reactor operations. The NRC staff finds that the licensee has demonstrated a need for the requested material under the reactor license.
While the two fuels are similar, because the WPI fuel has a different fuel form (U-Alx for WPI vs.
U3Si2-Al for UML) and a different number of fuel plates per fuel element (18 plates for WPI vs. 16 for UML), the WPI fuel cannot be used in the UMLR without additional analysis. The licensee states that use of the fuel will be requested in a separate license amendment. Because of this, receipt and possession of the WPI fuel, but not use, are requested by the licensee. The licensee has requested an increase in their uranium-235 possession limit from 6 kilograms to 11 kilograms.
The licensee has proposed the following license condition for the WPI fuel:
(4)
Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material, to receive and possess, but not use, up to 5.0 kilograms of contained uranium-235 enriched to less than 20 percent in the form of Worcester Polytechnic Institute MTR-type reactor fuel.
For license condition numbering purposes, the new license condition replaces the HEU license condition which was removed from the license as discussed above.
The WPI fuel elements have the same physical dimensions as the UML fuel elements; however, the uranium-235 content of the fuel elements is different. The WPI fuel elements contain approximately 170 grams of uranium-235 per element while the UML fuel elements contain approximately 200 grams of uranium-235. The burn-up on the WPI elements is negligible.
The UML facility has storage capability for 72 fuel elements. The licensee has confirmed that this is sufficient to hold all existing fuel on site and the WPI fuel. The licensee confirmed that the fuel from WPI contains 5 kg (rounded upward to the nearest kilogram) of contained uranium-235. Thus the amendment request is consistent with the amount of uranium the licensee will receive.
TS 5.4, Fuel Storage specifies that all reactor fuel element storage facilities shall be designed in geometrical configuration so that Keff is less than 0.85 under quiescent flooding with water.
In the 1997 Safety Evaluation for the HEU to LEU conversion for Amendment No. 12, NRC stated that The licensee has analyzed the fresh and spent fuel arrangements in the UMLR pool and has determined that the existing manufactured fuel holding racks will hold all LEU new fuel and all HEU currently on hand. The racks are sectioned into compartments with a 0.5-inch aluminum wall; thus, the stored elements are separated by a minimum of 0.5 inch of aluminum.
Calculation performed by ANL (Argonne National Laboratory) indicate that with a 225-gram of uranium-235 fuel element loading (versus 200 grams of uranium-235 in the UMLR fuel) and an element separation of 1.766 cm (essentially the same as in the UMLR), the water-reflected infinite array had a keff of 0.715.
Because the WPI fuel elements have similar external dimensions as the UML fuel and contain less uranium-235 per element, storage of the WPI fuel is within the parameters of the evaluation discussed above, which was found acceptable by NRC. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that storage of the WPI fuel meets the requirements of TS 5.4.
The licensee has demonstrated the ability to safely store fuel for long periods of time. After the conversion from HEU to LEU fuel in 2000, the licensee stored 34 HEU fuel elements safely for four years until the HEU fuel was returned to DOE.
The increase in possession limit will change the quantity of SNM from SNM of low strategic significance to SNM of moderate strategic significance. The licensees security plan is written for protecting SNM of moderate strategic significance. The licensee has not requested any changes to the approved security plan. The licensee has not requested any changes to the facility TSs or emergency plan as part of the increase in SNM possession limit. There are no accidents identified for this reactor that are dependent on the amount of fuel in storage.
The NRC staff reviewed the UML license material possession limits, the application and responses to requests for additional information from the licensee, the licensees security plan and the 1997 NRC staff safety evaluation for Amendment No. 12 for the UMLR license. Based on its review, the NRC staff has determined that the licensee has demonstrated a need for the requested SNM under the reactor license. The requested material will be received and possessed under the terms of the existing TSs, and security and emergency plans. The licensee has shown by experience that additional SNM can be safety possessed. The NRC staff therefore concludes that the increase in the uranium-235 possession limit is acceptable.
4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION
This amendment involves changes in the installation or use of a facility component located within the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20 or changes in inspection and surveillance requirements. The NRC staff has determined that this amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, no significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types, of any effluents that may be released off site, and no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure. Accordingly, this amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in 10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b),
no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of this amendment.
5.0 CONCLUSION
The NRC staff has concluded, on the basis of the considerations discussed above, that (1) the amendment does not involve a significant hazards consideration because the amendment does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of accidents previously evaluated, create the possibility of a new kind of accident or a different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated, or involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety; (2) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not be endangered by the proposed activities; and (3) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's regulations and the issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense and security or the health and safety of the public.
Principal Contributors: C. Montgomery, NRR A. Adams, Jr., NRR Date: June 2, 2010
University of Massachusetts - Lowell Docket No. 50-223 cc:
Mayor of Lowell City Hall Lowell, MA 01852 Mr. Leo Bobek Reactor Supervisor University of Massachusetts - Lowell One University Avenue Lowell, MA 01854 Department of Environmental Protection One Winter Street Boston, MA 02108 Robert J. Walker, Director Radiation Control Program Department of Public Health Schrafft Center, Suite 1M2A 529 Main Street Charlestown, MA 02129 Nuclear Preparedness Manager Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency 400 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702-5399 Test, Research, and Training Reactor Newsletter University of Florida 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611