ML12250A620
| ML12250A620 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Washington State University |
| Issue date: | 08/24/2012 |
| From: | Wall D Washington State Univ |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML12250A620 (14) | |
Text
WASHINGTON STATE
\ UNIVERSITY Nuclear Radiation Center August 24, 2012 Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC, 20555 Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R-76 In accordance with Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 the attached Annual Report prepared by C. Corey Hines, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU Facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the operating period July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.
Respectfully Submitted, Donald Wall, Ph.D.
Director Enclosure cc: C.C. Hines P.O. Box641300, Pullman, WA 991 64-1 300 509-335-8641 - Fax: 509-335-4433
- www.wsu.edu/nrc
r ANNUAL REPORT WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR RADIATION CENTER TRIGA REACTOR Facility License R-76 for the Reporting Period of July 1,2011 to June 30, 2012 Nuclear Radiation Center Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-1300
4 Annual Report 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Narrative Summary of the Year's Operation ............................................................. 2
- 2. Energy and C um ulative O utput ................................................................................. 2
- 3. Emergency Shutdowns and Inadvertent Scrams ....................................................... 3
- 4. Major Maintenance .................................................................................................... 3
- 5. Changes, Tests, and Experiments Performed Under 10 CFR 50.59 Criteria ....... 4
- 6. Radioactive Effluent D ischarges ............................................................................... 4
- 7. Personnel and Visitor Radiation Exposures .............................................................. 6
- 8. Reactor Facility Radiation and Contamination Levels .............................................. 7
- 9. Environm ental Monitoring Program .......................................................................... 8 Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center
i Annual Report 2012 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE OPERATION OF THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY NUCLEAR RADIATION CENTER TRIGA REACTOR Facility License R-76 for the Reporting Period of July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012
- 1. Narrative Summary of the Year's Operation A. Operating Experience Core 35A has accumulated 3,614 MWH from beginning of life (BOL) through June 30, 2012. A total of 831 samples were irradiated, for a total of 9,320 user-hours. In addition, 23 pulses greater than $1 .00 of reactivity addition were performed during this reporting period. The quarterly operations summaries are shown in Table I located in Section 2.
B. Changes In Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, and Operating Procedures Related to Reactor Safety.
No changes were performed during the reporting period.
C. Results of Surveillance Tests and Requirements All surveillance tests and requirements were performed and completed within the prescribed time period.
- 2. Energy and Cumulative Output The quarterly operations summaries are given in Table 1. The cumulative energy output since criticality of the TRIGA core (1967) is 1380.5 Megawatt Days (MWD).
The mixed Standard Fuel and 30/20 LEU Fuel Core 35A installed in 2008 has accumulated a total of 150.6 MWD.
Table I Fiscal Year 2012 Summary of Reactor Operation Q4201-1' Qi02012 Q2:2012 TTOTALS Q3201 Hours of Operation 305 238 397 335 1,275 Megawatt Hours 262 213 348 312 1,135 No of Sample Irradiations 1 25 33 50 36 144 No. of Samples 114 147 370 90 721 No. of Iridium Cans Irradiated 35 19 29 27 110 User Hours 2 2,741 1,515 2,847 2,217 9,320 No. of Pulses > $1.00 9 7 1 6 23 SNumber of samples and sample irradiations do not include iridium data.
2 User hours denotes the total user hours, including iridium.
Was shinoton State Universitv Nuclear Radiation Center 2 Wa
Annual Report 2012
- 3. Emergency Shutdowns and Inadvertent Scrams There were no emergency shutdowns that occurred during the reporting period. The dates and causes of the 17 inadvertent scrams are listed in Table 11. No scrams were due to exceeding the Limiting Safety Systems Setting.
Table II Inadvertent SCRAMS Date SCRAM 8/25/2011 Low Pulse Air alarm tripped while at power. Pulse rod was Air SCRAMed and reactor rundown. System was inspected. No cause determined. System will be monitored in the future.
Restart okay.
9/1/2011 Trainee inadvertently switched mode switch into test when attempting to rundown. Restart okay.
9/1 5/2011 Linear channel scaled down for unknown reasons causing a "High Power" SCRAM. Restart okay.
9/1 5/2011 Reactor was manually SCRAMed due to a visitor fainting during a tour. Restart okay.
10/27/2011 Log N High Voltage loss SCRAM. Restart okay. Fan installed to keep channel cool.
11/7/2011 Log N High Voltage failure, unknown cause. Restart okay.
2/3/2012 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM. Restart okay.
2/22/2012 Power flicker due to weather. Restart okay.
3/9/201 2 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM. Restart okay.
3/20/2012 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM. Restart okay.
3/21/2012 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM. Restart okay.
3/23/2012 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM. Restart okay.
4/16/2012 A DC power switch was hit causing a "high radiation" SCRAM.
Restart okay.
4/1 7/2012 Trainee turned mode switch into test when attempting to rundown. Restart okay.
5/10/2012 Log N High Voltage failure SCRAM unknown cause.
6/25/2012 Short period alarm received while the reactor was supercritical with no blade movement. RO decided to manually SCRAM.
Okay to start up.
6/29/2012 Abating system wiring and caused a SCRAM. Restart okay.
- 4. Major Maintenance All routine planned maintenance items were completed within the reporting period.
The below listed items were performed, although they are not part of routine preventative maintenance.
8/8/2011: Ventilation System: Fan 2 Tripped During a reactor checkout, fan 2 (beam room fan) was found to be inoperable. The cause was found to be a tripped breaker in the penthouse mechanical room. The breaker was reset, the fan is working normally.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 3
Annual Report 2012 8/8/2011: ARIES System: Repair The "C" battery in the ARIES system will no longer hold a charge. It was replaced with an equivalent deep cycle marine battery.
10/6/2011: Co-60 Source: Recalibration Report The cobalt-60 gamma irradiator was recalibrated following the installation of security enhancements. The new dose rate at 4 inches from the bottom of the irradiation basket is 445 rads/min.
11/29/2011: EGM Pump Control Failure The 24 VAC relay in the control box in the EGM cave suffered a failure resulting in a blown fuse in the console bin containing the EGM pump controls. The entire bin containing the EGM pump, CAM pump, and pulse air pressure controls was without power until the fuse was replaced. The EGM pump was still not functional until the relay was replaced with an equivalent model. The system is now functioning normally.
1/25/2012: Pulse Rod Air Pressure Malfunction The pulse rod air pressure meter in the console was indicating high pulse rod air pressure (-120 psi) during checkouts when first fired. The building air pressure gauge in the pool room was indicating normal pressures (-75 psi) at these times. It was determined that it was an issue with the pressure transducer. A new pressure transducer, air pressure meter, and pressure snubber were purchased. The new meter and transducer were wired into the console and operated correctly. A new wiring schematic of the pulse rod air pressure meter was drawn up to replace the older version. Written out instructions for the setup and wiring of the meter and transducer were also created.
6/18/2012: Co-60 Source: Recalibration Report The colbalt-60 gamma irradiator was recalibrated following the replacement of the crank system and a solid platform was added to the irradiation basket for more stable sample loading. The new dose rate at 4 inches from the bottom of the irradiation basket is 454 rads/min.
- 5. Changes, Tests, and Experiments Performed Under 10 CFR 50.59 Criteria No changes under 10 CFR 50.59 were performed during the reporting period.
- 6. Radioactive Effluent Discharges A. Radioactive Liquid Releases The liquid effluent releases for the facility during the reporting period can be found in Table III.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 4
Annual Report 2012 Table III Monthly Liquid Waste Releases Month Volume (gallons)
July 2011 0 August 0 September 0 October 4,862 November 0 December 0 January 2012 0 February 0 March 0 April 0 May 0 June 0 Approximately 4862 gallons of liquid waste was released; however, after analysis with gamma spectroscopy, no radioactivity above the limit of detection was found.
B. Radioactive Gaseous Release During the reporting period, no measurable quantity of gaseous or particulate material with a half-life greater that eight days was released. At no time did the argon-41 release exceed 20% of the effluent release limit. A total of 0.496 curies of argon-4l was released, with an average argon-41 concentration of 7.39 x 10-9 pCi/mL of air, before dilution. The release of 0.496 curies of argon-41 as stated in the 2012 Annual Report for Air Operating Permit 06-602, per COMPLY v1 .6, the facility is in compliance at level 4 with an effective dose equivalent of 4.4 x 10-4 mrem/yr. The monthly releases are summarized in Table IV.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 5
Annual Report 2012 Table IV Monthly Argon-41 Releases Conc. Before % of Release % of DAC Limit Month Dilution, pCi/mL' Limit Before Before Dilution 2 Quantity pCi Dilution July 2011 4.42xl 0-9 0.18 5.9xl 0-4 2.51 x 104 August 5.90x1 0-9 0.24 7.9xl 0-4 3.36x 1044 September 7.04x10-9 0.28 9.4x] 0-4 3.88xl 0 October 6.11 x1 0-9 0.24 8.1 x 10 44 3.47xl 044 November 6.27x10-9 0.25 8.4x 10. 3.45xl 0 December 3.29xl 0- 0.13 4.4x 104 1.87xl 0' January 2012 5.32xl 0- 0.26 7.1 xl 04 3.03xl 04 February 6.62xl 0.9 0.26 8.8x10 4 3.52xl 044 March 7.57xl 0-9 0.30 1.01 x1 0-3 4.31 xI 0 April 8.66x1 0-9 0.35 1.15xl 0-3 4.77xl 04 May 1.78xl 0-8 0.71 2.37xl 03 1.01 xl 0o June 9.70x 10-9 0.39 1.29xl 03 5.34x1 04 Based on 10 CFR 20 ettluent release limit ot 1.0 x 10-1 uCi/mL tor Ar-41 (Table 2, Col. 1), and a dilution factor of 4.0 x 10,3 (S.A.R. 6.4.2) giving a before dilution limit of 2.5 x 10.6 uCi/mL. (20% of this limit is 5.0 x 1 0- uCi/mL).
2 Based on 10 CFR 20 DAC limit of 3.0 x 10-6 uCi/mL for Ar-41 (Table 1, Col. 3) and a dilution factor of 4.0 x 10- giving a before dilution DAC limit of 7.5 x 10-4 uCi/mL.
3 Based on 4500 CFM effluent of ventilation system in AUTO mode of operation.
C. Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal During the reporting period, 4.56 mCi in 35.32 cubic feet of non-compacted solid waste was transferred to the WSU Radiation Safety Office for packaging and disposal.
- 7. Personnel and Visitor Radiation Doses The quarterly doses of the WSU Nuclear Radiation Center reactor staff and experimenters who routinely utilize the WSU Reactor are given in Table V. The maximum quarterly dose of a reactor staff member was 30 mrem, whole body.
A total of 1227 individual persons visited the Nuclear Radiation Center during the reporting period, of which 565 entered a controlled access area (CAA). 1 All doses as determined by digital pocket dosimeter were less than or equal to 0.3 mrem. A total of 61 group tours, consisting of 493 individuals, visited the center during the reporting period. As determined by digital pocket dosimeter, all doses were less than or equal to 0.1 mrem.
1 A non-controlled access area is an area in the building where radioactive materials are used or stored but which is not a part of the licensed reactor facility.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 6
Annual Report 2012 Table V 2
Quarterly Reactor and Experimenter Staff Dose (in mrem)l Badge No. Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Qi 2012 Q2 2012 10012 M M 30 M 07528 M M 2 M 08025 M M 4 2 07463 8 3 11 3 08141 M 8 1 2 07588 8 5 18 4 07805 M -- --.
08152 6 6 4 3 07748 M 2 M 17 10042 M M 6 5 10224 7 -- -- --
10232 2 2 1 2 10225 8 -- -- --
10231 2 5 4 3 10296 -- M 1 2 10301 -- 2 3 6 10400 ....-- 1 10283 -- 11 M 2 The "--" denotes data not available either due to departure from the facility or new personnel starting at the facility.
2 An 'M' denotes that the dosimeter reading was less than or equal to the background radiation level for that quarter.
- 8. Reactor Facility Radiation and Contamination Levels The method detection limit (MDL) for building survey samples collected for removable contamination determination by liquid scintillation assay is 6 x 10-8 pjCi/cm 2 . Routine building surveys showed average removable contamination levels less than the MDL for most CAAs and all non-CAAs. The only removable contamination level above the MDL was located on Room 201 Experimenter Platform (CAA, 8.80 x 1 0- pCi/cm2 ); which falls well under contamination thresholds for a CAA. Other areas in the facility where contamination is more likely, the sample drop tube in Room 201, Laboratory 120, and the radiochemistry hoods for example, all showed averaged removable contamination levels below that of the MDL.
The routine area radiation surveys of the building in CAAs and non-CAAs are given in Table VI. The highest average dose rate level in a CAA was 4.57 mrem/hr, which occurred in Room 2 in the Thermal Column. This value is well below the limit for CAAs. The lowest average dose rate in a CAA was 0.05 mrem/hr, which occurred in Rooms 201 A and B, on the benches in Room 201, and in the Heat Exchanger Room 201 C. The average dose rate in the radiochemistry sample hoods (a non-CAA) was 1.72 mrem/hr. The highest onsite dose rate was 55 mrem/hr, which occurred in the Room 101 Sample Drop Hood; however, the survey was performed while there were Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 7
Annual Report 2012 experiments located in the Sample Drop Hood and therefore is not indicative of typical readings in this area as the samples do not remain in the Sample Drop Hood for extended periods of time.
Table VI Average Radiation Dose Rates (in mrem/hr) for2 Weekly Monitoring in CAAs and Non-CAAs',
Average dose rate (mrem/hr)
Room 201B 0.05 Room 201A 0.05 Room 201 Bridge 1.47 Room 201 Benches 0.05 Room 201 South 0.23 Room 201 East 1.79 Room 201C Heat Exchanger 0.05 Room 201 Floor North 1.70 Room 106 Ion Exchanger Pit 2.72 Room 1 01 A Purification Pit 1.48 Sample Storage 1.01 Rom 101 Door Way 0.04 Room 101 Shipment Bench 0.09 Room 101 Sample Drop Hood 2.56 Room 101 Hood 1 0.88 Room 116 0.04 Room 120 0.04 Room B21 Panoramic Irradiator 0.04 Room 2 South 0.10 Room 2 Thermal Column 4.57 Room 2 North 0.37 Room 2 West Cave 0.60 Room 2 East Cave 1.34 Bolded text indicates a non-CAA.
2 Regular text indicates a CAA.
- 9. Environmental Monitoring Program The environmental monitoring program uses thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD's) placed at locations both on-site and off-site. The environmental monitoring program is used to determine the average background radiation levels through the use of off-site TLD locations. The off-site TLD locations are defined by Technical Specifications 1 .0 and 5.1 .1, and are TLDs 3, 7, 9, 15 through 35, and 39 through 44. Since these TLD's are used in calculating the background they are not compared to the Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 8
Annual Report 2012 background and therefore do not have to meet the less than 20 % above background requirement. This average background radiation level is then compared to the nearest occupied dwelling to ensure it does not, on an annual basis, exceed the average off-site background radiation by more than 20 %. On-site TLD's are also compared to the average background radiation level to determine if they are more than 20 % above background levels or not. Table VII shows the quarterly dose rates for those TLD's located at off-site locations.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 9
Annual Report 2012 Table VII Environmental Radiation Levels at Off-Site Locations to the Nuclear Radiation Center1 (Dose rate in mrem/day)
Location Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 2011 2011 2012 2012 Average Fence E of NRC 0.327 0.333 0.373 0.366 0.350 Fence, N of Rad Waste Shed 0.357 0.385 0.398 0.613 0.438 Fence directly N Rad Waste Shed 0.408 0.41 7 0.422 0.570 0.454 S NRC, on parking lot fence 0.327 0.344 0.410 0.398 0.369 Fence S Roundtop Dr, 10th'pole W of 0.418 0.375 0.458 0.419 0.418 pole CI 4 Telephone pole C1 2 0.429 0.375 0.446 __2 0.41 7 Telephone pole near golf course gate 0.357 0.344 0.386 0.624 0.428 E across fairway on pine tree 0.304 0.391 0.398 0.473 0.391 Maple tree #54 along driving range 0.314 0.370 0.373 0.376 0.358 NW to fence uphill from. driving range 0.392 0.435 0.422 0.441 0.422 Follow fence E to fence corner 0.363 0.424 0.410 0.430 0.407 S to lone spruce tree near water hazard 0.333 0.348 0.373 0.473 0.382 Roundtop hill park, NW fence corner 0.314 0.370 0.361 0.634 0.420 Deciduous tree edge of 181h green 0.333 0.413 0.386 0.355 0.372 6ft pine tree, 3rd W down cartpath from 0.402 0.424 0.434 0.430 0.422 clubhouse 3rd to last tree after gap in same line of 0.324 0.359 0.361 0.505 0.387 trees SW to fence along path near 2nd to last 0.363 0.435 0.398 1.269 0.616 tee box at bottom hill Follow fence partway up hill after fence 0.353 0.402 0.386 0.505 0.412 turns S Follow fence, 15th pole E after fence 0.363 0.413 0.361 0.419 0.389 turns W Follow fence about halfway between 0.392 0.413 0.422 0.462 0.422 last TLD and corner Largest bush S of NRC 0.373 0.402 0.398 0.441 0.403 2nd fence S NRC, W end at gate 0.343 0.402 0.361 0.495 0.400 S Fairway Rd, 1St lightpost on right 0.388 0.423 0.463 0.538 0.453 S Fairway Rd, 2nd lightpost on right 0.439 0.330 0.415 0.387 0.393 Ellis Way and Hog Lane sign 0.347 0.330 0.390 0.473 0.385 Bottom of radio antenna hill, fence 0.337 0.371 0.390 0.441 0.385 next to shrub left of gate 3rd fence S of NRC, SE corner, cow 0.378 0.567 0.171 0.409 0.381 pasture Airport fence W end runway at gate 0.347 0.330 0.415 0.419 0.378 Fence/entry bar EJewett Observatory 0.378 0.340 0.427 0.462 0.402 Granite rock Terrall Mall, hole in back 0.949 __2 0.915 1.011 0.958 Off-site defined by the Technical Specification 1.0 and 5.1.1.
"--" indicates a TLD which was unavailable for sampling From Table VII, the background radiation levels and what 20 % above background radiation levels would be were determined and can be seen in Table VIII.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 10
Annual Report 2012 Table VIII Background Environmental Radiation Levels (Dose rate in mrem/day)
Table IX shows the quarterly exposures for those TLD's located at on-site locations.
Table IX Environmental Radiation Levels at On-Site Locations to the Nuclear Radiation Center1 (Dose rate in mrem/day)
...... Q3 Q4 Qi Q2 Loaton2011l 2011 2012 2012 Avrg E lower loading dock 0.327 0.375 0.398 0.398 0.374 Pool room truck door fence S end 0.378 0.458 0.482 0.505 0.456 Pool room truck door fence N end 0.337 0.41 7 0.422 0.495 0.417 E wall rad waste shed 0.327 0.344 0.361 0.581 0.403 N wall rad waste shed 0.367 0.375 0.422 0.624 0.447 Cooling tower fence, NE corner 0.337 0.385 0.410 0.452 0.396 Room 101 window 0.388 0.365 0.470 0.559 0.445 Railing next to upper liquid waste tank 0.347 0.396 0.434 0.462 0.410 Room 2 truck door fence 0.367 0.365 0.386 0.409 0.382 Transformer vault vent louvers 0.378 0.406 0.410 0.538 0.433 NRC main entrance, light fixture 0.388 0.454 0.476 0.505 0.456 NRC roof, pool room vent stack 0.286 0.330 0.390 0.387 0.348 NRC roof, guide wire E end of building 0.337 0.340 0.415 0.398 0.372 NRC roof, E pool room vent support leg 0.582 0.619 0.829 0.914 0.736 NRC roof, air conditioning support leg 0.316 0.340 0.768 0.796 0.555 NRC roof, W pool room vent support leg 0.643 0.691 0.415 0.366 0.528 On-site defined by the Technical Specification 1.0 and 5.1.1 Any TLD's on-site found to exceed the 20 % above background radiation level require an explanation on the quarterly report and review by a Senior Reactor Operator. None of the on-site radiation levels found to exceed the 20 % above background radiation level are located in unrestricted access areas and are therefore not accessible to the general public.
The dose rate for the closest off-site point of extended occupancy can be found in Table X.
Table X Environmental Radiation Levels for the closet off-site point of extended occupancy (Dose rate in mrem/day)
..... ation Q3 Q4 Qi Q2 Average 2011 2012 Apt complex C, gas meter 0.378 0.381 0.415 0.419 0.398 Apt complex B, gas meter 0.296 0.309 0.390 0.387 0.346 1" fence S apt complex A 0.327 0.320 0.415 0.591 0.413 Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 11
Annual Report 2012 Technical Specifications describing ALARA effluent releases in 3.5.2(3) specify annual radiation exposure due to reactor operation, at the closest off-site extended occupancy, shall not, on an annual basis, exceed the average off-site background radiation by more than 20 %. For the reporting period, the average background radiation dose rate for off-site locations was 0.427 mrem/day, while the average radiation dose rate at the closest extended occupancy area 600 meters away was 0.386 mrem/day. This result indicates that no exposure level above normal background radiation was found.
Washington State University Nuclear Radiation Center 12