ML12284A110

Annual Report for the Ohio State University Research Reactor, FY2011/2012

ML12284A110
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	09/26/2012
From:	Blue T Ohio State University
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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Download: ML12284A110 (11)

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T *H-E The Ohio State University 1298 Kinnear Road CHUI Nuclear Reactor Laboratory Columbus, OH 43212 UPhone 614-688-8220 UN[ERsrM Fax 614-292-2209 26-Sep-2012 Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738

SUBJECT:

Annual Report for The Ohio State University Research Reactor, License R-75, Docket 50-150 Please find enclosed the annual report for The Ohio State University Research Reactor, Docket No. 50-150. This report is being submitted as required by our Technical Specifications, Section 6.6.1. If you have questions on the content of this report, please contact Mr. Andrew Kauffman, Associate Director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, at 614-688-8220.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on 26-Sep-2012.

Sincerely, Thomas E. Blue, Director OSU Nuclear Reactor Lab The Ohio State University (License R-75, Docket 50-150) c: David B. Williams, Dean, OSU College of Engineering Randolph L. Moses, Associate Dean for Research, OSU College of Engineering A. C. Kauffman, OSU Nuclear Reactor Lab

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT FOR FY 2011/2012 SEPTEMBER 2012 OSURR Annual Report Page 1 of 10 Sep 2012

Introduction As stated in The Ohio State University Research Reactor (OSURR) Technical Specifications Section 6.6.1, OperatingReports, an annual report shall be made to the NRC by September 30 of each year. This report is to include the following seven information items:

1. A narrative summary of operating experience (including experiments performed) and of changes in facility design, performance characteristics, and operating procedures related to reactor safety occurring during the reporting period

2. A tabulation showing the energy generated by the reactor (in kilowatt hours) and the number of hours the reactor was in use

3. The results of safety related maintenance and inspections and the reasons for corrective maintenance of safety-related items

4. A table of unscheduled shutdowns and inadvertent scrams, including their reasons and the corrective actions taken

5. A summary of the safety analyses performed in connection with changes to the facility or procedures, which affect reactor safety, and performance of tests or experiments carried out under the conditions of 10 CFR 50.59

6. A summary of the nature and amount of radioactive gaseous, liquids, and solid effluents released or discharged to the environs beyond the effective control of the licensee as measured or calculated at or prior to the point of such release or discharge

7. A summary of radiation exposures received by facility personnel and visitors, including the dates and times of significant exposures These seven information items are discussed below for the period July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, except as noted for exposure records.

1. Summary of Operating Experience and Changes 1 .A. Experiments Performed The OSURR engages in a wide range of research endeavors, including neutron activation analysis (NAA), radiation-damage studies, neutron and radiation sensitive detector development, isotope production, and biomedical experiments. Much of the NAA work performed at the OSURR is for geological and material science samples, but NAA is used for other purposes, such as industrial and biological. Most radiation-damage studies performed at the OSURR are for electronic and fiber-optic components, but studies have been performed for other materials. The OSURR has been involved in the development of a number of potential types of neutron and radiation detectors, including fiber-optic based systems, and it regularly tests fission chambers for use in commercial power reactors by characterizing their response to known neutron flux. Isotope production has typically been performed for medical research, but sources have been created for other uses, including testing of radiation-sensitive detectors. Biological sample irradiations performed at the OSURR have been for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) studies. In addition, other experiments are performed at the OSURR, such as reactivity worth measurements, spectrum characterizations using flux-wire activation and analysis, and physics experiments such as neutron irradiation of fullerenes.

The OSURR also provides a variety of instructional services ranging from general tours to individual and group laboratory sessions and research projects structured to student and faculty OSURR Annual Report Page 2 of 10 Sep 2012

interests. Nuclear engineering and physics classes throughout Ohio have utilized the OSURR for the following basic experiments:

a. approach to critical (using banked control rods rather than fuel loading)

b. control rod calibration by rod drop, positive period, and subcritical multiplication

c. measurement of the reactor transfer function by noise analysis

d. temperature coefficient measurements

e. radiological surveys When the OSURR is used to introduce students, faculty or other experimenters to nuclear research, the following are typically done:

a. discuss nuclear reactions and radiological safety

b. operate the reactor at 1OkW-1OOkW

c. have the individuals observe control room operations

d. complete a tour and demonstrate irradiation techniques Neutron activation analysis experiments are performed for students ranging from high school to graduate school.

The reactor utilization for July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012 is summarized in the following reports. Please note that the utilization hours listed below only reflect actual reactor operating time. The list does not include hours spent on tasks supporting this reactor utilization.

OSURR Annual Report Page 3 of 10 Sep 2012

The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Reactor Utilization Report:

July 1 - December 31, 2011 User (Affiliation) Description Hours1 AFIT Radiation effects on materials and electronics 25.8 D. Schaefer (Air Force) Buckyballs 2.4 Edison Welding Inst. SiC joining techniques 6.7 GE Reuter-Stokes Testing fission chambers 54.9 Luna Innovations Radiation effects on fiber-based sensors 55.5 K. Lepper (NDSU) NAA of geological samples 1.4 Hatch (NRL) Scandium irradiation 4.7 NRL Calibrations, requal, etc. 23.0 A. Zelaski (OSU NE) SiC irradiation 0.0 2 R. Cao (OSU NE) BP#2 facility testing 4.0 Bardsley (OSU Physics) Radiation effects on GMR materials 3.5 U. of Cincinnati Neutron spectrum in BP#1 0.8 S. Glover (UC) Irradiation of silica discs 4.5 C. Barklay (UDRI) Irradiation of tantalum alloys 7.8 Various Tours 21.6 (Kenyon College, Ohio DPS / EMA, OSU IS555, OSU NES05, OSU NROTC, OSU Energy & Env.,

OSU Women in Eng., Wilberforce University)

Total: 216.6 Notes:

1. The utilization hours listed above reflect actual reactor operating time. The list does not include hours spent on tasks supporting this reactor utilization (pre-start and post-shutdown checkout, experiment setup, etc.).

2. Does not include reactor utilization time when run as a secondary user concurrent with a primary user OSURR Annual Report Page 4 of 10 Sep 2012

The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Reactor Utilization Report:

January 1 - June 30, 2012 User (Affiliation) Description Hours 1 R. McMahon (AFIT) Radiation effects on electronic devices 5.2 D. Schaefer (Air Force) Buckyballs 1.5 GE Reuter-Stokes Testing fission chambers 61.8 Lambda Instruments Radiation effects on fiber-based sensors 0.9 2 Luna Innovations Radiation effects on fiber-based sensors 144.0 K. Lepper (NDSU) NAA of geological samples 1.1 Hatch (NRL) Scandium irradiation 1.6 D. Hawn (OSU NE) Radiation effects on optical fiber 42.8 R. Cao (OSU NE) BP#2 facility testing 4.0 R. Cao (OSU NE) Radiation effects on GaN 0.0 2 OSU NE 742 & 744 Laboratory classes 19.5 S. Glover (UC) Irradiation of silica disks 3.2 2 Various Tours 35.6 (AFIT, Bluffton H.S., Columbus Police & Fire, Marburn Academy, OEMA, Ohio Energy Project, OSU FST, OSU Intl. Studies, NE 505, OSU Nuc.

Med., OSU Physics, Westerville South H.S.)

Total: 335.9 Notes:

1. The utilization hours listed above reflect actual reactor operating time. The list does not include hours spent on tasks supporting this reactor utilization (pre-start and post-shutdown checkout, experiment setup, etc.).

2. Does not include reactor utilization time when run as a secondary user concurrent with a primary user OSURR Annual Report Page 5 of 10 Sep 2012

1.B. Changes in Facility Design There were no facility design changes that required a change to the Technical Specifications.

10CFR50.59 changes are described in Section 5.A of this report.

I.C. Changes in Performance Characteristics There have been no changes in performance characteristics related to reactor safety in the last year.

1.D. Changes in Operating Procedures There were no changes in operating procedures related to reactor safety in the last year.

10CFR50.59 changes are described in Section 5.B of this report.

2. Energy Generated and Hours of Use Kilowatt-Hours of Operation: 101690.4 kW-hr Hours of Utilization: 552.5 hr

3. Safety Related Maintenance None.

4. Unscheduled Shutdowns From July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 there were 4 unplanned shutdowns. These are summarized below.

Reason Corrective Action Safety system continuity scram (3) Failed relay in continuity circuitry lidentified and replaced Operator error; wrong button pushed (1) None required by SRO /

5. Changes in Facility and Procedures in Accordance with IOCFR50.59 5.A. Facility Modifications During the period July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, four OSURR Modification Requests were completed:

1) Cooling system upgrade (addition of compressor-based chiller to cooling system)

2) Beam Port 2 external beam facility installation

3) Control console manual scram pushbutton switch replacement

4) Startup channel ratemeter replacement 5.B. Procedure changes The following is a list of procedure changes made under 10-CFR-50.59 from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 in accordance with Administrative Procedure AP-05, Format for Writing, Revising, and Approving Procedures.

OSURR Annual Report Page 6 of 10 Sep 2012

Procedure Procedure Revision Number Title Date AP-02 General Rules 9/11/11 EP-04 Emergency Equipment Inventory 9/7/11 IM-12 Reactor Instrumentation Calibration 9/23/11 OM-03 Experimental Facilities 8/23/11 RS-15 Radiation Safety Instruction 9/7/11

6. Radioactive Effluents 6.A. Gaseous Effluent The only gaseous effluent measured is the release of Ar-41. For the period July 1 - Dec. 31, 2011, Ar-41 releases measured 1.18% of the annual average concentration limit. From Jan. 1 -

June 30, 2010, releases measured 2.20% of the annual average concentration limit. In accordance with the requirements of 1 OCFR20. 1101 (d), the COMPLY code was run using the total Ar-41 release for the period July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012 of 269.5 mCi. Using level 2 in the code, the effective dose equivalent rate at the facility fence was computed to be 0.2 mrem/yr.

This is well below the 10 mrem/yr constraint specified in the regulation.

6.B. Liquid Releases Hot sink releases are recorded and reported through the OSU Office of Radiation Safety. One release was made to the sanitary sewer system during the period July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, and it contained: 0.0034 pCi Co-60, 0.00074 pCi Mo-99, 0.059 pCi Cs-137, and 0.00067 pCi Hg-203.

6.C.Solid Releases No releases of solid radioactive material were made to the uncontrolled environment.

7. Radiation Exposures Since the firm that maintains records for The Ohio State University keeps a year-to-date record, it is simpler to report radiation exposure records by the nearest completed calendar year. Therefore dosimetry badge exposures in this report are for the period January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. Nine individuals were monitored as radiation workers during this period, and the measured dose equivalent values are tabulated below in mrem.

Individual Dose Equivalent (mrem)

DDE LDE SDE, WB SDE, ME Visitors 0 0 0 N/A Staff member #1 133 210 383 808 Staff member #2 41 42 42 289 Staff member #3 175 186 207 586 Staff member #4 170 174 179 626 Staff member #5 85 92 92 400 Staff member #6 11 14 14 36 Staff member #7 19 22 22 -

Student #1 19 19 19 214 Student #2 7 7 7 36 Student #3 3 3 3 21 OSURR Annual Report Page 7 of 10 Sep 2012

Student #4 49 49 52 Student #5 8 9 11 130 Student #6 3 3 3 1 Student #7 7 7 7 26 OSURR Annual Report Page 8 of 10 Sep 2012

COMPLY: V1.6. 7/17/2012 3:00 40 CFR Part 61 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH THE CLEAN AIR ACT LIMITS FOR RADIONUCLIDE EMISSIONS FROM THE COMPLY CODE - V1.6.

Prepared by:

Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab 1298 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH Andrew Kauffman 614-688-8220 Prepared for:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Radiation and Indoor Air Washington, DC 20460 OSURR Annual Report Page 9 of 10 Sep 2012

COMPLY: V1.6. 7/17/2012 3:00 NRL_2012 SCREENING LEVEL 2 DATA ENTERED:

Release Rate Nuclide (curies/YEAR)

AR-41 2.695E-01 Release height 10 meters.

Building height 11 meters.

The source and receptor are not on the same building.

Distance from the source to the receptor is 15 meters.

Building width 25 meters.

Default mean wind speed used (2.0 m/sec).

-NOTES:

Input parameters outside the "normal" range:

None.

RESULTS:

Effective dose equivalent: 0.2 mrem/yr.

• • • Comply at level 2.

This facility is in COMPLIANCE.

It may or may not be EXEMPT from reporting to t~he EPA.

You may contact your regional EPA office for more information.

• • • • • • • • END OF COMPLIANCE REPORT ********

OSURR Annual Report Page 10 of 10 Sep 2012