ML13249A029

Annual Operating Report for the University of Utah Triga Nuclear Reactor, for the Period of 1 July 2012 Through 30 June 2013

ML13249A029
Person / Time
Site:	University of Utah
Issue date:	08/27/2013
From:	Jevremovic T Univ of Utah
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML13249A029 (11)

Text

T HEMW UNIVERSITY OFUTAH August*5*i 2013 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555 To whom it may concern:

Enclosed please find 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 2012 through 30 June 2013. This report fulfills the requirements of the TRIGA Technical Specifications 6.7.1.

If there are any further questions or concerns regarding this report, please contact me at (801) 587-9696.

Respectfully,

,removic, Ph.D.

Dii Nuclear Engineering Program 50 S. Central Campus Dr. Rm. 1206 Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-8917 AD2~

(801) 581-4188 FAX: (801) 585-5477 www.nuclear.utah.edu

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 The University of Utah TRIGA Reactor (UUTR)

Annual Operating Report for the period 1 July 2012 through 30 June 2013 Gregory Moffitt, UUTR Supervisor Dr. Tatjana Jevremovic, UNEP & UUTR Director Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP)

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 A. NARRATIVE

1. Operating Experience The University of Utah TRIGA Reactor (UUTR), License No. R-126, Docket No. 50-407, was critical for 51.594 hours0.00688 days <br />0.165 hours <br />9.821429e-4 weeks <br />2.26017e-4 months <br /> and generated 2289.763 kilowatt-hours of thermal energy during this reporting year. The reactor was used for educational demonstrations and training, laboratory experiments, reactor systems tests, reactor power measurements and samples irradiations.

2. Changes in Facility.Design The facility and associated laboratories were upgraded by adding new germanium gamma detectors in room 1205.

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 #24-B #24-B Configuration 08/17/12 2/22/13 Date Worth $ Worth ($)

Safety Rod 2.320 2.253 Shim Rod 1.493 1.487 Regulating Rod 0.277 0.273 Excess Reactivity 0.792 0.756 Shutdown Margin 0.978 1.004

b. Control Rod Inspection The biennial control rod inspection was performed during December of 2011 and was not required to be performed in 2012.

c. Reactor Power Level Instrumentation Calorimetric power calibrations were performed on 8/17/12, and 2/27/13 with the results shown in Table 2.

Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 2

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 Table 2. Summary of calorimetricpower calibration Date Measured % Power Calculated Power Level 08/17/12 93.5 87.62 02/27/13 93.0 93.67

d. Fuel Inspection The biennial fuel inspection was performed during December of 2011 and was not required to be performed in 2012.

e. Fuel Temperature Calibration Fuel temperature circuits were calibrated on 08/24/12 and 02/21/13.

The circuits were calibrated to less than or equal a 2°C error over the range from 20 'C to 400 'C.

f. Reactor Safety Committee (RSC) Audits Four RSC audits were completed during this reporting period. The data are shown in Table 3. No significant deviations from normal operating practices were identified by these audits.

Table 3. Audit summary Audit Period Auditor Operation and 1 Jan. 2013 to 30 Jun. 2013 James R. Parry/INL Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jan. 2013 to 30 Jun. 2013 James R. Parry/INL ALARA Operation and 1 Jul. 2012 to 31 Dec. 2012 James R. Parry/INL Maintenance Radiation Safety and 1 Jul. 2012 to 31 Dec. 2012 James R. Parry/INL ALARA

g. Environmental Surveys Nine environmental monitors are located in the areas surrounding the UUTR. A maximum exposure of 54 mrem in a quarter to an environmental dosimeter located in the building #80 was measured. Table 4 shows the average dose recorded in last five years.

Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 3

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 Table 4. Summary of environmentalmonitoring around the UUTR Year Average quarterly readings for the 9 environmental monitors (mrem) 2012 35.56 2011 35.13 2010 36.00 2009 34.56 2008 39.26 2007 37.94 B. ENERGY OUTPUT The UUTR reactor was critical for 51.594 hours0.00688 days <br />0.165 hours <br />9.821429e-4 weeks <br />2.26017e-4 months <br /> and produced 0.0954 megawatt-days (2 289.763kilowatt-hours) of energy during this reporting period. Since initial criticality, the reactor has been operated for a total of 3,699.954 hours0.011 days <br />0.265 hours <br />0.00158 weeks <br />3.62997e-4 months <br /> with an accumulated total energy output of 9.129 megawatt-days (219,088.927 kilowatt.hours).

C. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS:

There were six inadvertent SCRAMs occurred during this period:

12/13/12, 02/27/13, 03/08/12, 04/12/13, and 06/28/13 because of feedback from mechanical errors of the pool water scram switch. There were no emergency shutdowns. Summary of the inadvertent scrams is given in Table 5.

Table 5. Summary of Inadvertent SCRAMS Date Run Type Cause Action Number 12/13/12 1798 Pool Pool water scram switch- Reset pool water Feedback from the pool water water scram switch scram 02/27/13 1807 Pool Pool water scram switch- Reset pool water Feedback from the pool water water scram switch scram 03/08/13 1809 Pool Pool water scram switch- Reset pool water Feedback from the pool water water scram switch scram 04/12/13 1811 Pool Pool water scram switch- Reset pool water Feedback from the pool water water scram switch scram Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 4

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 06/28/13 1813 Pool Pool water scram switch- Replaced water Feedback from the pool momentary water scram switch switches on pool water scram D. MAJOR MAINTENANCE None.

E. CHANGES, TESTS AND EXPERIMENTS PURSUANT TO 10 CFR 50.59 None.

F. REACTOR SAFETY COMMITTEE As of the end of the reporting period, the current members of the RSC as designated by the Licensee are as follows:

James M. Byrne, Chair Tatjana Jevremovic, Director UNEP and UUTR Karen Langley, RSO of University of Utah Greg Moffitt, Reactor Supervisor Gary M. Sandquist Robert J. Huber James Thompson James R. Parry Chris Pantelides Rian B. Smith The UNEP staff continues to review and update facility documentation to assure compliance with all applicable regulations.

G. RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS

1. Liquid Waste Total activity released: none

2. Gaseous Waste Total estimated activity released: 28.516 pCi.

The UUTR was operated for 51.594 hours0.00688 days <br />0.165 hours <br />9.821429e-4 weeks <br />2.26017e-4 months <br /> at power levels up to approximately 90 kW. At this power level Ar-41 production is substantially below MPC values for unrestricted areas. The minimum detectable concentration of Ar-41 from the CAM system for the stack Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 5

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 monitor has been found to be less than two-third of 10 CFR 20 appendix B limits for release to unrestricted areas. The average annual calculated concentration of Ar-41 generated during operation is estimated to bel.269x10-10 ýtCi/ml that is approximately 0.008 % of the DAC. The total amount of Ar-41 released was estimated to be28.516 [tCi. No phosphorus-32 was released from the UUTR and associated facilities during this period. The total amount of all gaseous radioactivity released was estimated to be 28.516 ýtCi. A monthly summary of gaseous releases is given in Table 6. Total activity of gaseous effluent was therefore28.516

ýiCi.

Table 6. Summary of Monthly Gaseous Radioactive Effluent Month Power Ar-41 (gCi) Ar-41 ([tCi/ml) Estimated Release  % of DAC (kWh) P-32 and all others Jul.12 263 3.270 1.455x10 1 1 0 0.000 Aug 12 389 4.839 2.153x10-1" 0 0.001 Sep 12 146 1.816 8.079x10-12 0 0.000 Oct 12 0 0.000 0 0 0.000 Nov 12 557 6.935 3.085x10-" 0 0.001 Dec 12 90 1.126 5.01Ox10-12 0 0.000 Jan 13 201 2.509 1.116x10-11 0 0.000 Feb 13 193 2.410 1.072x10 11 0 0.000 Mar 13 234 2.914 1.296x10-11 0 0.000 Apr 13 180 2.241 9.968x10-1 2 0 0.000 May 13 19 0.236 1.049x10- 12 0 0.000 Jun 13 18 0.222 9.857x10' 3 0 0.000 Total 2290 28.516 1.269x10 10 0 0.004

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 2012 through 30 June 2013.

H. PERSONNEL RADIATION EXPOSURES UNEP Personnel The University of Utah Radiological Health Department has issued to all personnel with duties in the reactor laboratory on either a regular or occasional basis an OSL dosimeter. The duty category and monitoring period of personnel are summarized in Table 7. A summary of the whole body exposures to the UNEP personnel is presented in Table 8.

Measured Doses Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 6

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 7/1/12-6/30/13 Doses: <4 mrem average; 58 mrem highest measured Dose Equivalent Limit Maximum Permissible Dose Equivalent = 5000 mrem/year (1250/quarter).

Minimum Detectable Dose per Monthly Badge = I mrem.

Visitors Five hundred and eight-nine (589) individuals visited the reactor facility during the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. None of the visitors received a measurable dose.

Table 7. Summary of Monitored Personnel Name Monitoring Period Duty Category Dong-ok Choe 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular/Terminated Jorge Navarro 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Zachary Heinz 07/01/12-2/28/13 Regular/Terminated Gregory Moffitt 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Jesse Reeves 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Tatjana Jevremovic 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Aliaksei Minko 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Todd Sherman 07/01/12-4/30/13 Regular/Terminated Andrew Voyles 07/01/12-2/28/13 Regular/Terminated Haori Yang 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Joseph Levinthal 07/01/12-3/31/13 Regular/Terminated Ian Schwerdt 07/01/12-3/31/13 Regular/Terminated Christopher Dances 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular/Terminated Hermilo Hernandez 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Jason Rapich 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Steven Burnham 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Daniel Telenko 07/01/12-4/30/13 Regular/Terminated Philip Babitz 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Avdo Cutic 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Jennifer Gibson 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Brooklyn Noble 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Andrey Rybalkin 07/01/12-2/28/13 Regular/Terminated Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 7

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 Christian Adjei 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Dallon Boyd 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Samuel Brown 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Tierra Duffield 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Mark Young 07/01/12-12/31/12 Regular/Terminated Samantha Winkle 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Blane Wilkinson 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Can Liao 07/01/12-6/30/13 Regular Kamala Ganesh 09/01/12-12/31/12 Regular/Terminated Mahatasin Azad 09/01-12-11/30/12 Regular/Terminated Lyman Owen 10/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Tristalee Williams 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Xianfei Wen 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Matthew Lund 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular David Morgan 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular John Kavouras 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Victor Bautista 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Kaylyn McCoy 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Vijay Varun 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Joseph Santora 11/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Miltiadis 12/01/12-06/30/13 Regular Alamaniotis Stefan Badza 01/01/13-06/30/13 Regular Christopher 03/01/13-05/31/13 Regular/Terminated Cosman Elton jasaraj 03/01/13-06/30/13 Regular Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 8

UUTR Annual Report I July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 Table 8. Summary of whole body exposures to the UNEP personnel Estimated whole body exposure Number of individuals in range (rem) each range Less than 0.1 46 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 I. 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.

j. 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 UUTR reactor facility.

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.,- .: . UUTR Annual Report 1 July 2012 - 30 Jun 2013 Prepared by: Gregory Moffitt Date: 8/15/2013 Reactor Supervisor Submitted by: Gregory Moffitt Date: 8/15/2013 Reactor Supervisor A171-Approved by: Tatjana ]evremovic Date: 8/23/2016 Director Utah Nuclear Engineering Program (UNEP) 10