ML14258A009
| ML14258A009 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Rhode Island Atomic Energy Commission |
| Issue date: | 08/29/2013 |
| From: | Hathaway C State of RI, Atomic Energy Comm, Nuclear Science Ctr |
| To: | Xiaosong Yin Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML14258A009 (7) | |
Text
August 29, 2013 Docket No. 50-193 Mr. Xiaosong Yin, Project Manager Non-Power Reactors, Decommissioning and Environmental Project Directorate Division of Reactor Projects - II/V/V U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Washington, DC 20555
Dear Mr. Yin:
This letter and the enclosures constitute the annual report required by the RINSC Technical Specifications (Section 6.8.4). Enclosure 1 provides reactor operating statistics. Enclosure 2 provides information pertaining to inadvertent reactor shutdowns or scrams. Enclosure 3 discusses maintenance operations performed during the reporting period. Enclosure 4 describes changes to the facility carried out under the conditions of Section 50.59 of Chapter 10 of the Code of Federal Regulation. Lastly, Enclosure 5 summarizes the radiological controls information. If there are any questions regarding this information, please call me at 401-789-9391.
Sincerely, Constance Hathaway Health Physicist Enclosures (5)
Copy to:
Mr. Craig Bassett, USNRC Dr. John J. Breen, Chairman, NRSC Dr. Clinton Chichester, Chairman, RIAEC Dr. Nancy Breen, RIAEC Dr. Peter Gromet, RIAEC Dr. Steven Mecca, RIAEC Dr. Bahram Nassersharif, RIAEC pc))ýO
ENCLOSURE 1 Technical Specifications Section 6.8.4.a Month Year Operating Hours Energy (MWH)
Energy (MWD)
July 2012 16.78 22.1 0.92 August 2012 34.28 20.87 0.87 September 2012 16.38 25.37 1.06 October 2012 14.67 19.17 0.80 November 2012 36.42 51.02 2.13 December 2012 26.78 37.63 1.57 January 2013 15.02 19.27 0.80 February 2013 31.8 40.21 1.68 March 2013 16.35 22.6 0.94 April 2013 14.52 17.57 0.73 May 2013 10.9 13.2 0.55 June 2013 11.23 16.23 0.68 TOTAL FY2013 245.13 305.24 12.72 Total Energy Output since Initial Criticality: 64,504.34 MWhrs or 2687.68 MWdays.
ENCLOSURE 2 EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND SCRAMS The following is a list of the emergency shutdowns and inadvertent scrams that occurred during the 2012-2013 reporting period. This information is required by Technical Specification 6.8.4.b Date Run No.
Logbook Page Cause Description 7/10/12 8712 59 51 Instrumentation Primary Pump inadvertently deenergized during maintenance 12/4/12 8751 59 91 Operator Range lowered on WR1 too quickly during power decrease 12/7/12 8753 59 93 Operator Short period SCRAM due to excessive withdrawal of fourth biade during start-up 2/5/13 8766/8767 59 106 Instrumentation Loose signal cable at J30 on WRI*
4/4/13 8785 59 125 Instrumentation Short period SCRAM due to noise in Neutron Flux Monitor**
5/9/13 8792 59 132 Instrumentation Short period SCRAM due to noise in Neutron Flux Monitor**
5/16/13 8793 59 133 Instrumentation Short period SCRAM due to noise in Neutron Flux Monitor**
5/16/13 8793 59 133 Instrumentation
>115kW SCRAM in HP mode, loose connection at H.P./L.P. Relay*
Notes:
- Loose cable connections due to ongoing improvements to reactor control system which include relocation and reconfiguring of equipment
- Noise due to poor connection in detector cable; see maintenance section of this report
ENCLOSURE 3 Technical Specification 6.8.4.c requires a listing of the major maintenance operations performed in the 2012-2013 reporting period, including their impact upon the safe operation of the reactor and the ieasons for the corrective maintenance.
A faulty bearing in the Cooling Tower #2 gear reducer that was put in place as a replacement during the 2011-2012 reporting period caused the gear reducer to seize. The rebuilt original gear reducer was put back into place. The seized gear reducer is being rebuilt as a spare.
An inline strainer was installed into the #2 secondary system in front of the heat exchanger. This will aid in removing debris that enters the cooling system from the cooling tower. While no issues have been found previously, this strainer will help prevent clogging of the passages of the heat exchanger, which could reduce efficiency and cooling capacity.
A new make-up water deionization system was put in place. This system uses a similar mixed bed/carbon filter method as the previous system, with improvements in water quality and recording. The new supplier also provides greater oversight and maintenance of the system, as well as 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> service in the event of a failure.
A loss of signal in the Neutron Flux Monitor was determined to be caused by a bad connection in the coaxial detector cable. This system provides power level and period indications for the reactor. The detector is connected to the detector cable and then to a transfer cable just above the water's surface; the transfer cable connects to the instrument in the control room. The crimp-on female SMA connector on the detector cable at the transfer cable was replaced with a new solder-on connector. This restored the detector signal, as well as eliminated noise that was previously attributed to a bad A15 Pre-amplifier module.
Following the overhaul of the control room ceiling and walls, a new air conditioning system was installed on the roof. The system cools and dehumidifies air from the confinement building to maintain a proper temperature and humidity in the control room for occupants and instrumentation.
In August 2012 the RINSC reactor was refueled in accordance with the Safety Analysis Report and Technical Specifications. The four fuel elements removed from the core are stored in the low power section of the pool, with four more unirradiated fuel elements in storage.
ENCLOSURE4 FACILITY CHANGES - 10CFR50.59 REVIEW Technical Specification 6.8.4.d requires that we provide a listing and description of any 10 CFR 50.59 evaluations conducted during the 2012-2013 reporting period. There were two facility changes during this period evaluated pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59.
New reactor safety system magnet power supplies were fabricated to replace the original General Electric Trip Actuator Amplifiers that currently power the magnets used to withdraw the control blades from the reactor. The staff performed an evaluation of these replacements and found that a license amendment was not necessary to implement the new equipment. The evaluation has not undergone Nuclear and Radiation Safety Committee review and is still pending. No physical changes have been made so far.
As part of an effort to increase the testing capabilities of the facility, a new neutron shielding material testing facility was designed. The testing facility is primarily a neutron/gamma shield at the end of an open beam port that will allow researchers to safely change samples during reactor operation. The changes were evaluated by the student team that designed the facility, and were approved by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Committee in May, 2013.
ENCLOSURE 5 RADIOLOGICAL CONTROLS
- 1. Environmental Surveys outside the Facility - Technical Specification 6.8.4.e Quarterly OSL1 badges are deployed outside the reactor building in three separate locations. The general public does not frequent these locations and therefore occupancy factors may be used to approximate annual dose. The allowable external dose rates must be below 50 mrem per year.
The quarterly doses in units of mrem are shown in the table below.
LOCATION 3 rd QTR 2012 4th QTR 2012 1"t QTR 2013 2 nd QTR 2013 Northeast Wall 28 0
0 0
Demineralizer 141 147 113 70 Door Heat Exchanger 16 20 23 0
Door These areas are in locations where access is limited. Consequently, the general public will not frequent these areas, and appropriate occupancy factors can be used to approximate annual dose.
Assuming that the mrtaximum time that a member of the general public would be present in one of these locations is 10 minutes per day, an occupancy factor of 0.01 can be used to obtain the annual dose that would be received by a member of the general public, in any of these areas.
The annual dose rate at the Northeast Wall, Demineralizer and Heat Exchanger Doors is dependent on the operations schedule of the reactor. Ignoring the fact that the dose rate is not present 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> per day, and applying the occupancy factor of 0.01, the annual dose that would be receive by an individual in the demineralizer room would be 4.71 mrem. The dose received at the Heat Exchanger Door would be 0.59 mrem. The annual dose received at the Northeast wall would be 0.28 mrem. The variations from quarter to quarter and from previous reports were due in part to movements of items within the reactor building during the fiscal year and varying use of the different irradiation facilities.
- 2. Annual Exposures Exceeding 500mrem - Technical Specification 6.8.4.f There were no personnel exposures greater than 500 mrem.
- 3. Radioactive Effluents - Technical Specification 6.8.4.g A. Individual gaseous effluent concentrations for each reactor operation are recorded on the Monthly Infbrmation Sheets (Form NSC-78). The concentration of radioactive materials in the effluent released from the facility exhaust stacks shall not exceed 1E+05 times concentrations I Optically Stimulated Luminescence; Landauer reads the OSL dosimeters to 1 mrem.
specified in 1 OCFR20, Appendix B, Table II, when averaged over time periods permitted by 1 0CFR20.2 Gamma spectroscopy of stack gas samples has shown that the principal gaseous effluent is Argon-4 1. The maximum concentration for this principle contaminant permitted under that Technical Specification is 1E-8 ýtCi/cc xlE5 = 1E-3 ltCi/cc. Concentrations released during the year were less than 0.2 of that limit.
The total Argon-41 release during the reporting period was 42.72 curies. The calculated effective dose equivalent for their release is 0.9 mrem/year (COMPLY Code).
B. Liquid effluent concentrations released to the sewer are documented on the Sewer Discharge Radioassay Report (NSC-09). For the reporting period, the total volume of discharge was 1,514,132 ml. The isotopes and their relative activities discharged are given below.
Radioisotope Total Activity Discharged (microcuries)
H3 38.194 C14 36.148 Pb214 4.028 2 Technical Specifications, Section 3.7.2.