ML14272A094

Ohio State University Research Reactor,Submittal of Annual Report for Fy 2013/2014

ML14272A094
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	09/24/2014
From:	Kauffman A Ohio State University
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML14272A094 (10)

Text

College of Engineering O THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Nuclear Reactor Laboratory 1298 Kinnear Road Columbus, OH 43212 Phone: 614-688-8220 Fax: 614-292-2209 reactor.osu.edu September 24, 2014 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 me at 614-688-8220 or Kauffman.9@osu.edu.

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

Executed on 24-Sep-2014.

Sincerely,

~LL-Andrew Kauffman, Associate 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 T. E. Blue, OSU Nuclear Reactor Lab A/o o

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT FOR FY 2013/2014 SEPTEMBER 2014 OSURR Annual Report Page 1 of 9 Sep 2014

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, 2013 through June 30, 2014, except as noted for exposure records.

1. Summary of Operating Experience and Changes I.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 9 Sep 2014

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 10kW-100kW

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, 2013 through June 30, 2014 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 9 Sep 2014

The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Reactor Utilization Report:

July 1 - December 31, 2013 User (Affiliation) Description Hours Charles (AFIT) Radiation effects on semiconductors 2.0 Greb (AFIT) Cu-64 production 0.6 Recker (AFIT) Cu doping of ZnO 28.6 Singleton (AFIT) Radiation effects on optical fibers 14.3 Schaefer (Air Force) Carbon fullerites 1.8 Lepper (NDSU) NAA of geological samples 1.4 GE Reuter-Stokes QA testing fission chambers 24.9 OSU NE4506 Undergraduate lab classes 10.1 2 Cao (OSU NE) Beam experiments (NDP, imaging, etc.) 16.8 2 Wilson (OSU NE) Gamma measurements in 7" tube 9.5 Prime Photonics Radiation effects on TGG crystal 2.5 Scintiprox NAA of chemical tablets 1.1 Shepherd Color NAA of plastics 1.4 2 Glover (UC) NAA of fly ash, irradiation of silica disks 6.8 NRL Staff Maintenance activities, facility characterization 9.9 Various. Tours (OSU IS4701, OSU NE4505, OSU WiE 16.2 RISE, OSU Medical Center, Ohio Dept. of Public Safety)-

Total: 147.9 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 4 of 9 Sep 2014

The Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Reactor Utilization Report:

January 1 - June 30, 2014 User (Affiliation) Description Hours AFIT (Halstead) Radiation effects on electronic devices 2.3 AFIT (Holston) Irradiation of LiAIO2, SnO2 3.5 AFIT (Recker) Irradiation of ZnO 0.0 2 GE Reuter-Stokes Fission chamber testing 26.0 Lambda Instruments Radiation effects on fiber-based sensors 1.8 Luna Innovations Testing fiber-based sensors 18.1 NDSU (Lepper) NAA of geology samples 1.6 NRL Maintenance, facility characterization, etc. 10.2 Hatch (NRL) Radiation effects on diodes 1.9 2 OSU NE (Cao) Neutron depth profiling, prompt gamma analysis 11.5 OSU NE (Petrie) Radiation effects on quartz fiber 88.4 OSU NR (Wilson) Radiation effects on distributed fiber sensors 0.0 2 OSU NE (Qiu) Radiation effects on materials 1.9 OSU NE 5742 Lab class 3.1 OSU NE 6726 Lab class 15.2 OSU NE (Tayloe) Production of Co-60 source 0.0 2 U. of Chicago (Collar) Flux in thermal column 0.0 2 U.C. (Glover) NAA of fly ash, irradiation of silica discs 2.5 Various Tours (Bluffton H.S., Denison U., 19.4 Liberty Union-Thursdton H.S., Ohio Dept. of Health, Ohio Energy Project, OSU NE 4505, OSU Nuclear Medicine, OSU Physics)

Total: 207.4 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 9 Sep 2014

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.

1.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: 60997.9 kW-hr Hours of Utilization: 355.3 hr

3. Safety Related Maintenance None.

4. Unscheduled Shutdowns From July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 there were 3 unplanned shutdowns. These are summarized below.

Reason Corrective Action Period Safety scram from bumping a (1) None required cable Circuit Continuity scram from Level (1) Grounding issue resolved Safety B signal loss Period Safety scram from noise on log (1) None required channel

5. Changes in Facility and Procedures in Accordance with I0CFR50.59 5.A. Facility Modifications During the period July 1,' 2013 to June 30, 2014, four OSURR Modification Requests were completed:

1) Voluntary security upgrades, including foyer addition

2) Current source swap

3) Control-room portable air conditioner

4) Repair of rod drop timer module 5.B. Procedure changes The following is a list of procedure changes made under 1 0-CFR-50.59 from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 in accordance with Administrative Procedure AP-06, Formatfor Writing, Revising, and Approving Procedures.

OSURR Annual Report Page 6 of 9 Sep 2014

Procedure Procedure Revision Number Title Date RS-08 NRL Smear Survey 09/19/13 RS-09 Area Radiation Surveys 09/17/13

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, 2013, Ar-41 releases measured 1.10% of the annual average concentration limit. From Jan. 1 -

June 30, 2014, releases measured 1.49% 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, 2013 - June 30, 2014 of 208.3 mCi. Using level 2 in the code, the effective dose equivalent rate at the facility fence was computed to be 0.1 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. No releases were made to the sanitary sewer system during the period July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014.

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, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Thirteen 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 19 38 89 180 Staff member #2 0 0 0 0 Staff member #3 146 153 157 549 Staff member #4 72 73 73 224 Staff member #5 119 122 122 409 Staff member #6 24 27 27 80 Staff member #7 6 6 6 Student #1 0 0 0 30 Student #2 9 9 9 83 Student #3 8 8 8 125 Student #4 6 7 7 76 Student #5 13 16 16 103 Student #6 26 28 28 97 OSURR Annual Report Page 7 of 9 Sep 2014

COMPLY: V1.6. 7/ 1/2014 3:13 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 43212 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 8 of 9 Sep 2014

COMPLY: V1.6. 7/ 1/2014 3:13 OSU NRL SCREENING LEVEL 2 DATA ENTERED:

Release Rate Nuclide (curies/YEAR)

AR-41 2.083E-01 Release height 10 meters.

Building height 11meters.

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: 0.1 mrem/yr.

• • • Comply at level 2.

This facility is in COMPLIANCE.

It may or may not be EXEMPT from reporting to the EPA.

You may contact your regional EPA office for more information.

END OF COMPLIANCE REPORT

• OSURR Annual Report Page 9 of 9 Sep 2014