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Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute - Transmittal of 2015 Annual Operating Report
	ML16089A373
Person / Time
Site:	Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
Issue date:	03/23/2016
From:	Miller S; US Dept of Defense, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute
To:	; Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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ARMED FORCES RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 6901 WISCONSIN AVENUE BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20669*5603 March 23, 2016 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk 115 55 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 Sir or Madam:

Enclosed is the 2015 Annual Operating Report required by the Technical Specifications for th~

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute reactor (license R-84, docket 50-170).

Should you need any further information, pleas ILLER

Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility 01January2015 - 31 December 2015 To satisfy the requirements of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission License No. R-84 (Docket No. 50-170),

Technical Specification 6.6.b.

Prepared by:

Jason M. Jacot Reactor Operations Supervisor Submitted by:

Stephen I. Miller Reactor Facility Director Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute 8901 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, MD 20889-5603 Telephone: (301) 295-1290

Submission of 2015 Annual R~port I declare under penalty of perj y that this report is true and correct.

/LLL...__, b I. MILLER Date acility Director

2014 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction General Information Section I Changes in the Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, Administrative Procedures, Operational Procedures, and Results of Surveillance Tests and InspectionsSection II Energy Generated by the Reactor Core and the Number of Pulses $2.00 or Larger Section III Unscheduled ShutdownsSection IV Safety-related Corrective Maintenance Section V Facility and Procedure Changes as Described in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR),

New Experiments or Tests Performed During the Year Section VI Summary of Radioactive Effluent Released Section VII Environmental Radiological SurveysSection VIII Exposures Greater Than 25% of 10 CFR 20 Limits

2015 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) reactor facility was not available for irradiation services for the entire year due to the pending repair of the control console and maintenance that could not be performed due to the console.

There were no reactor modifications during the year and no unscheduled shutdowns during 2015.

The 2015 annual reactor audit required by the reactor Technical Specifications is scheduled for early 2016 by Mr. Mark Gee, LINAC/Cobalt Division Chief at AFRRI.

A comprehensive NRC inspection of procedures, experiments, health physics, design changes, transportation, committees, audits, and reviews was rescheduled by Mr. Johnny Eads of the NRC for early 2016.

Reactor and Radiation Facilities Safety Subcommittee (RRFSS) membership changes during the year are discussed in the General Information section. There was one reactor staff departure and no additions during the year.

The remainder of this report is written in the format designated in the Technical Specifications for the AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility. Items not specifically required are

'* presented in the General Information section. The following sections correspond to the required items listed in Section 6.6.b. of the Technical Specifications.

GENERAL INFORMATION All personnel held the listed positions throughout the year unless otherwise specified.

Key AFRRI personnel (as of 31 December 2014) are as follows:

1. AFRRI Director - L. Andrew Huff, Col, USAF Radiation Sciences Department (RSD) Head - Stephen Miller (SRO)

Radiation Safety Officer - Marie Parry, CDR, USN 2 Reactor Facility Director and Facility Radiation Manager - Stephen Miller (SRO)

3. Reactor operations personnel:

Reactor Operations Supervisor - Jason Jacot (SRO)

SRO Training Coordinator - Jason Jacot (SRO)

Maintenance Specialist - Walter Tomlinson (SRO)

Records Administration Specialist- Jason Jacot (SRO)

4. Other Senior Reactor Operators:

NA

5. Operator candidates:

Robert McMahon, MAJ, USA David Manzanares, SSG, USA

6. Additions to staff during 2015: .

None

7. Departures during 2015:

Ian Gifford (SRO)

8. The following are changes to the RRFSS membership during 2015.

CDR Lee, Hoey was appointed the RRFSS Chairman and Director's Representative, CDR Marie Parry was appointed the Radiation Safety Officer, and MSG Jason Jacot became the RRFSS recorder.

In accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 6.2.1.1. of the Technical Specifications for the AFRRI TRIGA Reactor Facility, the RRFSS consisted of the following members as of 31 December 2015.

Regular members are:

Radiation Safety Officer - Marie Parry, CDR, USN Reactor Faeility Director and Facility Radiation Manager - Stephen Miller Reactor Operations Specialist - Harry Spence Reactor Operations Specialist - Vincent Adams Health Physics Specialist - Joe Pawlovich Chairman and Director's Representative -L. Dan Hoey, CDR, USN Special nonvoting member - David Lake, Montgomery County Government (Department of Environmental Protection)

Recorder - Jason Jacot, MSG, USA Two meetings were held in 2015:

11 June 2015 22 December 2015

SECTION I Changes in the Facility Design, Performance Characteristics, Administrative Procedures, Operational Procedures, Results of Surveillance Tests and Inspections A summary of chari.ges to the facility design, performance characteristics, administrative procedures, and operational procedures as well as the results of surveillance testing are provided in this section.

A. DESIGN CHANGES There were no design changes during 2015 B. PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS There were no changes to the performance characteristics of the core during 2015.

C. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

.There were no changes to the Administrative Procedures during 2015.

D. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES There was one change to the Operational Procedures during 2015. The RRFSS was notified of the changes during the December 2015 meeting.

Reactor Operational Procedure 11 had the minor changes to the procedure as changing the low alarm set points of the Continuous Air Monitors (CAM) from 25,000 CPM to 20,000 CPM based on HPD doclimentation. The change is effective 25 November 2015. There were no comments from the committee.

E. RESULTS OF SURVEILLANCE TESTS AND INSPECTIONS Surveillance tests required by Technical Specifications were not accomplished as normally scheduled during 2015, due to inoperable condition of console for the duration of 2015. The console was repaired in November 2015 and normal operations will not resume until all required maintenance and' calibrations have been .performed.

The 2015 annual reactor audit required by the reactor Technical Specifications is scheduled for early 2016 by Mr. Mark Gee, LINAC/Cobalt Division Chief at AFRRI.

A comprehensive NRC inspection of procedures, experiments, health physics, design changes, transportation, committees, audits, and reviews was rescheduled by Mr. Johnny Eads of the NRC for early 2016.

SECTION II Energy Generated by the Reactor Core and the Number of Pulses $2.00 or Larger Month Kilowatt Hours JAN 0.0 FEB 0.0 MAR 0.0 APR 0.0 MAY 0.0 JUN 0.0 JUL 0.0 AUG 0.0 SEP 0.0 OCT 0.0 NOV 0.0 DEC 0.0 TOTAL 0.0 Total energy generated in 2015: 0 kWh Total energy on fuel elements: 1,153,063.6 kWh Total energy on FFCRs*: 420,265.9 kWh Total pulses this year~ $2.00: 0 Total pulses on fuel elements~ $2.00: 4,219 Total pulses on FFCRs* ~ $2.00: 107 Total pulses this year: 0 Total pulses on fuel elements: 12,171 Total pulses on FFCRs*: 2,406

Fuel-followed control rods

SECTION III Unscheduled Shutdowns There were no unscheduled shutdowns during 2015.

SECTION IV Safety-Related Corrective Maintenance There was no safety related corrective maintenance for 2015.

SECTIONV Facility and, Procedure Changes as Described in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR), New Experiment_s or Tests Performed During the Year A. FACILITY CHANGES AS DESCRIBED IN THE FSAR There was a deletion of the mention of compressed air control of the automatic closing damper. They are no longer controlled with compressed air and are now controlled by electronic automation. The changes were reviewed by the RRFSS members.

B. PROCEDURE

CHANGES AS DESCRIBED IN THE FSAR There were no changes to procedures as described in the FSAR during the year.

C. NEW EXPERIMENTS OR TESTS No new experiments or tests were performed during the reporting period that were not encompassed by the FSAR.

SECTION VI Summary of Radioactive Effluent Released A. Liquid Waste: The reactor produced no liquid waste during 2015.

B. Gaseous Waste: -There were no particulate discharges i_n 2015.

The total activity of Argon-41dischargedin2014 was 0.47 curies. The estimated effluent concentration from the release of Argon-41 represents less than 1% of the constraint limit for unrestricted areas (10 CFR 20.1 lOl(d) and Table 2, Appendix B, 10 CFR 20).

Quarterly: Jan - Mar 2015 0.000 Ci Apr - Jun 2015 0.000 Ci Jul - Sep 2015 0.000 Ci Oct- Dec 2015 0.000 Ci C. Solid Waste: All solid radioactive waste material was transferred to the AFRRI

byproduct license; none was disposed of under the R-84 reactor license.

SECTION VII Environmental_ Radiological Surveys All environmental sampling of soil and vegetation yielded radionuclide levels within the background range. The radionuclides that were detected were those expected from natural background and from long-term fallout from nuclear weapons testing.

The calculated annual dose, due to'Argon-41 release to the environment for 2015, was 0.000 mrem at the location of maximum public exposure. The maximum exposure is calculated at a location 91 meters from the release point as described in the FSAR. Exposure to the general population at the boundary of the Naval Support Activity Bethesda is significantly less due to the diffusion of Argon-41 in the atmosphere. The constraint limit for exposure to the public established under 10 CFR 20.1 lOl(d) is 10 mrem per year. The exposure dose was calculated using.COMPLY code, level 2, which is the most conservative level of COMPLY. Emissions due to reactor operations were 0.000 mrem, or less than 1% of the 10 mrem constraint limit, for the entire year.

The reactor in-plant surveys, specified in Health Physics Procedure (HPP) 3-2, all resulted in readings that were less than the action levels specified in HPP 0-2.

SECTION VIII Exposures Greater than 25%> of 10 CFR 20 Limits There were no doses to reactor staff personnel or reactor visitors greater than 25% of 10 CPR 20 occupational and public radiation dose limits.