ML18178A602

Univ. of California - 2017 Annual Report

ML18178A602
Person / Time
Site:	University of California-Davis
Issue date:	12/31/2017
From:	Univ of California
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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Download: ML18178A602 (21)

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT Docket Number 50-607 License Number R-130

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017

1. Introduction The University of California, Davis, McClellan Nuclear Research Center (MNRC) consists of a research reactor, associated radiography and positioning equipment, and a wide variety of equipment to support broad-based research activities. This MNRC Annual Report is published each year in support of the license provided by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The aforementioned license is for the operation of a steady-state TRIGA' reactor with pulsing and square wave capability.

It is the primary intent of this document to provide information relevant to the safe operation of the UCD/MNRC. A brief description of the MNRC facility and administration is followed by operational events and health physics information concerning this facility during CY 2017.

2. UCD/MNRC Facility Description The UCD/MNRC is located on the McClellan Industrial Park site; the reactor is housed in Building 258. The McClellan Industrial Park site is approximately 2600 acres, located eight miles northeast of Sacramento, California.

The UCD/MNRC facility is a three level ~18,000 sq. ft. rectangular-shaped enclosure that surrounds a 2 MW research reactor. The UCD/MNRC provides four neutron beams to four bays for radiography and other research and commercial activities. All four bays are capable of using radiography film techniques, but 3 normally uses electronic imaging devices. Space, shielding and environmental controls are provided by the enclosure for neutron radiography operations performed on a variety of samples. Adequate room has been provided to handle the components in a safe manner.

In addition to the radiography bays, the UCD/MNRC reactor also has several in-core facilities ranging from a pneumatic tube system to a central irradiation facility.

For more detailed information on the UCD/MNRC project, the reader is referred to the UCD/MNRC Safety Analysis Report.

3.0 UCD/MNRC Administration UCD/MNRC Organization. The UCD/MNRC is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory commission (NRC) to operate under the provisions of operating license R-130.

The University of California Regents have designated the Chancellor at UC Davis to be the license holder. The UCD Chancellor has in-turn delegated the Vice Chancellor for Research to be the licensee of record.

The UCD/MNRC is under the direction of the UCD/MNRC Director.

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 1

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 4.0 Facility Modifications (Section 50.59 of 10CFR Part 50), and experiments.

None 5.0 Approved Changes to Experiments None 6.0 Licensing and Regulatory Activities 6.1 NRC Items

a. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted a semi-annual audit the week of 30 January 2017. No significant findings reported.

b. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted an audit the week of 22 May 2017. No significant findings reported.

c. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted an audit the week of 28 August 2017. No significant findings reported.

6.2 Nuclear Safety Committee (UCD/NSC)

a. The Nuclear Safety Committee held its semi-annual meetings on 12 January and 24 August 2017.

b. The Nuclear Safety Committee performed an Operations audit for 2017 on 25 February 2018.

c. The Nuclear Safety Committee performed an audit of the Radiation Safety Program on 24 August 2017.

d. The Nuclear Safety Committee performed a Security audit on 28 August 2017.

7.0 OPERATIONS OPERATING HISTORY:

TOTAL OPERATING HOURS THIS YEAR: 1167.03 TOTAL OPERATING HOURS: 51667.17 TOTAL MEGAWATT HOURS THIS YEAR: 1078.29 TOTAL MEGAWATT HOURS: 66238.17 TOTAL NUMBER OF PULSES PERFORMED THIS YEAR: 0 TOTAL NUMBER OF PULSES PERFORMED: 484 UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 2

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 7.1 UNSCHEDULED REACTOR SHUTDOWNS and NOTED PROBLEM AREAS:

In 2017, there were three (3) unscheduled reactor shutdowns at the MNRC reactor facility. The following is a list of the unscheduled shutdowns:

2017 UNSCHEDULED REACTOR SHUTDOWNS Type of Failures Total Number CSC 0 Other 3 TOTAL NUMBER OF UNSCHEDULED SHUTDOWNS IN 2017 3 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec CSC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Notes 1,2 3 Notes:

1: Loss of Off Site Power/ Loss of the reactor CAM.

2: Fire Alarm, Scrammed the Reactor. Air regulator failure 3: Rx Room CAM fault.

January

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of January.

2. There were two callbacks to the facility in January.

a. Both were caused by Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) faults, both cleared on acknowledgement (COA).

February

1. There were two unscheduled shutdowns in the month of February.

a. Loss of Offsite/Building electrical power which caused the loss of the Reactor Room CAM. The Reactor was manually shutdown.

b. The facility fire alarm sounded, the Reactor was manually scrammed. Search of facility found no smoke or fire, the cause was determined to be fire suppression system air regulator failure.

2. There were no callbacks to the facility in February.

March

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of March.

2. There were two callbacks to the facility in March.

a. Both were due to Rod Withdrawal Prohibit (RWP) alerts, both cleared on acknowledgement (COA). Probably caused by lightning in the area.

April

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of April.

2. There was one callback to the facility in the month of April.

a. Rod Withdrawal Prohibit. Cleared on acknowledgement. Lighting induced.

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 3

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 May

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of May.

2. There were no callbacks to the facility in the month of May.

June

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of June.

2. There was one callback to the facility in the month of June.

a. Rod Withdrawal Prohibit. Cleared on acknowledgement.

July

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in July.

2. There were no callbacks to the facility in the month of July.

August

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of August.

2. There three callbacks to the facility in the month of August.

a. All three callbacks were the result of spurious fire alarms, ultimately tracked down to a failing smoke detector which has been replaced.

September

1. There was one unscheduled shutdown in the month of September.

a. Reactor Continuous Air Monitor (CAM) fault, manually shutdown the reactor. Caused by a burnt electrical lug to the air pump.

2. There was one callback to the facility in the month of September.

a. UPS fault. Cleared on Acknowledgement.

October

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of October.

2. There were four (4) callbacks to the facility in the month of September.

a. One was a UPS fault. Cleared on Acknowledgement.

b. Three (3) were Rod Withdrawal Prohibit alerts which cleared on acknowledgement.

November

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in the month of November.

2. There was one callback to the facility in the month of November.

a. Rod Withdrawal Prohibit. Cleared on acknowledgement.

December

1. There were no unscheduled shutdowns in December.

2. There were no callbacks to the facility in the month of December.

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 4

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017

7.2 ANOMALIES

During 2017, there were no anomalies at the MNRC facility and no Radiological Incident Investigations.

7.3 MAINTENANCE OTHER THAN PREVENTIVE:

January System # Description Work Performed 1001 Bay CAM Replaced failed Bay CAM fuse holder Demineralizer 5120 Replaced depleted makeup water resin bottles System February System # Description Work Performed 5640 Building A/C Troubleshot and repaired AC-12 March System # Description Work Performed 1800 Reactor Ventilation DOP test Reactor Room Exhaust HEPA filters 1803 Rad-Vac DOP test Radiological Vacuum Cleaner 5490 Helium Supply Replace expended Helium Supply bottle 5720 Security System Replace Keypad at East Gate April System # Description Work Performed 5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle 5630 Bay Ventilation Replaced failed Bay 1 A/C unit 4 (AC-4)

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 5

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 June System # Description Work Performed Control System CSC fails when control Room Temp exceeds 72 F.

5330 Console (CSC) Replaced CSC DIS64 and watchdog cards.

5640 Building Ventilation Replaced both HV-1 and HV-2 sump pumps HV-1, HV-2, and Replaced the fan motor bearings, motor sheaves, fan 5640 HV-3. sheaves and belts on HV-1, 2 and 3.

5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle Replaced one condenser fan motor and run capacitor 5620 AC-2 for AC-2.

Replaced the disconnect/safety switches for both 5630 AC-3 and AC-4 AC1 and 2.

July System # Description Work Performed Repaired overheated lug and wire connection for 1001 Reactor CAM Reactor CAM blower motor.

5640 Building Ventilation Repaired AC-11.

August

1. MNRC completed the annual reactor maintenance shutdown during the month of August.

Technical Specification required periodic maintenance as well as general maintenance was performed.

2. Parametric values noted during testing are as follows:

Control Rod Worth:

Transient Rod: $1.87 Shim 1: $2.60 Shim 2: $2.62 Shim 3: $2.67 Shim 4: $2.97 Regulating Rod: $2.75 Control Rod Scram Drop Times:

Transient Rod: 0.34 sec Shim 1: 0.38 sec Shim 2: 0.37 sec Shim 3: 0.42 sec Shim 4: 0.39 sec Regulating Rod: 0.38 sec Shutdown Margin: $6.15 The normal nuclear instrument calorimetric calibration was performed. Both the NPP channel and the NM-1000 channels of the Nuclear Instruments were satisfactory, and no adjustments were required.

At Power Scram values: NPP-1000: 105% indicated, NM-1000: 102% indicated.

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 6

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 System # Description Work Performed 5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle September System # Description Work Performed 5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle 1001 Reactor CAM Replaced burnt lug and fuse holder.

October System # Description Work Performed 5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle 5720 Security System Replaced failed cooling fan in AFC unit November System # Description Work Performed Replaced blower motor, grease seal blew out on the 1001 Reactor CAM old one.

December System # Description Work Performed Demineralizer Replaced Demineralizer inlet conductivity analog 5120 System output board.

5490 Helium Supply Replaced expended helium supply bottle Pneumatic Transfer Replaced EF-3 prefilter due to high differential 5510 System pressure UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 7

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 7.4 Training January

1. One Senior Reactor Operator completed training on Normal, Abnormal, and Emergency Procedures.

2. Three Senior Reactor Operators completed training on several modules on Design and Operating Characteristics.

3. Two Senior Reactor Operators completed training on several document changes.

4. Completed the second half of the 2016 Emergency Drill.

February

1. Four Senior Reactor Operators completed training on several modules on Design and Operating Characteristics.

March

1. Four Senior Reactor Operators completed training on several modules on Design and Operating Characteristics.

2. Two Senior Reactor Operators completed training on document changes.

April

1. Hosted and conducted training for University of California Berkeley Nuclear Engineering classes. (Classroom and Practical Lab training)

2. Hosted and conducted training for Sacramento City College Physics group (Classroom and NAA experiment).

3. Conducted tour and training for the UCD Physics Club.

May

1. All Facility personnel completed Annual ALARA and annual safety training.

2. One Senior Reactor Operator completed training on several modules on Design and Operating Characteristics.

3. One Senior Reactor Operator completed training on document changes.

4. Hosted and conducted training for the Courtyard Middle School (Classroom and Practical Lab training).

June

1. No scheduled training in June.

July

1. MNRC conducted summer school classes for the University COSMOS program.

2. MNRC conducted summer school classes for the UC Davis Summer Math Science Honors group.

3. MNRC conducted summer school classes for Luther Burbank High School students.

August

1. All licensed operators successfully completed the Radiation Safety for Operators training.

2. All Senior Reactor Operators completed Fuel and Fuel Handling training.

3. Hosted and conducted training for University of California Davis NSSC group. (Classroom and Practical Lab training)

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 8

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 September

1. Three Senior Reactor Operators completed Technical Specifications training.

2. All Senior Reactor Operators completed the Annual Operators Examination.

October

1. Two senior Reactor Operators completed Nuclear Theory training.

2. Two Senior Reactor Operators completed several modules on Nuclear Theory.

November

1. No training scheduled for November December

1. Senior Reactor Operators completed training on Normal, Abnormal and Emergency Procedures.

2. Hosted ANS student chapter from University Nevada Reno for class and experiment.

3. Three Senior Reactor Operators completed their Biennial Medical Exams.

UCD/MNRC Annual Report 2017 9

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Operating Hours 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

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UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Unscheduled Reactor Shutdowns 2017 5

0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec CSC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2017 Total 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2016 Total 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 Months 11

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Reactor Hours (2017)

Reactor Hours 2017 140 120 Monthly Operating and Megawatt Hours 100 80 60 40 20 0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2017 Op-Hrs 113.45 99.13 107.2 112.69 90.8 69.91 114.75 89.32 90.87 99.28 110.93 68.7 2017 Mw-Hrs 108.75 89.03 101.48 107.13 84.74 67.24 111.45 66.26 84.67 89 104.54 64 2016 Op-Hrs 67.49 92.15 82.03 126.83 87.87 84 85.78 77.2 64.04 104.54 92.64 63.51 2016 Mw-Hrs 61.7 84.4 74.44 122.44 82.86 80.73 83 57.47 61.09 99.78 88.08 46.75 12

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Reactor Tank Irradiation Facilities 2017 12 11 10 Number of Irradiations 9

8 7

6 5

4 3

2 1

0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Pneumatic 0 0 0 3 3 3 4 7 0 0 0 0 Silicon Fixture 1 1 2 4 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 Central Facility 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 1 0 Argon 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Neutron Irradiator 3 11 8 3 3 0 0 3 3 9 3 4 Months 13

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Bay Utilization (Shutter Operations) 2017 160 140 Number of Irradiations 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bay 1 121 119 108 146 114 92 125 73 90 112 96 51 Bay 2 114 65 76 119 49 27 134 88 90 100 122 33 Bay 3 0 3 24 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bay 4 0 0 0 0 0 14 1 0 0 0 0 42 Months 14

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 Bay Irradiation Requests Completed 2017 100 75 Number of Irradiation Requests 50 25 0

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Bay 1 70 70 64 66 92 56 87 46 54 65 67 32 Bay 2 73 30 35 44 16 11 49 56 34 33 38 15 Bay 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bay 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 Months 15

UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 8.0 Radioactive Effluents A summary of the nature and amount of radioactive effluents released or discharged to the environment beyond the effective control of the MNRC, as measured at or prior to the point of such release or discharge, include the following:

8.1 Liquid Effluents No liquid effluents were released during 2017.

8.2 Airborne Effluents Airborne radioactivity discharged during 2017 is tabulated in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 2017

SUMMARY

OF AIRBORNE EFFLUENTS MONTH TOTAL EST.MAX AVG. FRACTION OF EST. DOSE (2) FRACTION OF TOT. EST. AVERAGE EST. CONC. OF APPLICABLE FROM Ar-41 APPLICABLE QUANTITY CONC. OF QUAN. Ar-41 IN 10CFR20 Ar-41 FOR 10CFR20 OF ACT. PART. ACT.

Ar-41 UNRESTRICTED CONC. LIMIT FOR UNRESTRICTED DOSE IN RELEASED RELEASED (1)(3) UNRESTRICTED CONSTRAINT PART. WITH AREA AREA (1)

AREA (1) FOR FORM HALF-LIFE UNRESTRICTED WITH > 8 DAYS AREA (1)(4) HALF-LIFE

>8 DAYS (Ci) (uCi/ml) (%) (mrem) (%) (Ci) (uCi/ml)

JAN 1.50 8.39E-11 0.8% 0.51 5.10% NONE NONE FEB 1.12 6.22E-11 0.6% 0.38 3.79% NONE NONE MAR 1.29 7.20E-11 0.7% 0.44 4.38% NONE NONE APR 1.68 9.38E-11 0.9% 0.57 5.71% NONE NONE MAY 1.29 7.22E-11 0.7% 0.44 4.39% NONE NONE JUN 0.93 5.47E-11 0.5% 0.33 3.33% NONE NONE JUL 3.04 1.78E-10 1.8% 1.08 10.84% NONE NONE AUG 1.39 8.15E-11 0.8% 0.50 4.96% NONE NONE SEP 1.73 1.02E-10 1.0% 0.62 6.18% NONE NONE OCT 1.94 1.14E-10 1.1% 0.69 6.92% NONE NONE NOV 2.69 1.58E-10 1.6% 0.96 9.61% NONE NONE DEC 0.51 6.10E-11 0.6% 0.37 3.71% NONE NONE TOT 19.12 NONE NONE AVG 1.59 9.44 E-11 0.9% 0.57 5.74%

(1) This location is 240 meters downwind which is the point of maximum expected concentration based on the worst case atmospheric conditions (see MNRC SAR Chapter 11).

(2) Based on continuous occupancy and the calculation techniques used in Appendix A of the MNRC SAR (Ar-41 at 2.3E-10 uCi/ml continuous for one year equals 1.4 mrem).

(3) 10CFR20 Limit for concentration is 1E-8 (Appendix B, Table 2);

(4) Constraint for dose is 10 mrem/year [10CFR20.1101(d)]

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UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 8.3 Solid Waste No solid radioactive waste was shipped this year.

9.0 Radiation Exposure Radiation exposure received by facility operations personnel, facility users, and visitors during 2017 is summarized in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2 2017

SUMMARY

OF PERSONNEL RADIATION EXPOSURES NUMBER OF AVERAGE GREATEST AVERAGE GREATEST INDIVIDUALS TEDE INDIVIDUAL EXTREMITY EXTREMITY (1)

PER TEDE INDIVIDUAL (mrem) (mrem) (mrem)

(mrem)

FACILITY 5 87.4 115 105 234 PERSONNEL FACILITY 30 <1.0 2 *

• USERS VISITORS 848 <1.0 2 * *

(1) Only 3 individuals received extremity exposure

• Extremity monitoring was not required.

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UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 10.0 Radiation Levels and Levels of Contamination Radiation levels and levels of contamination observed during routine surveys performed at the MNRC during 2017 are summarized in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 2017

SUMMARY

OF RADIATION LEVELS AND CONTAMINATION LEVELS DURING ROUTINE SURVEYS AVERAGE HIGHEST AVERAGE HIGHEST (mrem/hr) (mrem/hr) (dpm/100cm2) (dpm/100cm2)

OFFICE SPACES <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

REACTOR CONTROL RM <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

RADIOGRAPHY CONTROL RM <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

COUNTING LAB <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

STAGING AREA <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

FACILITY (I/S Fence) <0.1 <0.1 <5000(1) <5000(1)

EQUIPMENT RM .24 (4) 95 (5) <800(2) <800(2)

DEMINERALIZER AREA 12(4) 290(5) <800(2) <800(2)

REACTOR RM 2.2(4) 1200 (5) <800(2) <800(2)

RADIOGRAPHY BAYS 0.62(3) 360 (6) <800(2) <800(2)

(1) <5000 dpm/100 cm2 = Less than the lower limit of detection for a scanning survey.

(2) <800 dpm/100 cm2 = Less than the lower limit of detection for a swipe survey.

(3) Due to Bay 1 Storage Areas; all other areas and bays are significantly lower (typically <0.1 mrem/hr).

(4) General area dose rate.

(5) Maximum contact dose rate.

(6) 1 meter dose rate of beam port insert taken behind shielding.

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UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 11.0 Environmental Surveys Environmental surveys performed outside of the MNRC during 2017 are summarized in Tables 4 & 5 below. The environmental survey program is described in the MNRC Facility Safety Analysis Report.

TABLE 4 2017

SUMMARY

OF ENVIRONMENTAL TLD RESULTS (WITH NATURAL BACKGROUND (1) SUBTRACTED)

AVERAGE HIGHEST (mrem) (mrem)

ON BASE (OFF SITE 1-20 & 64) 6 14 ON SITE (SITES 50 - 61 & 65-71) 14 22 (1) Natural background assumed to be the off base (Sites 27-42) average of 29 mrem.

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UCD/MNRC ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2017 TABLE 5 2017

SUMMARY

OF RADIOACTIVITY IN WELL WATER ALPHA BETA TRITIUM Cs-137 (pCi/l) (pCi/l) (pCi/l) (pCi/l)

AVERAGE 2.5 2.43 <MDA <MDA HIGHEST 2.5 2.79 <MDA <MDA MDA is the minimum detectable activity at the 95% confidence level.

The MDA range for the analyzed radionuclides (pCi/L).

MIN MAX Alpha 1.70 2.60 Beta 1.10 1.70 Tritium 170 241 Cs-137 1.1 2.0 20