ML19209A890

Eia for Facility.Sar,Reactor Facility Data,Partial List of Typical Experiments,Fiscal Statement,Radiation Regulations & Operator Requalification Program Encl

ML19209A890
Person / Time
Site:	05000134
Issue date:	07/20/1979
From:	WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, WORCESTER, MA
To:
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ML19209A891	List: ML19209A890
References
NUDOCS 7910050530
Download: ML19209A890 (3)

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. 79/0060530

Worcester Polytechnic Institute vpen Pool Training Reactor Facility License R61 Docket Number 50-134 July 20, 1979 Environmental Impact Appraisal A.

Environmental Effects of the Existence of the Nuclear Reactor Facility W PI 's 10 kwt nuclear reactor is housed in a wing of Washburn Laborato: y, a three story building and the second oldest building on tP.e campus.

Interior renov ations to the north wing were made in 1('59 to accommodate the nuclear reactor and adjacent materials science laboratories.

Ex terior construction was limited to relocating a loading platform, modernizing the entries, and adding building ventilation ducts.

Thus the facility construction had no significant effect on the terrain, vegetation or nearby waters.

The reactor facility has a filtered air intake at the first floor level and a room air ventilation duct which runs up the side of the building in an alleyway between two wings and which exhausts air at a point about eighteen inches above the roof.

A cooling tower on the roof services room air conditioners located in both the materiale science and the nuclear laboratories.

There are no other exterior electrical or mechanical struc-tures associated with the reactor facility attached to the building other than conventional service connections for electricity, water and drainage similar to those routinely required in all other campus laboratories.

B.

Environmental Effects of Operating the WPI Nuclear Reactor Facility The WPI reactor has a ma::imum allowed output of 10 kwt.

During the past 19 years the cumulative energy release by the nuclear core equals 6300 kwt hr.

The energy produced in che core is dissipated as heat by the natural convection of the 7000 gallons of d eminerali zed water in the reactor pool.

The pool water is maintained at the ambient temperature of the environment by heat cond uction to the ground and air and by some evaporation of water from the pool surface.

The energy release is thus so small and diffuse that its environmental effect is completely negligible.

The pool water is constantly filtered and passed through a demineralizer to maintain high purity.

A recent typical analysis perfomed by Lawrence Ex periment Station ' operated by the Commonwt.alth of Massa-chusetts Dept. of Environmental Quality Engr.) using the methods specified by EPA 600/475-008 indicated a gross beta activity of the reactor pool water of only 1 picocurie per liter.

Ma ke-up for the pool is taken from the Worcester city water line and passed through the demineralizer enroute to the pool.

A vacuum breaker excludes any possibility of siphoning pool water into the supply line.

., m Three area monitors to detect gamma radiation are installed at the reactor facility.

One, adjacent to the demineralizer and beam port, is set at 20 mr/hr. A second monitor, adjacent to the thermal colmn door and the new fuel storage area, is also set at 20 mr/hr, and the third, set at 50 mr/hr is located directly above the reactor pool.

None of these detectors have ever been tripped by adiation from the nuclear reactor.

They are calibrated and trip testwo every three months and are monitored by American District Telegraph 24 ho urs per day.

Air particulate samples and wipe samples are taken within the facility and additional wipe samples are taken at certain campus locations periodically.

None of these samples has ever been found to be significantly different from background.

Traces of Ar41 are prod uced in the beam port and themal colmn cavities during reactor operation.

At power levels in excess of 1 kw air is drawn frm these locations and discharged iato the building ventilation system ex haust. The Ar41 injected into the ventilating system is monitered and conservative interpretation of the data indicates an annual average specific activity release rate of 0.003 picocurie per cc of Ar 41 in the disgharge from the ventilation duct to the atmosphere.

This figure of 3 x 4

10 microcuries/ml is 7.5% of the 4 x 10 microcuries/ml value specified in 10 CFR 20 Appendix B Table II Colmn 1 as 1 MPC.

Virtually all of the rad ioiso to pe s produced in the reactor for laboratory use fall into one of three categories.

Metallic foils of gold, vanadium, copper etc. are irradiated, counted, cooled, and stored for reuse.

Short lived isotopes, such as alumin m, sodium, chlorine and manganese are produced for various laboratory purposes in a number of forms and then stored until their activity is undetectable from background.

The third category of byproduct c aterials consists of trace amounts of a wide v o..cty of e l eme nts.

Since our neutron flux at the core center is only about 10" neutrons per square centimeter per second, and we normally limit our operations to a three hour i rrad ia tion, the microcuries of long lived trace elements is very small.

By using a trash c om pac to r for all disposable samples and experiment com ponents that have any radioactive contamination we are able to store such materials until long after their activity has beccne indistinguishable from natural background.

Thus with the exception of the Ar41 described earlier no radioactive materials measurably above background are or have ever been released to the environment outside the facility.

As mentioned earlier the WPI Reactor has produced about 6300 kilowatt hours of themal energy.

This has resulted in the consumption of about 0.32 grams of U235 over a period of 19 years which does not constitute a significantly adverse effect on the env i ro nment.

The life of the fuel elements is dictated by their mechanical integrity and all of our original elenents are still in use and appear to be in excellent condition.

Film badges are issued to staff members who make extensive use of the facility and direct reading dosimeters are issued to students for routine laboratory use.

In addition the third floor of the building is monitored with a film badge located directly above the reactor.

A " background" badge is monitored in another room of the building some distance from the reactor.

Cver the past six years the background and 3rd floor badges have read essentially the same.

The cumulative whole body exposure for the two 1128 108

staff mmbers who are senior operators and spend the most time at the facility are 0.509 and 0.620 rems gross since september 1966.

The background badge accumulated 0.287 rems since May 1973.

If we assume an average value of 0.048 rems per year of background over the entire period since 1966 the total background dose becomes 0.62 rems and the net personnel dose is essentially zero.

C.

Costs and Benefits Exclusive of academic staff salaries the annual cost to WPI to operate and insure the nuclear reactor facility is approximately $45,000, including an allowance for new equipment.

The reactor is primarily an instructional device and is used as an integral part of both undergraduate and graduate nuclear engineering courses.

Students who elect the nuclear course sequence go on to either grad uate school in nuclear engineering or go directly into the nuclear industry.

Many of our graduates now work for Yankee Atmic Electric Co., Westinghouse, Combustion Engineering, Stone and Webster, Central Maine Po wer, e tc. Thus the reactor is making a real and long range contribution to the future of nuclear power production at a minimal cost. We know of no other way to so effectively motivate and teach students in the areas of reactor theory, neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography and nuclear safety as with a critical but low power nuclear reactor.

1128 109

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