ML19263D923
| ML19263D923 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07000938 |
| Issue date: | 03/21/1979 |
| From: | Lisa Clark MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7904170062 | |
| Download: ML19263D923 (8) | |
Text
{{#Wiki_filter:f b >h ; p 1 ./ ~,:aLay. I -{(, )., E c j NUCLEAR REACTOR LABORATORY IJf.(g', I, 1 'l.'A'.. - Q I% l M ASSACHUSET TS INSTITUT E OF T ECHNOLOGY ' d?.M i u Att,am, sinw {9339.d.;e. t/m 02139 e> mu ran t ctAnt >H M n 2n 4202 on wa,u nem u opeoorm n 1 21 March 1979 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Attn: Radioisotopes Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and Material Safety Washington, D. C. 20555
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 Gentlemen: Massachusetts Institute of Technology submits herein infor-mation related to the renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-986. The information furnished under items (a) and (b) below was requested by the Commission in a letter of July 31, 1975. Item (c) represents a change in M.I.T.'s renewal application of October 24, 1974. (a) Activities away from the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory With the exception of the five grams of U-235 in the form of UF6 at the Institute's Lincoln Laboratory (see Amendment No. 6 to License No. SNM-986) and as otherwise indicated below, there are no plans to utilize at other locations the source or special nuclear material possessed under this license. Occasionally, however, situations arise where it is des'rable to have authorization to use small quantities of licensed material at other locations on the Cambridge campus, the Lincoln Laboratory, and also the M.I.T. Bates Linear Accelerator facility in Middleton, Massachusetts. One such use might be the display of normal or depleted uranium to illustrate a lecture, the demonstration of shielding properties or the assay of natural radioactivity. Small quantities of enriched material might be desired for a research project. In this regard see section 'c) below. Storage of material at the Institute's Central ,[. >. w idU a 990417cc(gt
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 21 March 1979 Page 2
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 Radioisotope Storage Facility (Room 6-017) or at some other location approved by the Radiation Protection Office has been a desirable method of providing such storage, and we currently are storing 0.3 grams of U-235 at the Radiation Protection Laboratory in Building 20. The quantity of material to be used at any one lo-cation away from the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, NRL (formerly referred to as the Nuclear Reactor Center), would be limited to 15 pounds of normal or depleted uranium and 15 grams of contained U-235 if the uranium is enriched. Plutonium may be used only at the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. For source material, 15 pounds is recognized in 10CFR40.22(a) as a quantity that requires a reduced degree of control. For U-235, there is no corresponding quantity with regard to possession and use, but 15 grams is recognized in 10CFR71.7 (b) and 49CFR173.391(a) as a quantity that likewise requires a reduced degree of control, at least for transportation purposes. The small quantity precludes the need for criticality controls or alarm systems at other locations. The form of material usec away from NRL would be any form authorized for use at NRL. Procedures to protect health and minimize danger to life and property include the Institute's nuclear materials accountability procedures and its radiation protection procedures. The former assure that source or special nuclear materials will be transferred to or procured for areas away from NRL only af ter a review to determine that the intended use is authorized under the terms of the license and that all license conditions will be met. Furthermore, the possession and use of radioactive material on M.I.T. property away from NRL requires the authorization of the M.I.T. Radiation Protection Committee. Such authorization is given after review of an " Application for Authorization to Possess and Use Radioactive Material," and utilization of the material is subject to the "M.I.T. Required Procedures for Radiation Protection,".la ted April 1966 and submitted to USNRC with the most recent application for renewal of Byproduct Material License 20 01537-02. The conditions of the authorization and of
U. O. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 21 March 1979 Page 3
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 the required procedures assure that the equipment, facilities and safety precautions will be adequate for the intended use. The procedures also limit utilization to authorized users and specify adequate protection against unauthorized removal. With regard to qualifications of the staff, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been engaged in nuclear technology research and education for many decades through its Department of Physics, Laboratory for Nuclear Science, and other subdivisions. Since 1958 it has had a Department of Nuclear Engineering and a nuclear research reactor. Each experimenter and student working with radioactive material is indoctrinated by the M.I.T. Radiation Protection Office on the radiation hazards of the laboratory, proper handling techniques, proper use of radiation monitoring equipment and the rules and regulations in the pertinent sections of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10. The Radiation Protection Of fice, a sub-group of the M.I.T. Medical Department, is under the direction of the Radiation Protection Officer, Mr. Samuel Levin. Mr. Levin has held this position since he received a US in Physics from M.I.T. in 1948. In addition, Mr. Levin is certified by the American Board of Health Physics. (b) Encapsulation of Special Noclear Material A review of the SNM held under this license shows that over 90% of the material is classified as encapsulated. The tubes within which the SNM is contained are closed either by welding or by press fit end plugs. In either case, the end is not removable, and it is necessary to cut the clad for access to the contents, thus rendering the clad unfit for re-use. Cans (tubing) with " removable ends for insertion of experimental detectors" are not considered encapsulated. The material in such cans represents less than 10S of the inventory and is almost entirely at about lt enrichment.
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 21 March 1979 Page 4
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 Table 1 of M.I.T.'s April 20, 1965 application has been revised to show the breakdown into encapsulated and unencap-sulated cladding, and the revised table is attached herewith. The quantities in Items A-1 through A-13 reflect the material currently in inventory. They differ somewhat from the 1965 figures, principally because most of the 0.947 w/o, 0.75" diameter rods and three-fourths of the 1.99 w/o, 0.50" diameter rods were returned to the Depart-ment of Energy (DOE). Items A-14 through A-17 are SNM received after the 1965 application. Another large fraction of the above material is scheduled for return to DOE during the next few months. In further clarification of the reference to "A few cans will have removable ends (Section 2.4, Enclosure A, May 18, 1966 submittal), such cans have been fabricated a t M. I.T. Although some short lengths of uranium metal slugs have also been purchased for use in the cans with removable ends, it was the expectation that some of the uranium for this relatively infrequent activity would be taken from encapsulated rods by cutting through the cladding, removing the contents, and transferring some or all of it to special cans having the removable ends. Material which is in such cans or which is not canned at all is tabulated in the "unencapsulated" columns of the table. It is clear from the applications that the above activity was envisaged in the original and subsequent sub-missions. For example, in Enclosure A of the May 18, 1966 application, Section 2.4 refers to " machining" and " scrap," and Section 4.2 to "the hot machine shop." Section 5.1 refers to "the unrecoverable loss should not exceed 10 grams contained U-235 over a year" (actually it has been much less). Page 1 of Enclosure V to the submittal of October 26, 1966, for UO2 rods specifies: "It is to be understood that the methods of operation and material usage stated there are applicable to the fuel dascribed in this report." A June ll, 1968 application for use of rods containing plutonium implies that other rods were cut into by stating that "None of the experiments will require cutting into the PuO2 rods, It is also clear from discussion with those who have supervised research under the project
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 21 March 1979 Page 5
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 that such decladding and re-assembly work for the insertion of detectors was intended for both U-metal and U0 2 xide rods. It has always been our intention that the quantity of SNM in unencapsulated sources remain below the one effective kilogram threshold so that the material control and a; countability requirements of 10CFR70.51(c) will not be applicable. (c) Change in Renewal Application of October 24, 1974 Item 7B of the license authorizes 25 grams of contained U-235 as powder or solution and 4.4 grams of U-233 as solution. Information concerning the use of these materials was submitted in M.I.T.'s applications of April 30, 1965 and April 12, 1967. Unused balances of these materials were returned in August 1971 to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. However, in November 1976, 0.28 grams of contained U-235 was recovered in an M.I.T. radiochemistry laboratory during an inventory of chemicals. It is now being stored in a laboratory of M.I.T.'s Radiation Protection Office. In the meantime, M.I.T.'s application of October 24, 1974 requested that Item 7B be deleted from the license. In order to continue authorization for the recovered material, it is requested that Item 7B not be deleted entirely, but rather it be amended to five grams of U-235. A second reason for this request is to provide authori-zation, under License SNM-986, for the possession and use of 0.2 grams of enriched U-235 now in the Institute's laboratories on the Cambridge campus. This material was originally possessed by the University of New Hampshire under New Hampshire State Radiation Control Agency Special Nuclear Materials License 8N. It was moved to M.I.T. in 1976 with NRC approval pursuant to Form AEC-241, " Report of Proposed Activities in Non-Agreement States." The U-235 has been put into acid solution and is used in small quan-tities to spike geological samples being analyzed on a mass spectrometer. This is the same form of material and name type of activity as was authorized under Item 7B of the license. The procedures to protect health and minimize danger to life and property are tae same as those described
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 21 March 1979 Page 6
Subject:
Renewal of License SNM 986, Additional Information, Docket 70-938 above under Section (a). The five gram possession limit requested in the preceding paragraph would cover both of these items and provide some margin for procurement of small additional amounts of U-235 for similar research laboratory activities. The principal officers of M.I.T. remain the same except that Glenn Preston Strehle, Treasurer, has replaced Joseph Julia a Snyder, Vice President and Treasurer. Table 2 provides an up-dated list of the M.I.T. Reactor Safeguards Committee membership. We trust that the above information will be sufficient for your review at this time and that the license will be renewed for at least another five-year increment, preferably for six years for the reasons indicated in the following paragraph. We understand that the Commission may wish to have the application for the subsequent extension submitted as a complete, consolidated document without reference to previous submissions. It is our desire to avoid preparing such a document at this time for two reasons: (1) a substantial fraction of the special nuclear material being held under the license is scheduled for return to DOE within the next two months, probably to be followed by additional material later, and (2) the nature of future physical protection and safeguards regulations now under consideration by NRC, i.e. proposed 10CFR73.47 and 10CFR75, will undoubtedly have a strong bearing on how much of the material now held under the license M.I.T. will find it feasible to retain for its future teaching and research programs. We hope that this situation will be clarified within the next year or so. It is felt that the substantial amount of time required for the preparation of a consolidated document will not prove productive until the Institute has a better understanding of the scope and nature of the programs that it wishes to continue with the licensed materials. Sincerely, Lincoln Clark, Jr. LC: mom Enclosures cc: M. J. Driscoll II. Bondar E. Karaian O. Harling S. Levin M. Huguenin
Names, Specifications and Encapsulation Status of Special Nuclear Materials under License SNM-986 (Quantities in Grams) Encapsulated Unencapsulated Item Enrich-Chemical No. Name ment Comp. Physical Form U U-235 U U-235 A-1 U-235 0.947% Metal Rods, Al clad, 0.75"Dx48"L Mostly returned to DOE (balance in A-9) A-2 , 0.387"Dx48"L 1,185,189 11,224 A-3 1.016% ", Al & SS, 0.25"Dx48"L* 1,203,556 12,228 288,291 2,930 A-4 1.143% ", 0.25"Dx48"L* 1,266,555 14,476 161,094 1,842 A-5 1.0999% UO ", Al clad, 0.50"Dx48"L* 1,823,334 20,036 128,021 1,4C7 9 A-6 1.99% ", Al & Zr, 0.50"Dx48"L* 367,600 7,315 10,243 204 A-7 1.5027% ", Zr clad, 0.50"Dx8'L 44,519 669 A-8 2.0041% 42,471 851 A-9 0.947% Metal ", foils, pins, unclad 42,450 402 A-10 1.15% Foils, 0.010"L x 0.387"D 2 0.03 A-ll 1.3% 2 0.03 A-12 93.17% ", 0.005"T, misc. shapes 41 38 A-13 93.17% 9.8%U , 0.005"T, misc. shapes 44 40 in U-Al alloy A-14 1.61% UO Rods, Al clad, 0.56"Dx48"L 666,573 10,732 3 "~ A-15 1.30% 665,631 8,653 A-16 Pu Metal Foils clad in Al 12** 159** A-17 Pu Puo Rods, Al clad, Pu02-UO2 2 Subtotals 7,265,428 86,184 630,188 6,863 Total Enriched U, License SNM-986 7,895,616 93,047 Note: These lots also contain some shorter lengths, some unclad rods, a small amount of machining and cutting scrap, and/or small quantities of laboratory and waste solutions (quantities in "unencapsulated" column). 9: *Quantities not in total. TABLE 1
TABLE 2 M.I.T. Reactor Safeguards Committee 21 March 1979 Dr. Norman C. Rasmussen, Chairman Mr. Kenneth Collins Professor Otto K. Harling, Director Head, Department of Nuclear Superintendent of Reactor Nuclear Reactor Laboratory Engineering Operations and Maintenance M.I.T. M.I.T. Nuclear Reactor Laboratory M.I.T. Mr. John Bernard, Secretary Dr. Michael J. Driscoll, Professor Dr. Thomas Jones Advanced Degree Candidate Department of Nuclear Engineering Vice President for Research Nuclear Engineering Department M.I.T. M.I.T. M.I.T. Professor Harvey Brooks, Dean Mr. John Fresina, Director Dr. David D. Lanning, Professor Division of Engineering and Safety Office Department of Nuclear Engineering Applied Physics M.I.T. M.I.T. Harvard L'niversity Dr. M. Chalfen, Physician in Charge Dr. James Gosnell Mr. Sam Levin, Head Environtental Medical Service Nuclear Engineering Department Radiation Protection Office Medical Department Boston Edison Cerpany M.I.T. M.I.T. Mr. Lincoln Clark, Jr. Dr. Peter Griffith, Professor Dr. Costa J. Maletskos Director of Reactor Operations Mechanical Engineering Radiation Consultant to M.I.T., Nuclear Reactor Laboratory M.I.T. Boston-area Hospitals, M.I.T. and others}}