ML19351E752

Eis,Submitted in Support of Application for Renewal of License R-81.Univ of Wi Emergency Plan Encl

ML19351E752
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Site:	05000054
Issue date:	05/31/1980
From:	UNION CARBIDE CORP.
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NUDOCS 8012190165
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. ASSESSMENT UNICN CARBIDE RESEARCH REACTCR (UCNR)

INTRODUCTION The Union Carbide Research Reacter (UCNR) is a 5-megawatt swimming-pool-type reacter located en an industrial site in the sparsely-settled Sterling-Forest develocment regicn of Orange County, New York S' tate. The UCNR began cperation in September 1961 (first criticality) ano has been coerating on varying but regular schedules ever since. Current operation is arcunc the clock with a duty cycle of about 97".. The reacter is used principally as a source of neutrens for activating target materials used in producing raoicisotopes for medical applications.

This Assessment addresses the possible environmental impacts of continued operatien of the reacter in the next 20-year period. The effects of normal operation are treated first, followed by abnormal operation, and concluding with alternatives to continued operation.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF OPERATION

1. Direct Radiation Within the reactor restricted area, all zenes in which nuclear radiaticn exists are posted and classified in acccrdance with 10CFR Part 20 regulatiens. These zones are surveyec regularly. The nearest reactor Radiation Zone (> 2 mR/hr) is about 110 meters f rom the unrestricted area (puclic highway). The external radiaticn dose rate frcm the reacter at this area is ccmpletely_ negligible.

2. Gaseous Effluents

a. Wet steam:

A forced-draft cooling tower in a secondary (non-radioactive) i cooling locp is used to dissipate the 5 megawatts of thermal energy generated by the reactor. Approximately 2000 gallons of water per . hour is evaporated and discharged to the atmosphere.

No adverse effects from this discharge have ever been observed nor are they expected. Wh'enever fogging frcm this source has cccurred, it has been confined to the cooling tower locality within the site boundary.

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b. Airborne radioactivity:

The ; ncipal gaseous racioactive effluent from the reactor is argon--:1. formed through neutron-activatien of air. Minor amour.ts of other species may also be formed, but in amounts much less than for argon. The impact of argen-41 in the unrestricted area has been analyzed in the Safety Analysis Report (Reference a, Appendix 2, Section Cl). For 5-MW operation at 100% duty cycle, the yearly-averaged dose rate at the site boundary is estimated as 0.4 mR per year, an amount much less than natural background. An estimate of the 50-mile radius population dose frcm argon-41 (1200 curies / year) utilizing EPA methodology (References b, c) gives a total of only 1.2 man-rem per year.

The small magnitude of the environmental impact of airborne radionuclides is confirmed by the results of local environmental monitoring. These results are several orders of magnitude below Part 20 standards for unrestricted areas.

3. Liouid Effluents

a. Radioactive licuids a All aqueous radioactive licuids generated in the reactor are collected and treated by distillation. Included in licuid waste is that from the occasional regeneration of ion exchange resins used for reactor primary water cleanup. The clean distillate

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(water) is sampled and tested for freedcm from radioactive content before discharge to the plant' drainage system. The ccncentrated bottoms containing the radioactive material are solidified and treated as solid waste (see celcw).

b. Process water The principal waste water (non-radioactive) effluent is that frcm cooling-tower blow-down, to remove dissolved salts that would otherwise accumulate as the water is evapcrated. This effluent consists of about 40 gallons of water per hour containing a small amount of an EPA-approved additive to retard precipitation. This is discharged into the plant storm sewer that ficws into Indian Kill lake. No adverse impact has been observed for this small addition of waste water. This discharge is approved under a N.Y.

State Department of Environmental Conservation permit.

c. Sanitary:

The reactor staff (cperations and administratien) numbers only 30 people out of a total site pcpulation of 266. The contribution of reactor and related personnel to this effluent load is cnly about 10-20%.

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1 4 Solic' Wastes

a. Radioactive:

j The principal sources of solid, or solidified, radioactive wastes are evacorator bettems frem licuid waste, including licuid waste frcm regeneration of resins (see above), and spent resins.

I Included also are other miscellaneous materials incident to the operation of the reactor, for example,. sample holders, gloves, and paper. All such material is packaged in accordance with federal regulations and shipped to a licensed burial ground. No disposal of solid waste is permittee on site.

5. Transportation

a. Radioactive waste material:

Solid wastes from reactor operations recuire about two 55-gallon i drums to be shipped to a burial ground each month. Such shipments are made in accordance with appropriate federal I regulations.

l 5 b. Spent fuel:'

At a power level of 5 megawatts and 100% duty cycle, a total of about 36 fuel elements of all tyces would become spent each year. It can be expectec that at intervals of about two years, a series of scent fuel shipments would be made to the Savannah River reprocessing facility. Three shipments, each ccmprising about 24 elements, would be made o'ver a 2-3 week period. Such i

shipments are made in a specially-licensed fuel cask and in accordance with DOT and NRC regulations. The precautions taken are such that the environmental impact of such shipments is negligible.

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c. Reactor operating personnel:

The number of such people is a small fraction of the total plant

! staff, many of which are engaged in other activities. The impact

( of reactor personnel on transportation ~ and access routes is

! minimal. .

6. Abnormal Coerations In Appendix 2, Section C2 of the Safety Analysis Report (SAR), a L Design Basis Accident-(OBA) is postulated. This~ accident is one_with postulated consequences in excess of any considered credible. The results of the DBA are -given in the SAR. The ' dose results at the l bcundary of the exclusion area and icw populatior zone .are much less than the guidelines of 10CFR Part 100. ~ Specifically, the 2-hour doses are only 1-3% of the Part~100 standards.

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7. Non-renewable Resources The principal non-renewable resource consumec through reactor l operatien is the uranium-235 contained in the fuel elements. This censumption rate is 2.2 kg per year.

S. Alternatives for Operation l

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The most important and beneficial result 'of continued operation of the reactor is to provide irradiated targets frcm which are extracted the most frecuentiv and widely-used radioisotcpes

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in l Examples .of these are 99Mo/99mic, I33Xe, nug3 garI, mgdicine.

I bl. This reactor is the only commercial domestic supplier of tne first three of tnese in the high specific activity grace required.

a. Irradiation of targets might be done in other reactors. There is no dcmestic comercial reactor available to do this. One government-owned reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory does have the capability of providing the recuired irradiation service. There would -be potential environmental impacts involved in the shipment of enriched uranium targets to Oak Ridge and of highly-radioactive irradiated targets back to Sterling Forest for processing. Reliability of radioisotcpe supply to the medical community would be reduced somewhat, due to the additional transportation steps,

b. Semi-processed radioisotopes might be obtainable from other supoliers and final purification done at Sterling Forest. There is no comestic supplier at present that could fulfil these needs. Unless cne coulc be deve]cped, which *culd prcoably involve a government-owned reacter and isotope-processing facility, t:1e supply would have to be imported frcm foreign l sources. It is by no means certain that a foreign supplier would j te willing or able to do this.

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! c. Finished radioisotcces might be obtained by present users l (radiopharmaceutical manufacturers, nuclear pharmacies, l hospitals, etc.) directly frcm suppliers of the purified l

radioisotopes. Again, no domestic supplier exists, but would

! have to be ceveloped probably. at a government-owned facility.

Otherwise, all supplies would have to ccme from foreign sources, l

j Total dependence en the latter could have ' adverse environmental 1mpacts in the ccm25 tic medical and health Care field, l

l j d. Each of the above alternatives would also require the l

deccomi.ssioning of the reacter. The cost of deccmmissioning is l estimated elsewhere- in this renewal application. There are also potential envircnmental impacts related to' the dismantling, shipment, and burial of t.1e radicactive ccmoonents and the decentaminaticn cf the immediate site.

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9. References

a. Safety Analysis Repert, Unicn Carbice Research Reactor (UCNR),

May 1980.

b. .J.A. Martin, Jr., et al, "A Computer Program for Calculating Doses, Population Ocses, and Ground Depositions due to Atmospheric Emissions of Radionuclides", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-520/1-74-004 (May 1974).

c. Holzworth, George C., " Mixing Heights, Wind Speeds, and Potential for Urban Air Pollution throughcut the Ccntigucus United States",

,.,. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Programs,

=4 Report AP-101 (Jan. 1972).

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l L. -9ap UWNR 006 Revision 1 RSC Approval 5/20/80 Page 1 of 5 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN NCCLEAR REACTOR EMERGENCY PLAN

Introduction:

- This emergency plan outlines essential items of the plan for protecting health and safety and minimizing damage under emergency situations.

E=ergency procedures are established to indicate action levels, personnel respon-sibilities, and appropriate responses to e=ergency conditions.

1. Organization Iha. reactor- operating. staff also constitutes the on-site. emergency organi -

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cation. The Reactor Supervisor is responsible. for coping with emergency situations.

In his absence, the cost senior staff member present has both the responsibility and the authority to take emergency actions.

The established system of review and approval of procedures (UWNR 001 and 005) will ensure that the emergency plan and procedures are reviewed at least annually. The operator proficiency =aintenance program (UWNR 004) assures that personnel will remain informed of current status of the plan and procedures, and that proficiency is tested through oral and written examinations, and that periodic drills are held for on-site personnel-(UWNR 100).

2. Coordination With Other. Authorities The University has provided the Depart =ent of Protection and Security and the Safety Department, and the normal duties of these departments provide backup to the UWNR emergency organization without need for specific response agrec=ents.

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The University Depart =ent of Protection and Security provides law enforce-cent, plant security, traffic control, access control, and radio com=Luications with other police agencies and the Fire Depart =ent.

The University Safety Depart =ent provides assistance in radiological con-trol, health physics services, and fire protection.

The Madison Fire Department provides fire fighting and ambulance service in accordance with city ordinance and Fire Department Rules. (See appendix.)

A written response agreement with University Hospitals for treatment of injuries and other medical problems, including injuries which involve radioactive materials or radiation exposure, is in force. (See appendix.)

Backup support for all of these services, making the resources of the State of Wisconsin available without specific response agreements, are available through the State of Wisconsin Division of E=ergency Government (24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> phone--

266-3232). See appendix for copy of circular.)

3. Tvpes of Emergencies The following emergency procedures are in effect:

. UWNR 006 Page 2 of 5

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UWNR 150 Reactor Accident Fission Product Release or

, Major Spill of Radioactive Materials- ,

UWNR 151 Leak Resulting in Draining of Fool UWNR 152 Suspected Fission Product Leak UWNR 153 Threat to Security of Reactor Laboratory UWNR 157 Fire, Radioactive Material Spills, Radioactive Dust, Fumes,and. Cases Personnel Injuries. Involving Radioactivity, Personnel Overexposures -

Accidents postulated in the SAR (Ch 6) are briefly described here in the context of the emergency plan requirements and emergency procedures.

a. Production and Release of Gaseous Radioactivity As explained in SAR (Ch 6), the maximum 41 Ar release rate would cor-respond to a personnel exposure of about 3 x 10-8 pCi/ml. This level does not constitute an emergency.

b. Spillage of Radioactive Material _

The induced- radioactivity of volatile or powdered'sa=ples is li=ited . .

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(SAR CH 6) so that if the contents of the sample are " dispersed in the air within the Reactor Laboratory, the concentration discharged through the stack, when averaged over one week, vill be within the maximum con-centration of 10 CFR Part 20_" Sa=ples approaching this activity =ust have special approval before irradiation. "These approvals will consider all other activity discharged,. and will insure that the total stack dis-charge lies within per=issible limits should the saeple rupture." This type of accident should it nevertheless occur, would be annunciated by the remote area radiation monitoring system, or the installed air acti-vity monitor, and emergency response is indicated in ITRUt 150.

c. Reactivity Accident The most severe postulated reactivity accide' n t is a transient rod ejection while at maximum steady state power. The analysis shows that no fuel damage or radioactivity release results from this accident, therefore, this accident does not constituto. an e=ergency.

d. Fuel Element Cladding Failure The SAR (Ch 6) analyzes exposures to personnel in the Reactor Labora-tory and in unrestricted areas -following a fuel element cladding failure.

The analysis shows that Reactor Lab personnel could receive a thyroid dose due to Iodine as high as 18.9 rad, although actual dose is expected

.to be a factor of 10 less than this. The analysis also shows that for zero discharge stack height, and no area evacuation, the dose in unrestricted areas, averaged over one year, is 0.635 MPC.

UWNR 006 Page 3 of 5 E=ergency response is indicated in UWNR 152.

- e. Loss of Pool Water As described in SAR (Ch 6), this accident does not result in fuel damage or radioactivity release, whether or not action is taken to correct the problem and restore water to the Reactor pool. Direct radiation

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could, in the worst case, result .in unacceptable dose rates in some unre-stricted areas. Procedure UWNR 151 advises action levels and emergency responses- to this accidente ,

f. Threat to Laboratory Security Although not considered in the SAR, the eventuality of a threat to the physical security of the Reactor Laboratory could have possible radiological consequences to the public, and procedure UWNR 153 treats -

this threat.

g. Other Emergencies, Including Fires, Spills, Overexposure and Personnel Injuries Involving, Radioactivity-

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University Radiation Safety Regulations, include emergency procedures for a number of ' situations, which are not.specifically reactor associated.-

= These procedures are integrated into the URNR procedure series of follow-

' up actions to UWNR 157. .

4. Instrumentation and Soecial Equipment .

The referenced e=ergency procedures =ake reference to equipment and instru-ments which indicate the presence of emergency . conditions or are needed in carrying out the emergency procedure. All those ite=s which f.re co:ponents of the reactor instrumentation system are maintained, checked, and tested in accordance with technical specifications and normal operating procedures UkNR 100-129 and 160-180.

Health physics instruments are checked and calibrated periodically as provided by UWNR 100. Equipcent is located in appropriate areas for emergency use, and survey equip =ent, signs,,and decontamination supplies for e=ergency use only are located in the Reactor Supervisor's office and through the University Safety Department.

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i-No provision is made for emergency power sources, since implementing pro-cedures do not require emergency power.

5. Action Levels Emergency procedures indicate action levels, limits, and alarm points as appropriate.

None of the emergencies considered has any significant effect on persons outside the area controlled by the University, so that action levels for re-questing aid from off-site personnel are not specifically stated. Should the operating staf f, the Safety Department, or Protection and Security determine that outside aid is needed, each group may request aid without further approval from higher authority.

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UWNR 006 Page 4 of 5

6. Emergency Communications Primary co=munication means considered in emergency procedures are coc-mercial telephone system (2 lines) and the laboratory intercom =unication system.

Several i=portant alarms (high radiation level, low pool water level, fire, and intrusion alarms) annunciate at the Dispatcher's location at Protection and Security Eeadquarters. The Dispatcher's location is the emergency control center, and this location.has. radio contact _ as well as telephone co=municaricas.

These systems are fn normal day-to-day use by the University Police service which provides adequate testing of the communications syste=s. The alar =s from the Reactor Laboratory to Protection and Security Headquarters are periodically tested in accordance with existing UWNR operating procedures.

7. Protective Measures Evacuation of affected areas is covered in procedures UWNR 150. No evacua-tion of personnel outside the area controlled by the University is considered necessary even for the most severe accident considered.

8. Medical Ashistance '.

Rudimentary capdbilities for emergency first aid ' treatment, personnel monitoring, and personnel deconta=ination are provided in the basement hallway west of the Reactor Laboratory. In addition, a written agreement with Universiry Hospitals (see appendix) provides for emergency room and other hospitalization and cedical services as needed..

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9. Public Infor=ation The University- News Service is the authorized release agent for University news, and would also be the release agency for public information following an e=ergency. (See appendix for letter indicating this service is available.)

10. Re-entry Planning ,

Appendix A of UWNR 150 provides for re-entry into the area af ter evacuation, while an emergency dose limit of 25 Rem for a rescue in a life-or-death situation is established in UWNR 157 (based on University Radiation Safety Regulations). The decision for re-entry is delegated to the Reactor Director or the Reactor Supervisor.

11. Training The Operator Proficiency Maintenance Program (UWNR 004) includes training of personnel for participation in the Emergency Plan. Emergency procedure drills are held twice each year, and oral and written examinations also include ' questions to assure adequate knowledge of emergency procedure. In addition, this retraining program covers subjects such as fire fighting equipment, decontamination, use of respiratory protective equipment, and first aid subjects on a periodic basis.

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Page 5 of 5 The periodic emergency procedure drills are specifically required by UWNR 100 as well as by U'GR 004. A practica evacuation of the affected portions of the Mechanical Engineering Building is held in conjunction with the drills at least once per year. Each e=ergency procedure drill ends with a critique period in which adequacy of the procedures, equipment, and personnel are considered, and which leads to correction of any weakness revealed.

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