ML20050B576
| ML20050B576 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | North Carolina State University |
| Issue date: | 04/01/1982 |
| From: | Cockerell R North Carolina State University, RALEIGH, NC |
| To: | Erickson P Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NRP-RGC-82-73, NUDOCS 8204060081 | |
| Download: ML20050B576 (2) | |
Text
.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY AT HALEJGH g\\
SCIIOOL OF ENGINEERING x
Ih PAnTktf Mr or Nuct.a.an Encisrinisc 7
\\
Nura ran Rauwn Pnor.n45:
'
- ci g m
yy gpg April 1, 1982 la 56% Zie 276so
% nm 198%
~
N1 khh NRP-RGC-82-73 e
Mr. Peter B. Ericson Q
Operating Reactors Branch #4 ui Division of Licensing Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Subject:
Facility License R-63 Washington, D. C.
20555 Docket No. 50-111
Dear Mr. Ericson:
The purpose of this letter is to bring you up-to-date on the decom-missioning of the R-3 reactor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
On June 1, 1981, NCSU was authorized by the NRC to dismantle the R-3 reactor. Our objective is to complete the decontamination and dismantling of the facility during the summer of 1982 and shortly thereafter have Faci-lity License R-63 terminated. Last Fall, the NCSU Nuclear Reactor Program staff began dismantling the R-3.
This included making many measurements of the radioactive contamination in the reactor and removal of components that did not require special equipment for their removal. Such componen*s in-cluded graphite from the thermal column, piping, pump, heat exchanger, elec-trical wiring, etc.
Every item that was removed was measured for radioacti-vity and where its 1cvel exceeded the NRC requirements, the material was drummed for burial at a low-level waste site.
In December, 1981, 25 drums were shipped to the U. S. Ecology site at Hanford, Washington. This shipment went out with the routine low-Icvel waste shipment processed by the NCSU Radi-ation Protection Office.
Except for a control rod that measured about i R/hr, the hottest met-allic component that was removed was the tank that held the core, and it measured about 20 mR/hr at its hottest spot. Most of the metallic material was non-radioactive and was discarded through the NCSU Physical Plant's nor-mal process.
The NCSU Health Physics staff has checked the level of contamination in the embedded drain pipes in the floor of the reactor bay and found them to be uncontaminated. A general survey of the R-3 bay using a Micro-R meter showed the radiation level to be approximately 20 pR/hr near the tile covered walls and approximately 12 pR/hr near the outside surface of the R-3 biologi-cal shield.
Inside the biological shield near the spot where the reactor core was located, the radiation level at the surface of the concrete measured ap-h>O proximately 70 mR/hr. Sampics of concrete taken from this area indicate ap-4 proximately 0.12 uCi/g due primarily to Eu-152.
The contamination is much less in other parts of the reactor.
/O G204060081 820401 PDR ADOCK 05000111 P
rsgm
e o
Mr. Peter B. Ericson Page 2 In December, 1981, the Director of the Nuclear Reactor Program (Bob Cockrell) and the Reactor IIcalth Physicist (Bob Cross) met with the NRC Re-gion II staff in Atlanta and discussed plans for decommissioning.
In the presentation they discussed the work performed as of that date, the radiation measurements that had been made, and plans for completion of the work. They also showed Region 11 staff a videotape showing NCSU staff and students dis-mantling the reactor. Region II found no problems with the approach that'NCSU is taking.
In early February, an inspector from Region II spent a day with Bob Cross on campus. The inspector was here principally to discuss how NCSU is going to determine that the NRC criteria had been satisfied for cicaning up the R-3 Bay to the point where the radiation Icvel does not exceed 5'pR/hr a-bove natural background. Ile brought along a radiation instrument (an Eberline Micro-R Meter) similar to the one that Bob Cross uses, and the instruments were compared. They were in close agreement. The inspector then made measure-ments in the reactor building anlin another building on campus of similar con-struction and vintage. On the basis of these measurements, he recommended to Region II that natural background be set at 20 pR/hr and on February 22, NCSU received a Ictter confirming this recommendation. NCSU thinks this is a rea-sonable value for background.
As of April 1,1982, the technical provisions for a bid request had been prepared and submitted to the NCSU Physical Plant Engineering Department for review and final preparation of the bid request documents. Nine national companies and three local companies have asked to be put on the bid' cs list.
The request for bids should be mailed out some time in April. The contracted work is scheduled to begin in July. The contracted work will be limited to demolition and disposal of the concrete biological shield. A set of disassem-bly drawings have been prepared along with a descriptive text recommending the order of disassembly and identifying contaminated areas.
Work currently in progress by the NCSU staff includes servicing of the 6-ton polar crane in the R-3 bay and upgrading of the ventilation and filtra-tion system to handle the higher than normal dust that may be generated.
If you need additional information, please feel free to call me at any time.
(919/737-2321)
Very truly yours, RCC:1pe Robert C. Cockrell
- Director, uc1 ar cactor Program cc: Robert D. Cross, NCSU William Peery, NRC Region II n
-