ML20054C707
| ML20054C707 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000047 |
| Issue date: | 09/26/1962 |
| From: | Sears J US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML17298A033 | List:
|
| References | |
| FOIA-81-311, FOIA-Z81-311 NUDOCS 8204210530 | |
| Download: ML20054C707 (7) | |
Text
'
.~
i By:
John R. Sears, Reactor Specialist Region I, Division of Comp 11 arco Titles WATZRTCV2 AASE:Ud RZACCR I
I I
l l
SUMMARY
l t
A visit was made to the 9:ertcwn Arsenal Reacter. A new monitor at the pile tsp has been installed. Control l
red dimensicas have been checked cr.co sir.ca
.J.e first i
red did swell, with no further indication of swelling.
A satisf actory centainment test has been made. A pre-l ventive =.minean arce pregram has been instituted. The foundatica for the stack has been ccmpleted.
i l
i l
l l
1 1
1 1
l
?
w.
=
1 1
I Period of I.nquiry: Septessber 26. 1962 1
~
c.
)
s j
.~
s 8204210530 811005
-Y~
<K' ' '
N PDR FOIA ps,7" - L, " *- *.%..~.
g g
~
{KADAT-ZG1-311
,..._:-m.g g :f,' Tr: ::,e.s..y.
c ;
,_f m _
. -J PDR
--a - -- -.. _
9.__,_._.
i l
l 1
?
I i
l l
O!r AILS j
t t
}
I.
Scope of */isit A visit was made to the Watertcwn Arson 4 Reactor at Water-4 town, Massachusetts en September 26, 1962 trf Jchn R. Sears, Reactor Speciali.st, Regicn I, Division of Compliance. The visit included a tour of the facility, the armaination of Icgbocks and health physics records, and discussions with -Mrs of the l
~
operating staff.
{
Forscas contacted during the visit 1:cluded the folicwings Mr. John O'Connor, Diructor of the Reactor l
Ar. Charles Dady, unmith Physicist Mr. Richard 3tanton, Reactor Eagineer II.
Results of visit l
A.
teor of Tacility I.
l The inspector teured the facility in the ccmpany of Mr.
Jchn O'Connor, the Directer of the Reacter.
Mr. O'Connor stated that the schedule of operatica of the reactor at the present time is fcr the reactor to run caly during the requiar dayti:ne watch, 5 days a week. 15e stated that the usual running time is for approvtmately 6 hcurs.
It was observed by the inspector that there are.w a
==wr of spectrometers setup at the reactor and also a facility O'Ocnnor shielded with concrete blocks for neutron radiography.
stated that *2e flux level in the neutron radiography facility at the sample was apprevimately 106 neutrons /sq. centi:neter per seccad, and that they had checked for radio-argon and this facility presented no particular problem in argon generatica.
Mr. O'Connor stated that their use of the poemmatic tube facility has increasM recently. He shcwed the inspecter the kind of rabbit used. It is made of polyethylene with a screwed cap. O 'Cwww stated that he was investigating whether saae orriinary polyethyleen pipe night be used for rabbits in this facility.
One of the slant tubes, whose end terminates at the face of the beryllium reflector, has been ccaverted to a facility for capsule irradiaticas. Tubes have been installed inside this elant beam tube and the capsules to be irradiated are charged i
and discharged by means of handlig tubes or extension wires.
The complete facility is flooded with water. This shielding
?
d water is changed weekly to prevent excessive activity buildup.
1 j
1 k
?
4 6'
\\
.e%-~
m, p
- e..
z o
d es
,,a u_
.,. i m.%
I l
e j
=
l The tube has a lucite cover which is bolted to the flanged end of the tube.
O'Connor stated that the z.ethod of discharge is j
for the Lucite cover to be removed and the capsule is brought up where it is surveyed by an area survey instrument and then I
I quickly placed in a lead pig for transit.
i One of the beam tubes has been co=verted to a facility for long wave neutrcn studies. The experimental device consists of a polished cepper curved tube which extanAs dcwn the center of the been tube. In order to preserve the equivalent ascunt l
. of shielding which is affcxded by the water over the reactor core in a vertical direction, there is installed a long watar-filled cy199e of the apprnvimmte M===ter of a s*= named 55 gallon dru:n whic'a surrninAs the neutron wave guide tube.
O'Ccanor stated that the amount of shielding afforded by this external I
water shield, plus the normal concrete shield and the water between the interior tube end and the core, is the equivalent of 17 feet of water.
It was observed by the inspector that next to each experiwntal facility was posted a diagram which gave the results of a radiation survey which had been done at that facility.
Radiatica warning signs, and magenta and yellow cevered ropes l
were placed to comply with requirements of ? art 20 for restricted i
area occupancy.
In the baset of the facility at the ti=a of the inspection, the ion avekange colu=n was being regenerated.
Mr. O'Ccanor stated that they are considering the insem* t atica of a Mitrogen 16 instrument for detarminati:a of reactor pcwor.
This instrument wculd also be used as a detecter of failed f:2el alamants.
O'Connor st.sted t' hat there was probably spyrovi staly a 4 minuta delay from the tine water left the core x2til it r==e%=d the present fission procAct monitor. The ficar of water thrsash the core in this reartor is dcwnwards there is a delay in the sitrogen 16 decay ta::Ut and finally there is a delay in the sample pipeline to the fission product monitor.
1'h. is monitcr has been aseved cut of the cell which holds the heat
- ekanger and pu=pe because the backgrcund level had been too hig in that area. Mcving the monitor out of the cell increased the delay ttne scmewhat.
0'Connor also showed the inspector an arsa meniter and inniratiest nh=+ar which has been installed directly over the core on the underside of the floor plates at the reactor top.
l O'&mw stated that, in his opinion, this would prcbably give the gasteet inA* dation of a ruptured fuel eieract. Zhe installa-i tion of this menitor has been made since the last inspecticn to l
this facility.
i It was also observed &tring the tcur that there was evidence of some very slight leakage of Water thrcugh the face of the shield. o'Connor stated that the pressure greuting of the shield had been completed about 6 months ago. He stated that the cost of the pressure grouting was aoproximately $20,000 and that.jcat recently, there was some evidmaca of socne esa11 4
I f
1 N,
2-a
\\
,./
.NNem..,,,
Y.
~'
_p.-2 m
K__
n _ _ _.s
1 l
4 1
leaks of water through the shield. These leaks appeared to the inspector to be a'n hal.
There was no water en the floor; there f
was simply some stain sarks en the shield face. O'Connor said eat he,unned to wam unt u a a,p..,ed eat e.se 1. m were getting larger or more numerous before he had some more pressure grouting eene.
I 3.
Instruentatien C 'Nnm said that the inst _umentation on the consols and the control Board had recently been behaving we11. The i
instzumentatica is of modular design with each modula Wilt cm a chassis which can slide cut through the frcat of the Centrol i
acard panel. When these modules are reinstalled after service, j
sanetimes good contact is act :made. The solutien is s1= ply to g
- ush the medule in toward the centrol board firaly to elininate trouble.
g The sigmaka on the scra:n system had been of the standard ook Ridge design, in which the negnet current is gradually 4
reduced as the scran point is apprcached. O'Connor and Stanten both said that this appeared to make the cizeJit oversensitive to any noise and thsy had been plagued by a series of sparious scrams. Stanten has designed a transisterized circuit which l
wculd give a sharp cutoff and they p1 =r mad to install this circuit I
in the ^at:re.
Stanton said that with the new circuit the houing current of the saquet wculd not be increased.
l During the visit emnics were inst =1' *ng an miar n on the ;9c1 levul i=dicator.
c'he stated that initially this alarm will go caly to the centrol room, but he is plann W 1ater to tie this alarm to the guardhouse, so that if for any reason the water level in the pool was to decrease caring off hours er the weekend the guards wculd be alarted.
i l
C.
Ccotrol 9eds This reactor at cae time had experienced the swelling of cne ccatrol rod. This has been repcrted in a fer:ner inspection report and also by correspm/arace of the Watertewn peop1s to DL4A. At that time, all of the centrol rods were removed and their di:eensic.ns were checked at approzizately 13 locatices.
Since then, the control rods have been checked once more in g
l Novenbar 1961. The inspector was shown a copy of the r== dings of the first and seccad dimensicmal checks and these readisgs hadients that there had been no f arther swelling of any of the i
reds up to that time. The rods have not been checked since Movember 1961, because there has been no reason to untoed the i'
core since then. O'Caanor stated that he felt assured that there was ne swelling of the reds because the spring landad clutch on the rod drives la of a tatchet designs and if any rod were to l
stick because of se1 ling or any other reasca, the ratchet clutch would slip and the operater could hear this slipping. hrthermore, i
i
- 3 -
i 1
e I
e e
?,l x ~
-.~..
/_
m 2 -
.._J
4 A
i O'Ccanor stated the rod positica 1:uitcatica tr'ns,itter is on the rod side of the clutch so that if an operator were to call for more rod novement by throwing the switch cer the ccc. sole, he would observe that the rod was nct moving by the fact that the I
rod positica indicator did not nove. O'Connor agreed that it might be prudent to take periodic rod drop time measurements as a further insurance that no trcuhle was starting with the reds, and he volunteered that he would take such measurements within the next :aceth, and periodically thereafter.
D.
Centairr_ ant l
O'Connor showed the inspecter the results of the cea-l talmaant laak rate tests which had been perferrmd in March of f
1962. This test results imiteated that when the M11 ding is j
pressurized to 2 iM /sq inch, it leaks a;pr-htely 1.3% cI' the volume of the b.ti m ng in 24 hcurs.
O* - e also stated that i
they have not az;:erienced any pr+'== with the inflatable gasAets em the airlock doors.
I 3.
2:norcency ?cwer An energency power gasoline generator has been installed I
cutside of the bill A4M and it is tied into the 440 circuit to
{-,h(,
the M-G set thrcuggan autcuatic transfer switch.
- he M 4 set has a 440 volt acret' and a 120 AO volt generator. This f m.es a regulated supply / for all compements of the reacter.
i When the regular source of 440 volts is cut off, the emergency gasoline generator is matematica11y started. mis emergency gasoline generater is test started weekly. The gaso-line engine is eq. tipped with antifreeze.
The a:sergency pcwor scurce was pri:aarily instal. led fer pcwor to the rane in the W = cver the radim*me labs adjacent to the labs.
F.
Lc4 books De ecshmole h5h k was reivewed by the inspector. The attries in this logboo4 are made bcth by the reactor operator and also by the shift supervisor. Revise of these logbooks showed no unusual events cther than scracia due to eles.trenic troubles, either noise or pocr contact on the nodular compcments.
An experi==atal logbook is also kept in the centrol This is a log which describes experi:nents perfcrmed on room.
the reactor such as flux napping cf the core, or rod worth expert w ts, and also describes experi=ents which are inserted into the reactor or which are perferned at a beam hols.
d l
l
=4*
t N?
g, j "'
m.a m
p u
r
,v
l 1
f operating procedures are detailed on daily check-lists, startup and shutdcwn chn-dists and weedy checklists.
I The reactor personnel have recently instituted a systaca t
of prevent.1ve main +anarv e of which includes checking various compunents on a regular ha6&s. A productrol chart is instmiled in the reacter director's office for keeping track of the progress of the preventive maintenance program.
i G.
Ar:ry Inspectien o*Connor stated that his facility had been in.spected for l
four days during the scath of June 1962 by a taan of 12 inspectors from the Army Engineers. nose 12 inspectors were in turn g
acc mpanied by 2 survattimes inspectors whcse nissico, according to O'Connor, was to inspect the inspectors. O'Connor stated that, as of this date, he had not received a copy of their formal inspectics report, although he had been given pencil written.
j sw== aries of the inspect 1:a groupe' cbservaticas at the time of
)
i the inspection.
.l H.
Health Mysics l
no inspector reviewed the health physics records with i
r l
Mr. Charles Dady. These include perscnnel -w-mitering records.
zocords of releases of gaseous and partic.alata activity to the at:nosphere, and also racerds of the activity discharged in liquid i
vasta.
i nees records inAL ate that t.bers has been no violatica j
of 10 CFR 20. either in perscanal exposures or releases to the i
i at:acephere. Dady atated that the reactor pool water is sanpled and analyzed every *.nday.
This w ana that a decay taxes place l
over the weexand since cpesatiens are shutdown en Friday nignt.
Alter a week, during which 26.5 negatatt hcurs of cperatica,had l
been acem=ulated, the sample en Menday analyzed at 20 x 10"' ue/nl.
Oady said that the sample taken during operation usually analyzes at abcut 10-3 ue/ml and that apprcximately 90% of that activity was due to 3a-24.
During the inspectica the primary coolant ion ave 5=Me column was being regenerated. Iteccrds indicate that the resin in the colum had lasted for approximately 10 ncnths. ne flush water used in regeneratica is being held up is 55 gallen dru.=s, apprmr*=taly 200 gallcas are used o: ring regeneratica. Aady said that at the surface of the can the reading is approxiJately 1 ar/hr of activity, apprewivataly 3 : months half-life. He stated he was in hopes of simply stori.ng this water at the site till it had ecayed sufficiently so that he em14 empty it into the regular waste disposal facility.
The wasta disposal facility ccasists of 3 tanks. De records, since ocu har 1960, iniicate that 322,000 gallcas of water have been discharged and that this watar contained a
=aw 4 -a ns o f 4 70 uc. Dedy said that the standard procedare befero discharging any water was to ;u:ap the water between two tanks to ensure a good 'niv9ng them to taxe a 1 litar sucple and evaporate and count it. l l
- m. -
e-j-
-e,,-
.R o.
Records of smears taken were reviewed.
The health physicists make a weekly smear check of all areas of the reactor and the laboratories. Areas arcund the pusamatic tube d4 eh=rge point are ammar checked immadiately after use of these tubes.
Complete surveys are taken after any shielding change around boom +,thaa.
Survey records are kept by the health physicist and a record of the survey is also pcsted at the locatica of the experiment.
The exhaust stack frcn the reactor room is equipped with an absciute filter and upstream of this filter is a Tracerlab gasecus and particulate detector.
The gaseous detector raadmt is on a strip chart: recorder.
Dady stated that thim detector had been cal *5 rated for Argen 41 and a histogram record is kept of the releases.
This record was reviewed by the inspector and it indicates that during a week in which 30 megawatt hcurs of operation are accu =ulated, the present maxi rum permissible concentratien for effluent discharge is approached.
O'Connor and Dady stated that this problem will be solved when the stack is installed, The inspector observed that the ccccrete fc=A=_tien for the metal stack has been ccupletely constructed, and it was stated that the instn11 ation of the stack is expected to start as scen as sczne centractual arrangements have been l
completed.
1 i
l
.