ML20064J770

Forwards Info in Response to 790730 Request.Info Withheld (Ref 10CFR2.790)

ML20064J770
Person / Time
Site:	University of California - Irvine, Berkeley Research Reactor
Issue date:	08/15/1979
From:	Brown H CALIFORNIA, UNIV. OF, LOS ANGELES, CA
To:	John Miller Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML20064H208	List: ML20064H245 ML20064J770 ML20064L353
References
FOIA-82-381 EHS:C1251, NUDOCS 7908300702
Download: ML20064J770 (2)

Text

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~* VNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANCELES

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%E k arnn.rY . DAVIS

• mVINE

• LOS ANCZI.I3

• METIDE

• SAN DIECO

• S' A FRMCDCO { 3 inn BAnaARA

• SO*TA CRUZ

_THE FACTS AND FIGURES IN THIS DOC MENT ARE NO LONGER TIMELY OR ACCURATE. THEY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ONL 6 ,, m o m u m 3 % , ,

IN A HISTORICAL CONTEXP. nm crsrta roR um ur. uni sc2rsczs

, LoS ANCELES. CALIFORNIA 90024 August 15, 1979 EHS: C1251 James R. Miller So -u.+

Acting Assistant Director for 2

Site and Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

Dear Mr. Miller:

Due to the sensitive nature of the contents of this letter, we request that this document be withheld from public disclosure pursuant to Section 2.790 of 10 CFR Part 2. This letter is our response to your letter dated July 30, 1979.

It is not our intention to possess greater than a formula quantity of non-exempt SSNM because greater amounts would entail financial costs, manpower requirements, and restrictions which could not be met at this facility. Our Argonaut Reactor contains approximately 3.6 Kgs of SSNM.

Wc also have 0.7 Kg of irradiated SSNM in the process of being shipped to the Idaho Chemical Reprocessing Plant and another 4.6 Kg of non-irradiated fuel in storage. We have three alternatives.

a. Ask for a variance on the 3.6 Kgs of SSNM in the core of the reactor due to the difficulty in retrieving it from the reactor.

b. Store the 4.6 Kgs of non-irradiated SSNM elsewhere off-site.

c. Remove all the irradiated fue*1 fro'm the reactor and send it to ICRP for reprocessing and place the non-irradiated fuel in the reactor.

d' With the above comments in mind, the following are our responses

,i to your sixteen questions answered in the same order as submitted in your letter:

M 1. None planned.

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2. None except change of locks, keys, and combinations in the naar future.

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3. Uncertain, depends upon alternatives. '""'

D g Jg g 4 Approximately S500,000 to S1,000,000. g,gg -

5. Approximately S25,000 to S35,000.

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6. Uncertain, but would result in a reduction in the number of graduate nuclear engineers entering industry. Our reactor also supports uranium assay work related to the search for uranium resources. ,

7. None.

8. None planned.

9. Yes, conditionally.

10. The reactor serves as a major part of five laboratory courses -

offered by the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Closing the facility will cost UCLA at least three job openings, five classes, and several research programs here and at other Univer-sities. Closure would diminish not only our total educational program, but would diminish educational programs at other schools because our reactor is a part of the Reactor Sharing Program of DOE.

11. Seven. Yes. We will have to cut approximately three people.

12. Approximately 30 per quarter. Yes.

13. Approximately a dozen. Reactor shutdown would not directly affect them.

14. $120,000.

15. It does not seem possible to meet the 100 r/m at 3' at all times for the reactor fuel. The impact of the upgrade rule would result in p r o h ib it ive costs if unfavorably interprered in our case.

16. There are five courses which utilize the reactor, and two courses on reactor licensing (on a one-time-only basis) are beginning this fall.

We hope that the answers to these* questions meet with your approval.

Sincerely, narol [. V.lht&"

Brown, Dr. P.H.

Environmental Health and Safety Officer HVS/jao cc: Charles E. Ashbaugh Ivan Catton John Evraets WBilAUS DFORMATON

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