ML20095L500
| ML20095L500 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Washington State University |
| Issue date: | 06/30/1984 |
| From: | WASHINGTON STATE UNIV., PULLMAN, WA |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8408300293 | |
| Download: ML20095L500 (6) | |
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.e, ANNUAL REPORT ON THE OPERATION OF THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TRIGA REACTOR Facility License R-76 for the period of July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1984 A. Narrative Summary of the Year's Operation
- 1. Operating Experience The Washington State University Reactor has accumulated 503 megawatt hours on Core 31-A during the reporting period. A total of 16,295 irradiations for a total of 35,202 samples were performed. In addition, 28 pulses greater than $1.00 were performed during this period. The quarterly operations summaries are shown in Table I, Section B.
- 2. There were no changes in design, performance characteristics, or operating procedures that related to reactor safety during the reporting period.
- 3. All surveillance tests and requirements were performed and completed within the prescribed time period. The results of all inspections revealed no abnormalities and were within expected values.
B. Energy and Cumulative Output The quarterly operations summaries are given in Table I below.
Table I Fiscal Year Summary of Reactor Operations JAS OND JFM AMJ TOTAL Hours of Operation 98 126 164 119 507 i
Megawatt Hours 98 125 161 119 503 No. of Irradiations 247 1255 13181 1612 16295 No. of Samples Irradiated 2864 7179 18093 7066 35202 No. of Pulses > $1.00 0 5 22 1 28 The' cumulative energy output since criticality of the TRIGA core since 1967 is 499 megawatt days. The mixed core of FLIP and Standard fuels installed in 1976 has accumulated 238 megawatt days.
C. Emeg ency Shutdowns and Inadvertent Scrams During the reporting period, no emergency shutdowns occurred. The causes of. the 5 inadvertent scrams which occurred during the reporting gr g
I period are given in Table II on the next page, gftt(
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l Table II Inadvertent Scrams Number Cause 1 Safety Channel #1; momentary loss of building power 1 Log-N Channel H.V. Failure; line spike 1 Safety Channel #1; line spike while pulsing 2 Reactor Scram; technician working inside console D. Major Maintenarice There were no items in this category for this reporting period. All ;
maintenance conducted was routine, planned maintenance.
E. Changes, Tests and Experiment Carried Out Under 10 CFR 50.59 During the reporting period, two changes to the facility were conducted and documented under 10 CFR 50.59.
The first item involved a facility modification and consisted of installing a recirculation line, check valves and a 3-way valve in the discharge line of the liquid waste sampling tank. This allows us to recirculate the tank's contents prior to sampling and analysis of the tank's contents. The modification constituted a change in the liquid waste collection system as described in the Safety Analysis Report. Since the change did not involve either a change in procedures or a new hazard than that described in the Safety Analysis Report, the 10 CFR 50.59 modification was approved in house by the reactor staff and the Reactor Safeguards Committee.
The second facility modification involved replacing the mechanical cooling system pressure gauges with pressure transducers and electric readouts and relocating the cooling system control panel from the north wall in the Control Room to a section in the Reactor Console. The change involved neither a change in the facility description, change in procedures nor a test or experiment not described in the Safety Analysis Report and therefore was approved in house.
F. 1. Radioactive Liquid Release During the reporting period, the average release concentration was 4.16 x 10-8 uCi/ml. This yielded a total of 2.8 microcuries released in a total of 18,120 gallons of liquid effluent. The monthly releases are given in Table III on the next page.
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' Table III
-Radioactive Liquid Releases !
Quantity Concentration Percent Volume Month =uCi uCi/ml MPC* Gallons July. 1.4 8.1 x 10-8 81 4582
' August No release - - -
. September 0.9 4.88 x 10-8 48 4813 October- No release - - -
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- November 0.03 1.80 x 10-9 1 4738 December. lNo ' release - - -
January No reiease: - - -
February No release .- '~ ~
March 0.5 3.46 x 10-8 34 3987 April No release - - -
May No. release - - -
June No release - - -
- Based' on a release limit of 1.0 x 10-7 uCi/ml for unknown mixture found in Technical Specifications 6.10 paragraph 5.
- 2. Radioactive Gaseous Release During the. reporting period, no significant quantity of any gaseous or particulate material with a half-life greater than eight days was released.
During the reporting period, at no time did the release exceed 20%
of MPC for Argon-41.
TheaveragemonthlyconcentrationofArgon-41was4.42x}0-8 uCi/cc.
This yielded a total of 2.9 curies released in 6.69 x 101 cc of air.
The monthly releases are summarized below in Table IV.
Table IV Monthly Argon-41 Releases Concentration Before Dilution Percent MPC* Quantity Month uti/cc After Dilution mci 4
July 2.13 x 10-9 0.02 12 August 1.45 x 10-8 0.15 82 September 2.08 x 10-8 0.21 114 October 2.59 x 10-8 0.26 146 .
November 6.01 x 10-8 0.60 329 December' 1.03 x 10-7 1.03 '583 January 8.05 x 10-8 0.80 456 February 1.00 x 10-7 1.00 530 March 9 0.04 21 April 3.72'x.10 4.60 x 10- 8 0.46 252
- May 3.59 x 10-8 0.36 203 June 3.84 x 10-8 0.38 210
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- Based en 10 CFR 20 limit of 4.0 x 10-8 uCi/cc (Table II, Col. I), and I a dilution factor'gf 4.0 x 10-3 (SAR 6.4.2) for an after dilution l limit of 1.0 x 10-a uCi/cc. !
3.. Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal 1
~For waste generated by the Nuclear Radiation Center during the reporting period, two shipments were made to U.S. Ecology Company in Richland, Washington for disposal. A total of 14.55 millicuries ,
in 15 cubic feet was packaged in 55 gallon drums for shipment. The !
shipments are tabulated in Table V below.
Table V .
W.S.U., N.R.C. Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal !
Date Volume in Cubic Feet Activity in Millicuries 11/17/83 7.5 10.83 5/24/84 7.5 3.72 G. Personnel and Visitor Radiation Exposure The average quarterly exposures of Nuclear. Radiation Center reactor staff and experimenters who routinely utilize the WSU reactor are given in Table VI below. The maximum quarterly exposure for two individuals, who are reactor staff members, is 150 millirem each.
A total of 1372 individuals and non-Nuclear Radiation Center staff experimenters visited the Center during the reporting period, out of which 506 entered posted radiation areas.- As determined by pocket dosimeters, the average individual exposure for those entering posted radiation areas was 3.42 millirem with a maximum exposure of 32 millirem.
A total of 33 group type tours visited the Nuclear Radiation Center during the reporting period consisting of 301 individuals. As detennined by dosimeter, the average group exposure was 0.68 millirem with a maximum exposure of 4 millirem.
Table VI Average Quarterly Reactor / Experimenter Staff Exposure (in millirems)
Jul-Aug-Sep Oct-Nov-Dec Jan-Feb-Mar Apr-May-Jun*
24 14 52 13 -
- April badge results only. May and June badge results not available from vendor at the time this report was prepaied.
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H. Reactor Facility Radiation Levels The routine area radiation surveys of the building in non-reactor operating areas had an average-levrA of 0.20 mrem /hr. while the average level in reactor operating areas was 0.49 mrem /hr. The highest average was 4.39 mrem /hr. which occurred in the beam port room at the thermal volumn face. The lowest average level was 0.02 mrem /hr. which was found in the reactor shop area. The average level in the reactor control room was 0.03 mrem /hr.
Routine building surveys for removable contamination in non-reactor operating areas had an average value of 2.27 x 10-5 uCi/100 cm2 while the average value in reactor operating areas was 3.30 x 10-5 uCi/100 cm2 The highest average value in the reactor operating areas was 4.13 x 10-5' uCi/100 cmz which was found on the platform where experimenters stand to The lowest average value insert and withdraw in the reactor operatingsamples from0.86 areas was the reactor.5 x 10- uCi/100 cm2 which was found to be the reactor control room floor.
I. Environmental Monitoring Program The environmental monitoring program uses thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD's) at locations in and around the reactor building facility.
Th? quarterly exposures near the Nuclear Radiation Center are listed in Table VII below. Normal ambient geima radiation levels for this area (80 mile radius) average 240 uR/ day as reported in the 18th Annual Report of the Environmental Radiation Program by the Office of Environmental.
Health Programs, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
The values observed indicate there is no significant effect on the environment radiation levels by reactor operations.
Table VII Environmental Radiation Levels in the Vicinity of the WSU Nuclear Reactor
- Exposure in uR/ day J-A-S 0-N-D J-F-M A-M-J Median 143 248 ** ** 196
- For sampling stations located 50 meters or greater from the Nuclear Radiation Center.
6 Quarterly exposure rates at readily accessible locations at the reactor facility are listed in Table VIII'. Again, no significant effect on the environment radiation levels by reactor operations was observed.
Table VIII Exposure Rates Adjacent to the WSU Reactor
- Exposures in uR/ day JAS OND JFM AMJ Median Building Entrance 167 237 ** ** 202 E. Lower Loading Dock 67 250 - -
159 E. Pool Room Door 5300 224 - -
2762 Storage Shed 1167 217 - -
692 N. Side of Building 133 230 - -
182 W. Beam Room Door 200 230 - -
21 5 W. Side of Building 400 217 - -
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- For sampling stations located less than 50 meters of the Nuclear Radiation Center.
Technical specifications ALARA effluent releases in 3.12(2) specify annual radiation exposure at the closest offsite extended occupancy shall not, on an annual basis, exceed the average local offsite background radiation by more than 20%. For the calendar year 1983, the average background radiation level for sampling points 400 meters or greater from the facility was 237 uR/ day. The average radiation level at the closest extended occupied area 380 meters away was 255 uR/ day which yields a ratio of exposure to background of 7.6%.
Fiscal year 1983-1984 ratios for the reporting period will be provided when 19841st and 2nd quarter TLD data is available from the vendor.
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, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY PULLMAN, WASHINGTON 99164 NUCLEAlt RADIATION CENTER August 15, U84 Director, Division of Reactor Licensing U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20545 Re: Docket No. 50-27 Facility License R-76
Subject:
Annual Report
Dear Sir:
In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59, Paragraph (6), the attached annual report prepared by Jerry A. Neidiger, the Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period from July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1984.
Sincerely, b[Wk W.E. Wilson Associate Director WEW:mt Enc.
cc: Joh.1 Sheppard, Chairman Reactor Safeguards Committee C.J. Nyman, Dean of the Graduate School N.R.C.-Region V, Office of Inspection and Enforcement J.A. Neidiger i
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