IR 05000274/1985001
| ML20129B840 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Issue date: | 07/18/1985 |
| From: | Constable G, Hyder J, Sanchezpope A, Thomas C, Thomas C NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20129B800 | List: |
| References | |
| 50-274-85-01, 50-274-85-1, NUDOCS 8507290274 | |
| Download: ML20129B840 (6) | |
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U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
REGION IV
Report No. 50-274/85-01 Docket No. 50-274 License No. R-113 Licensee:
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80255 Facility Name: Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR) (1 MWt)
Inspection Conduct d:
June 10--13, 1985 Inspectors:
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/J ' E. Hyder/
Date os Alamos National Laboratory Safety Assessment Group h //~ f5
/dl '. E. Sanfhez-Pope Date Los Alag6s National Laboratory Safety Assessmen Group Reviewed by:
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C. C. Thomas Date
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Los Alamos National Laboratory Safety Asse.S& ment Group
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7 [G ffE Approved by-G. L. Constable Date '
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Technical Support Staff Inspection Summary Inspection on June 10--13. 1985 IReport No. 50-274/85-011.
Areas Inspected:
Routine, unannounced inspection of organization, logs, and records; review and audits; requalification training; procedures; surveillance activities; experiments; fuel-handling activities; radiation control; radwaste management; emergency olanning; physical security; and nuclear materials safe-guards. The inspection involved 44 inspector-hours onsite by two NRC contractor inspectors.
Results: No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this inspection.
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DETAILS 1.
Persons Contacted
- H.
T. Millard, Jr., Reactor Administrator
- P.
G. Helfer, Acting Reactor Supervisor R. E. Perryman, Senior Reactor Operator W. L. Smith, Reactor Health Physicist
- Attended Exit Interview 2.
General This inspection, which began at 1 p.m. on June 10, 1985, was conducted to exa-mine the overall operational program at the Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR).
The facility operators are on an alternating 4-day (10-h/ day) work week with the following schedule:
Tuesday through Friday with subsequent two-day (Saturday and Sunday) weekend followed by a Monday through Thursday work week and a 4-day (Friday through Monday) weekend.
The inspectors arrived on a
" weekend Monday" but were able to contact Dr. H. T. Millard, the Reactor Admin-istrator, and Mr. W. L. Smith, the Reactor Health Physicist. The facility was toured shortly after arrival, and its condition was found to be acceptable.
The GSTR has not been pulsed for several years; however, there are discussions concerning the potential of resuming pulsing operations in the not too distant future.
In July 1985, the facility expects to install a new " Lazy Suzan" irra-diation chamber having pneumatic sample transfer capabilities.
Mr. D. H. Rusling, the Reactor Supervisor, was on vacation and thus was not available during this inspection.
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3.
Organization. Loos, and Records i
The facility organization was reviewed and verified to be consistent with the Technical Specifications.
The minimum staffing requirements were verified to be present during reactor operation and fuel handling or refueling operations.
The reactor logs and records were reviewed to verify that a.
required entries were made, b.
significant problems or incidents were documented, c.
the facility was being maintained properly, and d.
records were available for inspection.
The inspectors noted that the maintenance log and the daily reactor operations log carried a few items that appeared "open" or in need of attention.
The Acting Reactor Supervisor stated that these items indeed had been closed and/or corrected; however, the proper log entries had not been completed.
He acknowledged that more detailed log entries would be appropriate and that this l
would be incorporated into their future logs and records.
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No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this part of the inspection.
4.
Reviews and Audits The licensee's review and audit program records were examined by the inspectors to verify the following.
a.
Reviews of facility changes, operating and maintenance procedures, design changes, and unreviewed experiments had been conducted by a safety review committee as required by the Technical Specifications.
b.
The review committee and/or subcommittees were composed of qualified members, and quorum and frequency of meeting requirements had been met.
The Reactor Operations Committe (ROC) conducts an annual audit of all aspects of reactor operations.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in this portion of the inspection.
5.
Reaualification Training The inspectors reviewed procedures, logs, and training records and interviewed personnel to verify that the requalification training program was being carried out in conformance with the facility's approved plan and NRC regulations.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in this section of the inspection.
6.
Procedures The inspectors reviewed the licensee's procedures to determine if procedures were issued, reviewed, changed or updated, and approved in accordance with Technical Specifications requirements.
This review also verified that s
a.
procedure content was adequate to operate and maintain the facility safely, b.
responsibilities were defined clearly, and c.
required checklists and forms were used.
The inspectors noted that the startup, operation, and shutdown procedures in use were those from the reactor vendor's maintenance manual. After discussion with the operations personnel, it was agreed that it would be appropriate for these procedures to be reissued in the regular facility procedure format and be incorporated into the Reactor Operations Manual.
In all other aspects, the inspectors determined that the required procedures were available and that the contents of the procedures ware adequate.
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No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in this portion of the inspection.
7.
Surveillance Activities The inspectors reviewed procedures, surveillance test schedules, and test records and discussed the surveillance program with responsible personnel to verify that a.
when necessary, procedures were available and adequate to perform the tests, b.
tests were completed within the required time schedule, and c.
test records were available.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this part of the inspection.
8.
Experiments A total cf 15 Class I experiments and 2 Class II experiments have been approved since the last inspection.
Cne of the Class II experiments involved irradia-tion of samples in dry ice positioned in the Lazy Susan. The second Class II experiment was to investigate neutron radiography using a neutron beam from the central thimble.
It was determined that reactivity limits have not been exceeded during any irradiation.
No item of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this portion of the inspection.
9.
Fuel Handling Activities The facility fuel handling program was reviewed by the inspectors. The review included verifying approved procedures for fuel handling and their technical adequacy in the areas of radiation protection, criticality safety, and Techni-cal Specifications. The inspector determined by records review and discussions with personnel that fuel-handling operations and startup tests were carried out in conformance with the licensee's procedures. The only fuel handling activi-ties have been the fuel element inspections conducted in January 1985.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in this part of the inspection.
10.
Transportation (Fuel Shippina)
There have been no fuel shipments since the last operational inspection.
11.
Radiation Control The inspectors reviewed records, interviewed personnel, and made observations and independent surveys to verify that radiation controls were being carried out in accordance with the license and NRC regulations. The areas covered were-4-
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a.
posting and labeling of restricted areas and radioactive materials, b.
control of irradiated samples, c.
calibration of radiation-detection instruments, d.
required periodic radiation and contamination surveys, and f.
personnel training.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this portion of the inspection.
12.
Radwaste Management No liquid radioactive waste has been generated at this facility. A limited quantity of solid radioactive waste in the form of wipes, gloves, and so on is collected and transferred periodically to the USGS Byproduct License. Argon-41 releases have been within license limits.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this part of the inspection.
13.
Environmental Monitorina This licensee's environmental sampling program is described in Sec. 8.8 of the Operations Manual.
Soil and water samples are collected within a 4-mile ra-dius of the facility every 2 yr.
Samples evaluated in 1982 and 1984 appear to have the same general levels of radioactivity as those collected at earlier times.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this part of the inspection.
14.
Emergency Planning The Emergency Plan for the GSTR was approved by the NRC on June 1, 1984. The licensee had implemented the proposed plan when submitted. The inspectors determined that commitments made in the plan, such as an annual review and up-date, drills, procedures, training, emergency equipment; and testing of alarms, had been conducted.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified during this portion of the inspection.
15.
Physical Security The inspectors reviewed the implementation of the licensee's physical security program through visual examination, review of records, and discussions with appropriate facility personnel.
The review indicated that the physical secur-ity plan was well implemented; responsibilities and response requirements were defined clearly; and appropriate test procedures were being used.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were identified in this part of the inspection.
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16.
Nuclear Materials Safeguards The inspectors reviewed the accountability procedures and practices and mater-ials status reports for the past 2 yr. The procedures, practices, and records were found to be well implemented; responsibilities and response requirements were defined clearly and understood; and appropriate test procedures were being used.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were found in this section of the in-spection.
17.
Licensee Event Followup
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The February 27--28, 1984, meeting of the Reactor Operations Committee dis-cussed a stuck graphite moderator element.
This was caused by two blisters in the Al cladding, which broke and rolled down to the bottom of the blisters, forming a ridge. The graphite element was worked loose and removed without further incident. Other graphite elements were examined, but no blisters were found.
The licensee informed the NRC IV and SSPB by letter dated June 20, 1984, of a possible error in their power calibration.
The problem was found to be in the log channel CIC, wnich is not part of the safety scram system.
The power level scrams were checked and found to be functioning correctly.
On July 13, 1984, a telephone report of an unexpected elevation of airborne radioactive concentration in the reactor room was made to NRC IV and to the NRC Headquarters duty officer.
A letter dated July 30, 1984, explained the cause to be from irradiation of samples of coal that had been confirmed to have con-tained low levels of uranium.
No items of noncompliance or deviations were found during this portion of the inspection.
18.
Exit Interview The inspectors, accompanied by Mr. H. J. Pettengill of the NRC IV Uranium Recovery Field Office (URFO), met with the licensee representatives (listed in paragraph 1) at the conclusion of the inspection on June 13, 1985, and sum-marized the scope and findings of the inspection as indicated in the previous paragraphs.
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