ML20136H172

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Expanded Field Notes for Co Rept 50-264/71-01 on 710602. Areas Discussed:Administration & Organization Operations, Facility Procedures,Primary Sys,Reactor Controls & Core Physics,Functional Tests,Safety Circuitry & Core Internals
ML20136H172
Person / Time
Site: Dow Chemical Company
Issue date: 06/02/1971
From: Coryell C, Finn J
US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
To:
Shared Package
ML20136C633 List:
References
FOIA-85-483 50-264-71-01, 50-264-71-1, NUDOCS 8508200215
Download: ML20136H172 (9)
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U. S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION DIVISION OF COMPLIANCE .

REGION III Srp /$b Y E O CO Report No.: 9/- /d /

%y Subject : / fru /e /s)I .

Docket No.(s) (('JdI

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License No.(s) / - // I d- '

Location: / /e M _) // Priority Category [

Date(s)'of Inspection: O << b .J. /[9/

Date(s) of Previous Inspection: 21 c# , /[df Type of Licensee  : of/sMM) M -( < M .

Type of Inspection : Mo,4 s / , <uo .aad Principal Inspector: [. [ [J u//22)

Acco=panying Inspector (s): COV

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Other Accompanying Personnel: /y e /.)

Reviewed By: du.///2)

Prcprieta h Information: [4xD k 'b

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EXPANDED FIELD NOTES l

l June 2, 1971 Inspection I Dow Chemical Company I

TRICA Mark 1 Research R actor Midland, Michigan I

License No. R-108 I~

Docket No. 50-264 A. Administration and Organization Dr. W. H. Beamer, Laboratory Director, and th licensed senior reactor operator has transferred from the Midland Plant to a Dow I

affliate in Walnut Creek, California as of April 1,1971. Dr. L. K.

Frevel is now the laboratory director and chairman of the Dow Reactor 4

Operations Committee. ne reactor staff on the inspection date consisted of the following four senior reactor operators: Dr. Anders, Dr. Jewett, %omasQuinn,fB.H.Clarey,

% ere are two trainee operators, Messrs. Logan and Krobosky. We were informed that Mr. Roth of DRL had given the senior reactor operating '

exams to these two gentlemen in mid-May but the results of the examination i had not at this time been reported to Dow.

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% e Dow Reactor Operations Committee now consists of Dr. L. K.

Frevel (Chairman and Director of the laboratory), Dr. O. U. Anders, (Reactor Supervisor and Secretary), Dr. G. L. Jewett, D. H. Clarcy and J. B. Charm (llcalth Physicist).

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. . C C The former Radiation Hazards Committee has been renamed as Radiation Safety Committee. Its present members are: Harold Hoyle (Chairman), L. G. Silverstein (Secretary), Dr. Anders, Ducommun and

% A. C. Wilcox.

B. Opera tions The reactor has been used exclusively for short-term, short-halflife sample activation. This reactor was at power for 270-hours during 1970 '

for a total of 611 different runs. It involved 10,800 samples.

Reactor operations since January 1,1971 have averaged about five hours per week and all have been short-term activation runs. A total of 17 involuntary scram to the reactor occurred during 1970 and there have been 12 involuntary scrams since the first of January 1971.

Scram causes are about equally divided between operator error and period scrams. The most recent series of scrams occurred during

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training sessions for the trainee operator.

C. Facility Procedures The reactor operating procedures were reviewed and minor revisions were incorporated during 1970. All changes were reviewed and approved by the reactor supervisor and the Reactor Operations Committee as noted in the Committee Meeting Minutes.

D. Primary System A review of operating records disclosed that the reactor pool [

temperature had been maintained below 120 F as required by the one

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1 technical specifications. We maximum temperature noted on the record was 88.5 F. Seinspectors were informed that there have been no indications of pool leakage. There have been no unaccountable water m =Wie losses or unusual makeup demands and a review of activity measurements of evaporated pool samples showed activity is essentially at background level.

E. Reactor Controls and Core Physics td

1. We maximum available "cond-clean reactivity was reported to be within the 1.57. k/k limits specified in the technical specifications.

Control rod calibrations were conducted in acccrdancc with the semi-annual frequency required by technical specifications.

% e last measurement wat made on February 18, 1971. The

% following measured values were obtained during the test.

Rod Worth Safety 2.96 Shim 3.10 Regulating 0.71 Total 6.77 We shutdown margin, based on the most reactive h operable rods withdrawn was determined as follows from logbook entries:

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Total rod worth 6.77

Most reactive rod 3.10 Difference 3.67 Excess reactivity 2.09

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Shutdown margin 1.58 (1.1% k/k)

This in in compliance with the minimum technical specification limit of 0.35% k/k.

Control rod scram timing was noted to have been performed within technical specification frequency requirements and all times were noted to be within the 1-second technical specification requirement. Rod drop times have been consistently 0.7 seconds or less.

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2. Functional Tests Logbook records indicate that interlock functional testing, i

power levels safety circuit functional testing, were performed' in accordance with technical specification requirements.

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! 3. Safety Circuitry One additional safety circuit was incorporated into the control 1

( on February 18, 1971. The hew circuit will interrupt the i

! magnet current and cause a scram if the power supply to the l

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! scram relays is dissabled in any manner. A functional test l

l confirmed a rod drop when loss of power to the safety circuit i

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~5-channels occurred. One safety circuitry malfunction occurred on 1/23/70 when the mode switch failed to operate when being transferred from servo to manual position. The fault was

.,,3g, tracedtoacrackedceramicwaf[erinthemodeswitchassembly.

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The awitch wa,s repaired on 1/24/70. Dr. Anders evaluated l the occurrence and concluded that no safety risk was involved and calculated that the worst case control rod movement could not have resulted in period or power changes 4p exceeding operating or tech spec, limits. ,, ,

F. _ Core and Internals The licensee performed a visuaf examination of each of the fuel elements and of the regulating rod, safety rod, and shim rods on 1/19/70 and on 2/15/71. All fuel elements were checked in the jig to assure that bowing did not exceed fabrication tolerance. The one fuel l~~~~' element that previously had been noted to' have a slight bow , this is fuci element 2372E, position F-10 was checked and the bow was established to be less than 1/10 inch and there is no interference with element insertion or removal from the core.

G. Experiments and Tests Activation request forms were reviewed by the inspectors and found to contain appropriate descriptive information and required l

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approvals, prior to insertion into the reactor exrerimental facility.

The range of experiment work had been considerably less than the l., technical specification maximum of $2. The maximum experiment noted

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H. Facility Modifications Control circuitry modification that involved a loss of power enemme scram capability was described in Section E, above. Ho'ever, w Dow t

does plan to do extensive modifications of the control circuitry 1

of the reactor in the near future. The installation of the proposed nuclear reactor flux regulator and multirange ammeter channel is 1

described in detail ah their correspondence fran Harold Hoyle, i

e Chairman of the Radiation Safety Committee to DML in letten; dated j February 9, 1971 and April 30, 1971.

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I. Other

', .;- .. v j Refer to Olne441ygram dated 11/5/69 regarding lists of research

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reactor facilities Ae physicians to the AEC sponsored-seninar on l

,,,,,, medical planning and care in radiation accidents. Dow representative, Dr. Dale Ducommun attended the third seminar that was held on the i

vest coast in 1969. Dr. Ducommun is a member of the Dow Radiation '

i Safety Committee.

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Psdiation ?mtectien

1. Personnel exoosu es. Pil:= bai;es are obtained fmn RS Laninuer on a nonthly basis. Tadges monitor betas Canna, fast ani thermal n 'strens. L'inimal reporting fo - Landa"er is 10 nren X-ray and gan .a; LO nrem beta; 20 nrem fast ne'itron; and 10 r:ren themal neuten. ?.ecords were revie. sed for enlendar years 1960, 1970 oni 1/71 (thru April 1971.) Yearly to tals were as follo ts t ,

People nonitored  :'o. Ilinimal Rance in nren

% ., . CY 1-69 13 9 min. to 80

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CT 1970 18 13 min. to llO

'"i 1971 . 12 12 all nininal Dosiretern are also provided all per:onnel. If dosimeter goes off scale (200 mr) badge is pulled and sent fer 1 :nediate processing.

All s'ich cccurrences have teen ite to dropped desireters; film ladge recults shcuei no exnceures.

2. :indioactive sanples are doub1; encapsulated in sealei plastic viale and are irradiated in the " lazy s tsan" turntaile or in the rab it tubes. Die turnt ble is loaiei , unloaded and monitored by the recctor operator. Rabbit samplec are

-enitored 'c r the experinenter. A Juno iytsually tised for the enitoring Q a 0.ttie "ie nni a Victorcen LLO are alse available for this nurpece). Survey results are racerded on the "itnetor 1.ctivatirn Request ?orn."

3.f..e area tr;nitor concicts of a Gil t the r.o"nted on the reactor ,

rcen wall alout 13 feet fro- the react 0r and neter resdeut and akrn at the operatin: panel. The nonitor is calibrated at six ronths inter 7alc with a 10 ne radiun s:urce at reveral reints and the c1sm is cet at .L5 nr/hr. ".he noniter is checked vitrE

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a scum , alam cet at .h3 r/hr and backgro'ind reading recor$d a nart of the daily startup check. These pmcedures nect reg'ti-ener.:s

  • of Tech Spec G1 ani G3

!. 16 continuous air .onitor is located in the reactor roon with readout an0 alam at the operatinc nonel. L.,_v di.rr &x At part cf the dai~.y sta t tp check, the filter is chenrei, backcra"nd recerded (e.; 200 cp '

ani alarns cot. Ahrns are set at 1000 cp (lo-r) cnd $TO con (high).

?. cien1 backgre"ni lefore filter change is 200 cc, ani af ter filter

.-hanr e is 100 cor. Air is en toled at the rate of 5 cu f t/-in. o

~hese p oced' ires xxx saticry Tech Specs 02 and G3 in regwd to the nir -onitor.

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Radi^ active -aste Systens

1. Liq tid- Dr. O. ". Anders, . Reactor sunervisor, and Joel Chara, radiatien safety officer, stated that there are no liquids fren the noel itself. '!here are co e losses by cyanoration, requirin;* '

-akeun water. Liquids fror. activation sa ples are transferrcd to the co-mnyes broad bproduct natorial license for disnesal with other :nterials. The do-ineralizer resin is chan; ed infrequcntly d te to loss in efficiency in the resin rather than radioactivity b tildup.

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mumme 2. Solid- solid waste rhich consists mostly of activiated sa" oles l . after aaalyses and scent do-ineralizer resin are transferred to

! the broad t:7rodast eaterial license (health physics sec' ion) i fer disposal.Tran'sfers are recorded on the reactor cetivation request

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3. Gaseous- particulate activity in the re .cter roon is nonitored by the centinu us air nonitor. Activity has teen at background levels, arcon bl is gene:atei in the pneunatic- (rabbit) tube systen and exaausted through the high lovel hoed at a rate of 1MO cfn. "his activity is not neniterei. Menever, colculations in the SAR indicate '

that xith concentra'.icnsare t elew Part 20 li-its. 1/ith 'he lov pe::er level and Icw tine uca;;e (about 5 ho rs ner week), activity '

si.ould he belcw the fAR estindtee.

? el ~ ter I teel ::ater 10 filtered ani nortiens denineralized contin"onsly at rate of 5 r:11cns cer nin,te. 3adiat1on icvel veas,recents are ado

-enthly and recorici en the 1.bnthly theck List- IcVels in contact with the de-inerclizcr are 'of the crder of 0.h nr/hr. The resin is chanced alcut once.a year (due to'denletion)- the recin tycically

= has a radiation level of 1 to 2 nr/hr at contact. The socnt resin is transferred to health Physics en the tynmiuct -aterial 2icenne fer disposal. (Lie "c. 21-269-6).

j Ibol water condu tivity ic checked daily by the in-line con 9:ctivity ct11. ?/pien1 readincs are 0.6 unhos per en.

In additicn, ' cnthly sanp'a a nre taken ani checke?. for con +tativity.

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