ML20137K861

Annual Operating Rept for 1985

ML20137K861
Person / Time
Site:	University of Virginia
Issue date:	01/13/1986
From:	Farrar J VIRGINIA, UNIV. OF, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
To:	Thomas C Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
NUDOCS 8601240248
Download: ML20137K861 (14)

Text

. .

r O,A,1 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING PilYSICS NUCLEAR REACTOR FACILITY

( j SCilOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE Cll ARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22901

, r January 13, 1986 Telephone: 801-924-7136 Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Attention: Mr. Cecil 0. Thomas Re: Docket No. 50-62 Docket No. 50-396 Gentlemen:

We hereby submit, as required by Section 6.6.2 of the Technical Specifications, our annual report of the operations of the University of Virginia Reactor (UVAR), License No. R-66, Docket Number 50-62 and the CAVALIER Reactor, License No. R-123, Docket Number 50-396 during the -

period January 1, 1985 through December 31, 1985.

1 A. UVAR Reactor l

1. The UVAR was operated during the year as follows:

Pours operated MW hours ,

First Quarter 205 315.08 l Second Quarter 184.5 185.78 '

Third Quarter 167.5 237.96 Fourth Quarter 161 188.46 l TOTAL 718 927.28

2. Rod Drop Tests and Visual Inspection Technical Specification Requirements:

Rod drop times measured at least semi-annually magnet release < 50 msec free drop time < 700 msec Rod visually inspected at least annually 8601240240 e60113 PDR ADOCK 05000062 70 R PDR ,

j,

Page 2 of 14 Rod drop tests were made on the UVAR reactor as follows:

Total Magnet Rod Magnet Free drop Date Rod Current (ma) Position (inches) Release (msec) Drop (msec) (msec) 5!7DT85 1 160 26 17 494.5 511.5 2 160, 26 41.2 479.4 520.6 3 70 26 17 603 620 6-3-85 1 160 26 24 496 520 2 160, 26 38 478 516 3 70 26 27 448 475 8-30-85 1 160 26 26.5 494 520.5 2 160, 26 30 477 507 3 70 26 30 462 492 12-5-85 1 160 26 31.3 496 527.3 2 160, 26 41.9 479 520.9 3 65 26 41.0 458 499 The rod drop time; continue to ha within the limits required by the Technical Specifications. The difference in the magnet current for rod #3 is due to a different magnet that does not need a higher current to operate.

The UVAR Control rods were visually inspected three times during the calendar year. The following is abstracted from the reactor log book and the surveillance files.

Date 5:3T-85 Rod #1 - Visually inspected rod #1 under approximately 4 feet of water. No evidence of cracking, no rub marks. Rod passes 0.95" gage easily.

Rod #2 - Visually inspected rod #2 under approximately 4 feet of water. No visible rub marks or evidence of cracking. Rod passes 0.95" gage easily.

Rod #3 - Visually inspected rod #3 under approximately_4 feet of water. No visible rub marks.

Rod passes 0.95" gage easily.

8-29-85 Visually inspected rods 1, 2 and 3 under approximately 4 feet of water. No visible rub marks. All three rods pass 0.95" gage easily.

12-4-85 Visually inspected Rods 1, 2 and 3 under approximately 4 feet of water. No visible rub marks. All three rods pass 0.95" gage easily. Visually inspected regulating rod under approximately 4 feet of water. Some rub marks along edge of rod, Rod passes 1.0" gage easily.

J i

Page 3 of 14 3.0 Maintenance Operations The following maintenance was performed on the UVAR reactor system during the calendar year 1985.

1-22-85 Escape Hatch Scram - Not giving scram signal. Found " sticky" switch. Replaced switch with magnet type. System checked out o.k.

4 2-11-85 Hot cell area monitor not functioning properly. Replaced bad capacitor and calibrated detector.

Air to header solenoid switch. Relocated switch from reactor bridge to primary console for easy access for operator when performing daily checklist.

j 3-7-85 Constant Air Monitor - blown fuse. Found burned out power supply transformer. Replaced transformer and fuse. System functioning properly.

3-18-85 Demineralizer room area monitor - monitor erratic. Found I cracked insulation in wiring at detector. Trimmed and resoldered wire. Functions properly.

4-9-85 Cooling tower and secondary side of heat exchanger. Performed annual cleaning of cooling tower and cleaned out tubes on 4

secondary side of heat exchanger. Put system back into l service.

4-29-85 Primary pump packing seal. Mechanical seal on primary pump worn from friction. Replaced packing seal, glands and shaft seal.

5-1-85 Reactor face area monitor - weak signal - replaced resistors in circuit. Monitor functions properly.

5-22-85 Constant air monitor - not functioning properly - found and replaced bad oscillator transistor. System checks out o.k.

7-11-85 Constant air monitor - Power supply burned out. Replaced transistor and power supply. Also added heat sink to system to provide more adequate cooling. System functioning properly.

7-22-85 Constant air monitor - High voltage circuit not functioning properly. Found and replaced bad rectifier and two

transistors. System functioning properly.

7-30-85 Demineralizer Room area monitor. Monitor not functioning I properly. Found and replaced bad pre-amp board. System  !

functions properly. '

)

Page 4 of 14 8-2-85 Scram Logic Mixer Driver #1. Shorted diode during lightening storm. Did not inhibit scram function but did not indicate scram on enunciator panel. Corrective action: replaced diode. Functions properly.

8-13-85 Demineralizer pump. Coupling badly worn between pump and motor. Corrective action: replaced coupling.

Room Argon Monitor: Not functioning properly. Corrective Action: found and replaced bad G.M. tube.

8-16-85 Secondary pump. Shutoff and would not restart. Corrective Action: found and replaced blown fuse.

9-5-85 Power Range Channel #2. Scram setpoint drifting, break point or trip histable not well defined. Corrective action:

replaced bistable.

9-18-85 N-16 monitor. High voltage system not functioning properly.

Corrective action: found and replaced bad regulator and rectifier tubes.

10-9-85 Demineralizer Room Area Monitor: Detector erratic.

Corrective Area: Cleaned contacts at detector and junction box. Calibrated detector with field calibrator. Calibration ok.

11-5-85 Intermediate Range Detector. System would not calibrate properly. Corrective action: found and replaced bad modulator. System recalibrated with no problems.

12-17-85 Constant Air Monitor - Broken window on G.M. detector while performing calibration and reassembly of filter apparatus.

, Corrective Action: replaced detector and recalibrated system.

Repetitive problems with the constant air monitor and demineralizer monitor are being analyzed.

4.0 Standard Operating Procedures The UVAR Standard Operating Procedures were revised during the year as follows:

March 1985 - Section 6 - Irradiation Request Form was upgraded.

Section 10 - Liquid Waste Procedures were upgraded.

May 1985 - Section 17 - Deleted Section 12 (Emergency Procedures) and initiated a new document of Emercency Plan Implementing Procedures.

June 1985 - Section 11 - Upgraded section on Abnormal Conditions.

August 1985 - Section 7 - Changed all surveillance time intervals to be compatible with Technical Spe-ifications.

October 1985 - Section 10 - Upgraded Radiation Control Procedures.

. . .I Page 5 of 14 December 1985 - Section 5 - Upgraded sections on experiments, shutdown margin and excess reactivity.

Section 7 - Added surveillance item on conductivity meters These changes were reviewed and approved by the Reactor Safety Committee.

5.0 Experiments a) A broad program of activation and analysis work was performed during the year for the Departments of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, Chemistry, Radiology and the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory of the U.Va. Hospital, b) A continuing program of tobacco research was performed during the year for the Philip Morris Company involving activation analysis and neutron radiography, c) A series of neutron radiography experiments were performed during the year utilizing the neutron beam ports, d) The UVAR reactor was used during the year for several undergraduate laboratory experiments and by both graduate and undergraduate students for thesis projects.

e) A graduate thesis project measuring the Iodine Partition Coefficient utilized the gamma radiation from irradiated fuel elements in an experiment located at the north end of the reactor pool.

f) A graduate thesis project studying the effects of radiation enhanced corrosion on mild steel in brine solutions utflized the Co-60 facility located at the north end of the reacter pool, g) A series of experiments on electrophoresis were ptrformed during the year.

h) A new epi-thermal rabbit system was installed in the reactor during the year.

The epi-thermal rabbit system as well as several special experiments were reviewed and approved by the Reactor Safety Comittee.

1) The following Academic Institutions utilized the reactor facility for tours and activation analysis experiments Amherst County High School Piedmont Cce unity College Armstrong-Kennedy High School Rappahanock High School Baltimore County High Schools Roanoke College Bridgewater College Sumer Enrich. Prgm.(H.S. Students)

Fork Union Military Academy University of South Carolina Heritage Christian School Waynesboro H.S. Science Club James Madison University West Virginia University Mary Washington College Woodberry Forrest High School Old Dominion University

Page 6 of 14 6.0 Surveillance Requirements The following tests and calibrations were performed as required by Section 4.0 of the Technical Specifications.

a) Monthly Operational checks of the ventilation duct, personnel door, truck door and emergency exit cover, b) Semi-annually

1) Visual inspection of gaskets on personnel door, ventilation duct and truck door.

2) Calibration checks of source range channel, intermediate range channel, linear power channel, core gamma monitor, bridge radiation monitor, reactor face monitor, duct argon monitor, constant air monitor, pool level monitors, pool temperature monitors, core differential pool temperature and primary flow, c) Annually

1) Visual inspection of the shim rods are required annually but were actually inspected 3 times during the year as noted in Section A.2 of this report.

2) The emergency cooling system was tested during the month of September 1985. The results are as follows:

S.E. Tank S.W. Tank Required flow, gal / min 11.0 11.5 9-30-85 Actual flow, gal / min 11.5 12.5 d) The daily checklist, which is completed when the reactor is to be operated, provides for checks on all of the required scram systems associated with the reactor.

e) The Technical Specifications require that the pH and conductivity of the pool water be measured at least once every two weeks. These measurements are actually made on a daily basis when the reactor is operating and at least once each week. These measurements have indicated that the water quality is maintained well within the technical specification limits.

f) The core configuration for the UVAR reactor was changed 3 times during the year in order to rotate all of the fuel in the pool through the reactor and keep it self-protecting for security purposes, g) The security system and emergency communications with the University Police was checked on a weekly basis throughout the year.

h) The fire alarm system was checked during the month of December for proper alam functions both in the facility and at the University i Police Department. l Data on all of these tests and calibrations is on file at the I l

facility.

l l

l

Page 7 of 14 l

l l

7.0 UVAR Pool Make-up Water During the calendar year 1985 make-up water to the UVAR pool i averaged 21.2 gal / day.

8.0 Unplanned Shutdowns Following is a list of unplanned shutdowns occurring on the UVAR reactor during the calendar year 1985.

Date:

T-76-85 Scram - Power Range #2, reading at 120%, caused by noise in console while moving rods. Corrective actions: none, restarted reactor with no problem.

j 2-20-85 Scram - Intermediate Period Channel when moving fuel element i near detector during loading procedure. Reactor was sub-critical and not fully loaded. Corrective Action: reset console and proceeded with loading.

l 2-22-85 Scram - Bridge radiation monitor when withdrawing sample from flux trap near surface of pool. Corrective action:

lowered sample in pool and left for two days for decay.

3-12-85 Scram - Pool level #1 monitor. Level was at 19 feet 4 inches at the time and reactor was being started-up. Corrective action: made up pool to approximately 19 feet 5 1/2 inches, i 3-28-85 Scram - Power Range #2 caused by noise when moving range switch while reducing power. Corrective action: none.

I 5-2-85 Scram - Temporary loss of building power. Corrective action:

none.

5-8-85 Scram - Noise on Intermediate Period Channel - reactor power was level at 2 MW at the time. Corrective Action: none restarted reactor with no problem.

J 5-16-85 Scram - Noise in console while moving rod switches - reactor was subcritical at the time. Corrective action: none.

6-5-85 Scram - Noise in console - indication was pump-on scram although reactor was in natural convection mode and pump had

' not been started. Reactor was sub-critical at the time.

Corrective action: none.

6-13-85 Scram - Temporary loss of building power. Corrective action:

none.

1

7-25-85 Scram - Temporary loss of building power. Corrective action

none.

l l 7-29-85 Scram - Noise in console - reactor was subcritical at the l

time. Corrective action: none.

8

Page 8 of 14 8-28-85 Scram - noise on reactor face monitor while adjusting recorder. Reactor was restarted with no problem. Corrective action: none.

9-4-85 Scram - noise in console. Pump off indication although reactor was at approximately 25 watts in natural convection mode and the pump was not on. Corrective Action: none.

9-11-85 Scram - Temporary loss of building power. Corrective action:

None.

10-24-85 Scram - Operator shutdown reactor by turning off primary pump 11-21-85 when small piece of debris was noted on one of the fuel elements. Corrective Action: removed debris and restarted reactor. Debris was small piece of tape.

11-22-85 Scram - Power Range #2 - Reactor power at approximately 60 watts and rising. Attributed to noise. Reactor was restarted with no problems. Corrective action: none.

12-6-85 2 scrams - when moving fuel near intermediate channel detector during loading of reactor. Corrective action:

rese: console and proceeded with loading.

Scram - moving neutron source near detector. Corrective Action: relocated source.

12-9-85 Sc_ ram - loss of primary console power when circuit breaker tripped while withdrawing rod #1 during core loading.

Corrective action: found possible short circuit in rod upper limit switch. Contacts were very close to rod housing. Insulated and reset breaker. Proceeded with reactor loading.

12-12-85 Scram - console noise while positioning rods during rod calibration. Panel indication was " pump off" scram even though the pump was already off and the reactor was in the natural convection mode. Corrective action: reset panel and continued with rod calibration.

Scram - Intermediate period scram when neutron source was moved near detector. Corrective action: repositioned source.

12-13-85 Scram - Intermediate Channel Period when moving neutron source near detector. Corrective action: repositioned source.

B. CAVALIER Reactor The reactor operating license for the CAVALIER License R-123, was renewed by the NRC on May 17, 1985 for a period of 20 years.

Page 9 of 14 The CAVALIER reactor was unloaded during May,1984 in order to utilize the fuel elements in the UVAR reactor which was operating around the clock at that time. The CAVALIER was reloaded with new fuel elements during the spring of 1985 and a report of that loading was sent

to the NRC on August 19, 1985.

1.0 CAVALIER 0)eration The CAVALIER reactor was operated during the calendar year 1985 as follows:

l Hours Operated Watt-hours First Quarter 13.5 0 Second Quarter 48.5 37.5

' l .0 l Third Quarter 8.0

Fourth Quarter 5.5 13.7 TOTAL 68.5 59.2 l 2.0 Rod Drop Tests Technical Specification requirements

Rod drop times measured at least semi-annually, j Magnet release time < 100 milliseconds l

Free drop time < 700 milliseconds j Rod Position Magnet Magnet Release Free Drop Date Rod (Inches) Voltage Time (msec) Time (msec) Total Drop)

Time (msec 1'

3-8-85 1 26 18 48 436 484 2 26 28 23 531 559 3 26 18 53 586 639 4 26 24 63 502 565 9-19-85 1 26 18 30 462 492 2 26 28 33 510 543 3 26 18 91 496 587 i 4 26 23 64 499 563 3.0 Maintenance i

The following maintenance was performed on the CAVALIER reactor system during the calendar year 1985.

] 3-13-85 Linear channel reading unstable. Found High Voltage power j supply oscillating. Replaced High Voltage power supply, j Channel functions properly.

{ 5-22-85 Log N channel not functioning properly in several calibrate 1

positions. Found broken wire from modulator to demodulator.

Resoldered wire and calibrated system.

j 7-17-85 Scram alarm relay " chatters" and floating current found in solid state relay. Installed resistor in system to correct problem. System functioning properly, i

Page 10 of 14 11-19-85 Area radiation monitor (Tank top) not responding properly.

Found and replaced failed transistor. Calibrated detector 1

and put back into service.

4.0 Standard Operating Procedures The CAVALIER Standard Operating Procedures were revised during the year as follows:

April 1985 - Section 7 - The section on control rod calibration was upgraded and expanded.

l May 1985 - Section 12 - Deleted section 12 (Emergency Procedures) and initiated a new document of Emergency Plan Implementing Procedures.

1 August 1985 - Section 7 - Changed all surveillance time intervals to be compatible with Technical Specifications.

December 1985 - Section 7 - added surveillance item on conductivity meters.

These changes were reviewed and approved by the Reactor Safety j Committee.

i 5.0 Reactor Operation j After the CAVALIER was reloaded in the late spring a power j calibration was performed using foil activation techniques and the rods were calibrated to determine shutdown margin and excess reactivity. The l balance of operations for the year were primarily for training and requalification operations for the licensed operators.

1 6.0 Surveillance Requirements

The following tests and calibrations were performed on the CAVALIER system during 1985 as required by Section 4 of the Technical i Specifications.

! a) The following tests and calibrations were performed at intervals 9

not exceeding six months.

Calibration of sourca range channels, log N channel, Log G channel, linear power channel, pool level monitor, radiation monitoring system and baron concentration in the ARIS system.

All of these tests and calibrations were within limits required by the Technical Specifications.

b) A flow test of the ARIS system was performed as follows:

Date Time to Empty Tank 1T 2E-85 35 seconds This was well within the required time of approximately one minute.

Page 11 of 14 c) Control rod calibrations were performed after the CAVALIER was reloaded.

d) The daily check list which is completed when the reactor is to be operated, provides for checks on all of the required scram systems associated with the reactor.

Data on all of these tests and calibrations is on file at the facility.

7.0 Unplanned Shutdowns The following unplanned shutdowns occurred on the CAVALIER reactor during the calendar year 1985. ,

Date TT3-85 Scram - noise in Log G channel. Corrective action; found and replaced oscillating power supply in linear channel, which is connected to Log G. system. Calibrated Log G.

system.

3-29-85 2 scrams - noise in console when moving rods. Corrective action: none.

4-3-85 Scram - Noise in Log N Recorder. Corrective action: none 4-15-85 Scram - Noise in console while moving rod #2. Corrective Action: none.

12-18-85 Noise in console caused Rod #2 to drop followed by full scram. Chattering relay while moving rod #3 caused rod #2 to drop. Corrective action: none.

C. Health Physics a) Atmospheric Release The following effluent was released to the atmosphere during the calendar year 1985 as a result of reactor operation.

Argon-41 1.34 curies This value is considered an upper limit based on conservative calculations related to MW hours of operation.

b) Solid Waste During the calendar year 1985 approximately 154 cubic feet of solid waste was shipped from the facility by Teledyne Inc.

The activity or the waste was as follows:

Page 12 of 14  ;

i J Activity Activity Isotope (millicuries) Isotope (millicuries)

I-131 3.21 Mn-54 4.17 Na-24 0.027 Zn-65 3.2 Fe-59 0.027 Co-58 3.0 Tc-99 0.001 C-14 0.02 Cr-51 5.0 Ag-110"" 0.005 Co-60 5.18 Ag-108 0.001

TOTAL 23.841 l C. Liquid Waste During the calendar year 1985 liquid waste from the regeneration 1 of the demineralizer system was released and diluted with water from the hold-up pond.

I Activity (uci) volume (gallons) j First Quarter 194.3 1661100 i Second Quarter 122,7 1443200 Third Quarter 39.5 666300 Fourth Quarter 172.44 3130000 TOTAL 728.94 6900600 The average specific activity released was'2.03 x 10-8 uci/ml l During the fall of 1985 samples of the waste tank water and the hold-up pond were analyzed independently by " Controls for Environmental Polution Inc." of Sante Fe, New Mexico. They performed an isotopic analysis for Iodine-129, Radium-226 and Radium-228. The analysis showed these isotopes to be below their minimum limits of detectability as i follows:

Tank Water and Pond Water Isotope Specific Activity l Iodine-129 Radium-226

<0.5x10"luci/ml

< 0.6 x 10 9 pci/ml Radium-228 < l'x 10' uci/ml i

! based on this analysis and the provisions of 10 CFR part 20, note to 1 appendix B, Table C the MPC for our liquid effluent release is 1 x 10~7 uci/mlalthoughthisfacilitymakeseveryefforttomaintainalevel below 3 x 10~ uci/ml, which is the MPC for unknown isotopes.

i 3.0 Personnel Monitoring i During the calendar year 1985 approximately 133 personnel including j faculty, staff and students were monitored by film badges supplied by the R.S. Landauer Company. The highest exposures were by three staff members directly involved with the operation of the facility and the handling of samples involving with activation analysis.

1 Whole Body Dose (as 'of 10-31-85) Extremity Dose Individual A 410 mrem 3960 mrem

, Individual B 260 mrem 1420 mrem l Individual C 140 mrem not monitored 4

Page 13 of 14 During the calendar year 1985 the facility had 2478 visitors. These visitors were monitored with direct reading dosimeters. The average exposure was 1.1 mrem.

D. Miscellaneous

1) Formal meetings of the Reactor Safety Committee were held on the following dates:

s March 1, 1985 October 11, 1985 March 27, 1985 December 5,1985 August 15, 1985 a subcommittee of the Reactor Safety Committee performed audits of the facility operations in June and September 1985.

2) The NRC office of Inspection and Enforcement from Region II held inspections at our facility on the following dates:

a) July 22 - July 26, 1985. Inspection in the areas of radiation control, environmental protection and transportation.

b) August 19 - August 23, 1985. Two individuals from the Region II office and one from NRC Headquarters visited the facility to evaluate and inspect our Emergency Preparedness program. They performed a detailed review of our Emergency Plan and

. Implementing Procedures, interviewed staff members that would be involved in an emergency situation and contacted off-site support organizations.

c) November 6 - November 8, 1985. Resident Inspectors from the North Anna and Surrey Power Plants inspected our facility in tl.e area of reactor operations.

3) A practice evacuation of our facility was held on December 9,1985 to check the effectiveness of our personnel accountability procedures. From the time the evacuation alarm was sounded all personnel were accounted for in less than 8 minutes.

4) On October 2, 1985 the facility received the " order to show cause" concerning the removal of spare HEU fuel at our facility. We-had anticipated this requirement and had previously transferred practically all of our unused HEU fuel to the Babcock and Wilcox Company on September 24, 1985.

E. Personnel

1) Reactor operator exams were given at this facility during the month of May,1985 resulting in the licensing of one Senior Reactor Operator and one Reactor Operator..

N i

. s Page 14 of 14

2) In August 1985 changes were made in the organizational structure of the facility in order to make our operations more efficient. Mr.

J.P. Farrar, who has been the sole reactor supervisor for 19 years is now the Reactor Administrator. Mr. P.E. Benenche, who has been a Research Engineer at this facility-for 6 years, was appointed Reactor Operations Supervisor and is responsible for the day to day operation of the UVAR reactor.

This report has been reviewed and approved by the Reactor Safety Committee.

Sincerely,

- W J.P. Farrar, Administrator Reactor Facility Sworn to and subscribed befere me thie /

day of Witness dS_M( 4_.

.and and c.0:!:! gd.

19 8 TIo { Notary Pub!;c m=~ ms wn w 1

!