ML20141N282

Responds to 850927 Order to Show Cause Re Removal of Highly Enriched U to Secure Facility.No Unirradiated High Enriched U Kept on Hand

ML20141N282
Person / Time
Site:	05000000, University of Missouri-Rolla
Issue date:	10/08/1985
From:	Dan Warner MISSOURI, UNIV. OF, ROLLA, MO
To:	NRC OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (SECY)
Shared Package
ML20141N280	List: ML20141N279 ML20141N282 ML20141N285
References
FOIA-85-738 NUDOCS 8603060042
Download: ML20141N282 (1)

Text

School of Min:s rnd M;tillurgy Office of the Dean 104 Mining Building UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ROLLA noita, Missouri 65401 Telephone (314) 3414153 October 8, 1985 Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 Subj ect: Order to Show Cause dated 27 September,1985 Docket No. 50-123

Dear Sirs:

The University of Missouri-Rolla Reactor, License No. R-79, does not have on hand any unirradiated high enriched uraniu.. lllEL') fu '. Thus we .

believe that the Order to Show Cause dated 27 September,1985 does not apply to this facility.

Sincerely, W

\

Don L. Warner, Dean i School of Mines and Metallurgy '

DLW:gf Signed before me on 8th day of October , 1985 Karon Natlock , Notary Public, Phelps County, State of Missouri. Commission expires: 8/21/89 Signature: @n d[c * )

' KARON MATLOCK NOTARY PUOLIC, STATE of MISSOURI MY CoMMISSloN EXPIRCs 8/21/89 PHELPS COUNTY 8603060042 860110 PDR FOIA AFTERGOB5-730 PDR an equal Oppof1 unity institution

, . s s m, , . ~ ., _ . . _., - . _ _

H.

VIRGINIA TECH l .

tilacksixirg, Virginia 24061 Department of (703) 961-6775 Health and Safety October 8, 1985 Mr. John C. Ilo y l e Acting Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

Dear Mr. Ilo y l e :

We received a letter (Docket No. 50-124) from you on Oct.10, 1985 concerning the removal of our unirradiated highly enriched i fuel, to a secure facility.

We wish to advise you that we have changed to a "Possesion Without Utilization" status for our facility license. We submitted, on Sept. 11, 1985, an Appendix A concerning the l disposition of our hot and cold fuel to Mr. Bill Person, DOE, Savannah River Operations, for his review and approval. We have entered into an agreement with Proto-Power Bisco to ship the irradiated fuel and will be making alternate arrangements to remove the small amount of unirradiated fuel in our possession.

By Jan. 1, 1986, we anticipate that we will no longer have any highly enriched fuel at our facility.

Sincerely, X

m A. Keith Furr, Ilead i Department of licalth and Safety Acting Head, Va. Tech. Reactor Facility ec: Dr. Roger Teekell lAMAR "h h.Aw**WlY" Virgin.a Pol > technic Institute and State Uniwrsity r

• /

J CINTICHEM, INC.

a wholly owned subsidor y of Medi-Physics, Inc. P.O DOX G16. TUXEDO. NEW YORK 10907 (914)351-2131 i

October 10, 1985 Secretary of the Comission U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission Washington, IM 20555

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We received your ' Order to Show Cause' dated September 27, 1985, regarding research reactor HEU fuel inventories. We have for many years minimized our inventory of unirradiated reactor fuel and believe that our current practice complies with Provision III (2) of the order.

Provision III (2 ) of the order allows facilities "to maintain an inventory of not more than the amount of fuel depleted in a 90-day pe riod" . Cintichem's MTR research reactor operates on a 95% duty cycle at a power level of five megawatts which corresponds to a fuel usage of 28 standard elements per year. We are maintaining and in the future will maintain an ongoing inventory level of not more than seven unirradiated standard fuel element assemblies. ( A control element, having one half of the amount of HEU as a standard element, will be counted as one half of a standard element for inventory purposes. ) We believe tha t compliance with this inventory limit meets the full intent of this order. Please inform us if the NRC considers our interpretation of this order to be incorrect.

Sincerely, N &.WM id ~

William G. Ruzicka Nuclear Operations Manager tGR: mag .

A197J:2341J cc: Executive Legal Director U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555

.- t -

Research Reactor Fac ty UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI nosearch Park r.olumbia. Missouri 65211 October 10, 1985 mennone <3u) ss242n Secretary of The Commission U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission Washington, D. C. 20555 SUBJ ECT: ORDER TO Sil0W CAUSE dated September 27, 1985 DOCKET N0. 50-186 University of Missouri, Columbia The University of Missouri, Columbia, holder of Facility Operating License No. R-103, presents this letter as per 10CFR2.202(d) in answer to the ORDER TO S110W CAUSE dated September 27, 1985.

The University of Missouri, Columbia, consents to the entry of an order in substantially the form proposed in the ORDER TO S110W CAUSE. The provisions set forth in Section 111(2) of this ORDEP, will allow an inventory sufficient for the maintenance of reactor operations at the University of Missouri, Columbia Fac il i ty .

The fuel cycle for the University of Missouri, Colunbia, results in the depletion of 24 fuel elements per year. We interpret Section 111(2) of this ORDER to allow the University of Missouri, Columbia, to maintain an inventory of not more than six (6) unieradiated fuel elements, which corresponds to the number of fuel elements depleted in a 90 day period of normal operation based on one quarter of our annual fuel depletion rate. The six (6) fuel elements represent a quantity of unirradiated Special Nuclear Material that is within the limits set forth in license R-103.

i A an A A n %

OL Q W W #A 4 y at u COLUMBIA KANSAS CITY ROLLA ST. LOUIS

-4 an equai opportun iy .nst.iui.on

,.< ,t.

t 1

Secretary of The Commission October 10, 1985 Page 2 The University of Missouri, Columbia, further interpretsSection III of the ORDER to exclude limits on the quantity of fuel that is in cycle which is considered irradiated as defined in Facility License R-103 and all non-fuel Special Nuclear Material. The total quantity of fuel at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Facility (that which is unirradiated plus that which is irradiated) and the quantity of non-fuel Special Nuclear Material will be main-tained within the limits set forth in License R-103.

FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA DOCKET NO. 50-186 FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE R-103  !

}  ;

I t e ' l

.ff' (

ROBERT M. BRUGGER (

DIRECTOR \g (J xc: Executive Legal Director s U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation i U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  !

Washington, D. C. 20555 xc w/ attach.: Dr. Jay Barton i Vice President for Academic Affairs i

1

l

.- 3 /2 University o f Wisconsin E!!!i233.iEhEiii!3E- h? inh.~i~4r" ---

October 10, 1985 Secretary of the Commission U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C. 20555 Re: Docket 50-156

Dear Sir:

This letter is submitted in response to an Order to Show Cause dated September 27, 1985 The order concerns return of unitradiated high-enriched uranium. Although we have previously begun the steps necessary to comply with section 111 of the order, this letter requests an extension of the 120 day time limit in the order. The reasons for the need for additional time are detailed below.

1. Need for clarification of the order to define what materials must be moved to a secure facility.

A. The order specified "unirradiated" high enriched fuel. A part of the spare fuel inventory on hand at this facility was a part of the core during the test program for the present operational core. Although the power level at which these fuel assemblies were operated was deliberately limited to keep fission product inventory at a level which would allow unshielded storage of the fuel, that portion of the fuel is definitely not unirradiated.

Is it the intent of the order that such fuel be considered irradiated or unirradiated?

B. The order allows retention of fuel to " replace one failed element for each different type element in the core". A clarification of the term

" element" is required. Instrumented fuel elements are loaded as discrete components, while all other elements are loaded as a part of a fuel bundle. Spare fuel is stored assembled in bundles of four elements. A fuel bundle consists of a bottom end fitting which supports the fuel elements (screwed into the bottom end box) and a top fitting which af fords capability for underwater handling of the fuel. A bundle usually contains four elements unless it is intended to contain an instrumented element or a guide tube for a control rod.

Is it the intent of the order that we be allowed to retain one unirradiated instrumented element and one unirradiated fuel bundle, which is a mechanical assembly of four elements?

2. Need for exemption from a Commission rule to allow shipment, -

10 CFR Part 71.12(b) states that the general license for transport of radio-act,1ve material in an approved container " applies only to a licensee who has a quality assurance program approved by the Commission as satisfying the dy esynsvgny/

a h N am h 9 A

-[ k

i

.. .- V.

Octobar 10, 1985

}' ,

S2cretary of tha Commission j l provisions of Subpart H of this part". This,facill;y does not have such a

, Comission-approved program.

We request that the Commission either grant an exemption from this require-ment or modify the order to allow adequate time to obtain Commission approval of such a quality assurance program.

3 Requirements outside the control of the licensee that may preclude full compliance within the 120 day limit in the order.

A. Shipping containers for the fuel type in use have been ordered on our behalf by the U. S. Department of Energy. We have no control over the

! time when these approved containers will be delivered to us.

! B. 00E, the fuel owner, has designated the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, j (operated by Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company, Inc.) as the facility to which we must ship the fuel affected by the order. Receiver's Form i WINCO-6466 (Rev. 3-84) was prepared for the NRC to detail fuel receipt

! criteria. This document states that the form must be submitted "at least 180 days prior to shipment". We submitted the information required l for a portion of our high-enriched uranium inventory on September 10, ,

i 1985 We are unable to complete the form for the remainder of the affected material until the questions raised in part (1.) of this letter

are resolved and information on the shipping container to be used is received from the shipping container manufacturer.

We request that the order be modified to allow sufficient time to meet the requirements of the designated receiver of the material to be shipped.

Sincerely, sl

,/'J. Cashwell

! Reactor Director RJC:mid l XC: Executive Legal Director John Dosa Region lil Administrator l USNRC USNRC-Document Control Desk USNRC Washington, D. C. 20555 Washington, D. C. 20555 Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 Registered Mail, Return Receipt s J & M & A,. w .L,p x NOTARY PUbLIC: //d.e. .A N<b* .6 i

C%s.p a/ Ju l -h f'A A d> J L /u ily Commission hpires f., z _g j -

1 4

A.

EfB".

University corvanis, oregon snai non mm Radiation Center L J October i1,1985 Secretary of the Commission U.S. Nuclear llegulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555 iteference: Oregon State University TitlGA lleactor (OSTit),1,1 cense Number it-100, Docket Number 50-243, OllDEll TO SilOW CAUSE dated September 27,1985 Gentlemen:

This letter is in response to the Commission's Order to Show Cause, dated September 27,1985, which establishes limits on the possession of unirradiated high enriched uranium fuel at the OSTil site. As provided for in 10 CFil 2.202(d), Oregon State University hereby consents to the entry of an order in substantially the form proposed in the above-referenced Order to Show Cause.

In consenting to the Commission's order, we would like to formally report that the OSTil is already in compliance with the specific possession criteria for unirradiated, high enriched uranium fuel which are detailed in section Ill, paragraph (1) of the Order to Show Cause. As a result,it is our conclusion that final enactment of the provisions of the Order to Show Cause will require no action on our part.

We trust that the information provided in this response will adequately address the concerns and requirements of the previously referenced order. Ilowever, should there be questions or a need for additional information, please let us know.

Sincerely, ,

l ) rnY- ])

Clifford V. Smith, Jr.

Itcactor Administrator Director, Itadiation Center CVS/ef cc: USNitC Document Control Desk, Washington, D.C.

USNitC, llegion V, Walnut Creek, California, Attn: llegional Administrator Director, Oregon Department of Energy Vice President T. D. Parsons, OSU T. V. Anderson S. E.13inney

11. Dodd A. G. Johnson ]f,,, J u r. n. ..e. .<_

Gra d e e A aa t- oregon state Universky os an Artirmarsve Action / Equal oppo ' unity Employer y mm m -+ F W

er -

'. l l

Secretary of the Commission 2 October 11,1985 STATE Olt OltEGON )

)ss COUNTY OF llENTON )

C. V. Smith, Jr., being first duly sworn on oath, depose and say that he lias affixed his signature to the letter above in his official capacity as itcactor Administrator; that he Ims signed this letter supplying information in response to the Nuclear llegulatory Commission Order to Show Cause, dated September 27, 1985; that in accordance with the provisions of Part 50, Clmpter 1, Title 10 of the Code of Federal Itegulations, he is attaching this affidavit; that the facts set forth in the within letter are true to his best information and belief, f f -ryrn b /,

Cliffo( ' Smith, Jr.

Ileact r Administrator Subscribed and sworn to before me, a Nota y Public, in and for the County of Elenton, State of Oregon, this Fit 9 day of . ,A.D.,1985.

Ooduo ..J Noti.ry Public of Oregon c,_L t 0- L'1 -D My Commission Expires 1

-r

b, l UNIVERSITY OF WASillNGTON SEA 1TLE WASHINGTON 98195 ,

l t

College of lingineering Departunent of Nuclear lingineering l

l l

l John C. Hoyle l Acting Socrotary

! Nuclear Regulatory Commission

( Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Hoyle:

Wo aro in rocolpt of an ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE rogarding tho dispo-sition of unirradiated highl y enriched nucl ear reactor fuel (HEU) held under Facility Operating License R-73 (Docket No. 50-139).

Upon receipt of thi s order, wo immediately took the necessary steps to dispose of this unirradiated HEU f uel by noti f ying the Richl and Operations Of f ice of the Department of Energy that we wished them to resume physical custody of this fuel which is owned by the Department of Energy.

M s. Rhoda Roosch of the Richland Operations.0ffice of the Department of Enorgy (ROO-DOE) has informed us that the time required to f u l l y identi f y, categorizo, and prepare this fuel for shipment and to arrange transportation in accordance with alI relevant regulations will require more than the allowed 120 days.

Since we began the necessary steps to dispose of the f uel imme-diatel y upon recolpt of the order, and because I t is not possib le f or ROO-DOE to imp l ement the shipping and recolpt of the fuel durino the required 120 days, we hereby request that our author-Ity to oossess unirradiated HEU fuel be continued until such time as R00-b9E is ab l e to assume possess ion. R00-00E i s u n ab l e, at this timo, to establish the date by which they wil I assume pos-session of ihe fuol.

i Any questions regarding this request may be addressed to the

( undersigned or to Mr.W.P. Miller at the same address.

nn jn e a A&g s eu.v gJJY Benson llall, ilF-10 / Telerhone: (206) 313-175, l

y

r o- -

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincoroly, fu Maurico A. Robkin Ph.D., P.E.

Profossor of Environmental Health Professor of Nuclear Enginooring Director, Nuclear Engincoring Laboratory (206) 543-4170 October 14, 1985 c.c. J. Ray Bowen, Doan, College of Engincoring Kermit L. Gariid, Vico-Provost, University of Washington Albert L. Babb, Chairman, Dopartment of Nuclear Engineering Rhoda Roosch, Richland Operations Offico DOE Subucribed and sworn to before me dub 0 this d y of X8Jzan$ny!'

ilotary Pgolic in and for .the State of hshingtos* residing at Seattle

f l .'

l The Ohio State University Engineering Empetiment Station l 142 Hitchcock Hall V

l 2070 Ned Avenue Columbus Ohio 43210 l

Phone 614 422-2411 October 17, 1985 l

John C. Hoyle, Acting Secretary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l Washington, DC 20555 l

j

Dear Sir:

In reference to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Order to Show Cause, dated September 27, 1985, dealing with the removal of excess unirradiated high enriched urantum (HEU) tuel from the Ohio State University Research Reactor, Docket Number 50 -150; the following response is provided to justify not imposing the provisions of Section i III of the Order.

l l Currently The Ohio State University possesses only irradiated fuel l

elements. The elements in storage now include the following:

LNP - 10 -

140.61 g. U-235

, LNP - P - 1 -

42.11 g. U-235 l

LNP - P - 2 -

56.47 g. U-235 LNP - P - 3 -

70.91 g. U-235 LNP - P - 4 -

84.64 g. U-235 Each of these elenents does have a history in the core of the reactor when it was critical, although none of them have been irradiated for several years. Since all of this fuel is irradiated, however, it should be exempt according to Section III, (1) of the Order.

In addition, the following reasons are delineated to justify not imposing the provisions of Section III of the Order:

1. The fuel is stored securely in a fuel storage pit. It is under twenty feet of water and the pit is covered by two eight inch thick lead doors. Access to the fuel is further limited by a combination of alarms and padlocks as described in our " Security Plan for Protection of Special huclear l Material of Moderate Strategic Significance" approved by the l

NRC March 2, 1982.

1 l

• • IIAll/bdTOs I

College of Engineenng

John C. Hoyle U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission October 17, 1985 Page 2

2. We are in the process of

• converting from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. In July, 1985 the Department of Energy awarded The Ohio State Univer-sity Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL) a matching fund grant (Grant fiumber DE-FG02-85ER75201) to upgrade its Research Reactor. Part of this grant is to facilitate conversion to low enriched uranium. We anticipate all of the high enriched uranium at the OSU NRL will be removed sometime in calendar year 1987.

We believe that the above rationale shows cause why the provisions in Section Ill of the Order should not be imposed on The Ohio State University Research Reactor.

Sincerely, fbA./ Lese Robert F. Redmond Director RFR/ih cc: Executive Legal Director, U.S. NRC Don W. Miller, Director OSU NRL Richard D. Myser, Associate Director, OSU f4RL John Dosa, ONRR NRC Robert F. Redmond appeared before me on October 17,1985, and signed the above.

l-(,.(, i

'4 ,i

/

i.: ~ 1 ". '

I * ~ '." : - P I 1 l

l

s' g

UNITED STATES OF AMEltICA NUCLEAll llEGU LATCitY COMMISSION In the matter of PENNSYLVANI A STATE IINIVEllSITY Docket No. 50-5 (Ilesea rch Reactor)

ANSWER TO ORDEll TO SilOW CAUSE The Pennsylvania State University (the "I.icen see" ) ,

holder of Pacility Operating I,icense No. R-2 issued by the huclear Regulatory Commission (the " Commission") hereby answers the Order to Show Cause, dated September 27, 1985, of the Commission as follows:

1. The I.icensee hereby consents to the entry of an order in substantially the form set forth in Section III of the Order to Show Cause.

2. It is the good faith intention of the Licensee to transport all its unirradiated MTR fuel ele-ments containing high enriched urani to the secure facility at the Department of Energy Gak Itidge National Laboratory within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the date of this Answer, which date, by virtue of the terms of the Order to Show Cause, in the e f fective date of the order substantially in the form of Section III.

'N/)CMQ -------- - -- -- - - -- - - -

~. ~

7 .. ,

9 t

3. The consent of the Licensee is subject to the following conditions:

(a) The Department of Energy must agree to accept the said fuel elements. To date, the Department of Energy at Oak Ridge National 1

Laboratory has not responded to inquiries concern-l ing its receipt of said fuel elements.

l (b) The Licensee must secure a suitabic

{ shipping cask from some source in order to j transport said fuel elements. Licensee is making 3

good faith efforts in this regard.

{ 4. Licensee's consent to the entry of such i

t Order is without prejudice to any defense or other matter it may raise in the event that the commission socks to i impose civil penalties pursuant to 10 CFR $2.205.

i Respectfully submitted, 5 The. Pennsylvania State

University By

Charles L. Itosler i Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School ,

i Date: October // , 1985 I

i i

I

i ,

COMMONWEALTil OF PENNSYLVANIA )

) SS:

COUNTY OF CENTRE )

BEFORE ME, a Notary Public, in and for said County and Commonwealth, personally appeared CilARLES L.

HOSLER, who, being duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he is Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate. School of The Pennsylvania State University, that.

he has read the Answer To Order To Show Cause in the foregoing matter, and that the averments contained therein are true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.

CliARLES L. IIOSLER Sworn to and subscribed before me this /f44. day of October, 1985.

ht&M) h WGefktZo'fdU f Notary Public MARY A. HORTHAMEP, Notory PubGe University Park, Centre Co., Pa.

My Commbsion Empires May 8,1989 1

1 1

_________i

7, cAo

... .~ .s l /RE 1 *

< 'Y I Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York 12181 October 18, 1985 Secretary of the Commission U. S. Nuc1 car Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555

Dear Sir:

Enclosed is the Answer and Consent of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Order to Show Cause.

Sincerely, 9/

Dr. Donald R. Ilarris. Director RPI Critical Facility DRH/jm Enclosure cc: Executive Legal Director, NRC 1.. Feeser C. Judd R. Lahey D. Sangrey F. Wicks I oh f A $

yg c-y4

da a

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of Docket. No. 50-225 RENSSELAER POLYTEC!!NIC INSTITUTE (Critical Experiment Pacility) ANSWER & CONSENT DONALD R. IIARRIS, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

1. I am the Director of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Critical Facility.

2. The RPI Reactor Facility has less than one llEU fuel element on-sight in addic. ion to the reactor core.

3. RPI consents to the provisions set forth in Section III of the Order to Show Cause issued by the United States of America Nucicar Regulatory Commission, John C. Ilo yle , Acting Secretary.

/

/ /1(4[/'

p' . .< .Lvw$

// DONALDA<. IIARRIS Sworn to be fore me this e9.\ day of October, 19 5.

i&(

• ra totary Public ~ f

. z.,~r:

.- , *.:Nc , ; , ! 'q- .y y;,-g 9..-d . $w;.it.Ctcdf County, Od A.6 4M figv.,5 i.4hch 30,19..d.7