ML20148F319

Annual Rept for 1987.Related Info,Including Revised Procedure 3800, Liquid Waste Disposal Sys, from Chapter 15 of Auxiliary Sys Encl

ML20148F319
Person / Time
Site:	Neely Research Reactor
Issue date:	02/26/1988
From:	Karam R Neely Research Reactor, ATLANTA, GA
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION II)
References
NUDOCS 8803280126
Download: ML20148F319 (20)

Text

. _ _ _ _

x. l

.498r 5 f 1 Georgia Institute of Technof6gy '

h A '

NEELY NUCLEAR RESEARCH CENkE A *

] '

. 900 ATLANTIC DAIVE e' e ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30332-0425 i.

/ t o

February 26, 1988 $$

f

n. .

A  ;

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II U-- r 101 Marietta Street, N.W. I$ -

Atlanta, Georgia 30303 cp ,

a

Reference:

Docket 50-160; License R-97 L Gentlemen:

Pursuant to Section 6.7a of the Technical Specifications for the  :

Georgia Tech Research Reactor (License R-97),. the ,following annual report is submitted. Tne reporting period -is January 1, 1987  :

through December 31, 1987 (calendar yea r 1987) . The designation i of the sections below follow the title and order of Section 6.7a f of our Technical Specifications.

~

1. Operations Summary  ;

a. Changes in Faqility Design The re was a minor change . in f acility des'ign compr ising i adding filters to the liquid waste system during this reporting period. .(See appended minutes of the  !

Nuclear Safeguards Committee.)  ;

l

b. Performance Characteristics ' l During the reporting period the reactor was operated at power levels up to 1000 kw ( t) using a 17-element core. Fuel performance has continued to be satisfactory with no known problems. (On February 3, 1987, due to a malfunction of the power level recorder, the power level climbed momentarily to 2.3 j MW (see minutes of the Nuclear Safeguards Committee). d l

8803280{k$$0hbI60 PDR AU DCD R

\

A Urut of the Uruwrs4ty Sys'ern of Georg,a An Equal Educaton and Ernplorm*rd opporturwty insttuten CEV2

~

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 2 l February 26, 1988

c. Chan,ges i_nJp,e,r a t i ng_ Procedur_es The following procedures were slightly modified, reviewed _and approved by the Nuclear Safeguards Committee.

! 2012 Operating Log - Experiment Status l '3800 Liquid Waste Disposal System l 2011 Operating Data Log - Field j 3100 Minor Experiment Approval 4400 Analysis in Reactor Cover Gas 7220 D,ilding BQ Isolation Test 7246- Control Element Reactivity Worth Measurement 6100 Emergency Notification Emergency Plan Part I 7245 Reactor Shutdown Margin Determination 4300- Procedure Modification 9280 Personnel Surveying 2015 Reactor Power Calibration 9040 Liquid Waste Tank Analysis 2210 This procedure was deleted by the Nuclear Safeguards Committee

d. Results_of Surveillance Tests and Inspections The surveillance tests and inspections of the f acility required by the Technical Specifications were p9rformed. Documentation of each of the tests and inspections are available at the site for review.

e. Changes,_ Tests and Experiments _ Approved by USNRC l There were no changes, tests or experiments that

! required the approval of the USNRC pursuant to 10 CFR 50.59 (a).

f. Changes in Plant _ Staff and Committee Membershig Dr. R.A. Karam, Director, Nuclear Research Center l Mr. Leslie D. McDowell, Reactor Supervisor l Dr. R.A. Karam, Reactor Engineer Mr. R.M. Boyd, Radiological Safety Of ficer Mr. William Downs, Senior Reactor Operator Mr. Mitch Mercer, Electronics Specialist i Mr. David Cox, a Trainee for Reactor Operator l Mr. Jerry Taylor, Senior Radioisotope Lab l Specialist Mrs. Judy Rodgers, Administrative Secretary 1

l

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 3 February 26, 1988 Mr. Paul Sheipe, Safety Engineering Assistant Daphne Aycock, Administrative Secretary Mr. Steve Millspaugh, Research Scientist I The current organization of the Nuclear Safeguards Committee is as follows:

Nuclear Safeguards Committee membership f rom January 1, 1987 to J une 30, 1987 was:

Mr. R.M. Boyd Dr. J. Mahaffey, Chairman Dr. B. Kahn Mr. L.D. McDowell Dr. R.N. Macdonald Dr. Henry Neumann Dr. P. Desai Mr. J. Hopper Nuclear Safeguards Committee membership f rom July 1, 1987 through December 31, 1987 was:

Dr. B. Kahn, Chairman Dr. P. Desai Dr. Howard D. Edwards Dr. Richard Fink Dr. James Mahaffey Dr. R.N. Macdonald Dr. Henry Neumann Mr. G.L. Petherick, Mr. Jack Vickery ,, Dr. J.R. Steveppon Dr. Waverly Graham Dr. David Walker Dr. J.R. Stevenson, due to retirement, was re-placed by Dr. Billy Livesay on September 9, 1987.

Dr. David Walker and Dr. Waverly Graham, due to crowded work schedules, were replaced by Dr.

Tudor Thomas and Dr. S.I. Abdel-Khalik re-spectively on December 10, 1988

2. Power Generation For the period January 1, 1987 through December 31, 1987, the total power generatioi of the reactor was 192.01 megawatt hours. The reactor was operated for a total of 236 hours0.00273 days <br />0.0656 hours <br />3.902116e-4 weeks <br />8.9798e-5 months <br /> (see Ib for qualification). There was no operation at power levels higher than 1 MW. I 1

3. Shutdowns  !

During the reporting period there were eight (8) l unscheduled shutdowns of the reactor. These are tabulated in Table 1, as to the cause and preventive action taken.

^

l

m U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 4 February 26, 1988

4. Unscheduled Maintenance on Safety-Related' Systems and Compone nts

1) On January 6, 1987, the cooling water gamma monitor detector probe was replaced. Functional tests after replacement showed that performance was normal.

2) The H 2 O flow recorder alarm annunciator wouldn' t reset on February 20, 1987. A vaccum tube and two resistors were replaced. Solder joints and terminal screws were checked. Functional tests showed that performance was normal again.

3) The absalute and roughing filters were replaced on March 9, 1987.

4) The trace on the H2 O temperature recorder was erratic on April 8, 1987. A gear was replaced and the scanner switches and slide wire were cleaned. After recalibration functional tests showed that performance was normal again.

5) The external power supply for the calibration unit was replaced with a battery on April 8, 1981. Output voltage and Flux Amp 1 and 2 trip setpoints tested appropriately.

6) Picoammeter $2 was erratic on January 9, 1987.

Electronics checked the tubes, cleaned the switch, and adjusted the level and balance output pots. After calibration functional tests showed that performance was normal again.

7) The power level recorder hung-up on February 3, 1987.

The drive motor was disassembled, cleaned and checked. The pulleys and drive cable were cleaned and oiled. Functional tests showed that performance was normal again. (See minutes of the Nuclear Safeguards Committee, 87-02.)

8) The Kanne chamber recorder signal due to a source was not proper on February 4, 1987. The drive motor gear train and two capacitors were replaced. Calibration and source checks showed that performance was again normal.

9) The outside servo range alarm battery was replaced on April 8, 1987. The alarm setpoints were checked and found to be functioning properly.

r 4 . 1 4

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  !

Page 5 i February 26, 1988

10) The Picoammeter il was oscillating on April 13, 1987, i A vacuum tube was replaced. The instrument was recalibrated. Functional tests showed that performance was normal.

11) The compensated ion chamber for Picoammeter il was  !

replaced on April 16, 1987. A' response curve was run. The pre-amplifier voltage, the detec to r, cables, and other components were checked and found to be f unctioning properly.

12) The moving air particulate, MAP-1, was not respond ing  ;

properly on April 22, 1987 and April 24, 1987. The low voltage power supply was adjusted. Functional tests showed that performance was normal again, i

13) Fuel elements in storage were rotated into the core on April 29, 1987 to maintain self-protecting status.

14) A vacuum tube was replaced in the low nitrogen flow alarm on April 29, 1987. It worked fine.

15) The uncompensated ion chamber for Flux Amp 62 was replaced on April 30, 1987. The response to power change was verified as were tne trip setpoints.

Functional tests showed that performance was normal.

16) The trace on the power level recorder was erratic on May 21, 1987. Replaced vacuum tubes, slidewire contacts, pen drive motor. Checked other components. J Tightened loose screw in input resistance network. l The loose connection in the input resistance network j was the root cause for the intermittent malfunction of  ;

this instrument on May 21, 1987' and on February 3, l 1987. l i

17) Primary coolant pump, MD-1, was installed on September 15, 1987. Low D2 0 flow trip setpoints were reset.

Functional tests showed that performance was normal.

18) The delta T on the D 0 temperature recorder was low  ;

on October 22, 1987.2 D3 0 flow and temperature- l recorders were recalibrated. Scanner switches were l cleaned. Response of resistance temperature detectors were checked with constant temperature bath. Power calibration was done and functional tests showed that per formance was normal.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 6 February 26, 1988

19) The pen on conductivity recorder was erratic on October 27, 1987. The drive motor gear train and some vacuum tubes were replaced. The scanner switches were cleaned. Functional tests showed that performance was normal.

20) The low ion chamber voltage alarm wouldn' t reset for Log N-Period il on November 2, 1987. A transistor was replaced in the power supply. The low voltage trip was reset. Functional tests showed that performance was normal.

21) The heat exchanger inlet (Hx-D2) was cleaned on November 20, 1987.

5. Changes, Tests and Experiments Without Prior U.S.N.R.C.

Approval During the reporting period there were sixty-three approved experiments for the Georgia Tech Research Reactor. Each of these was thought to have been evaluated prior to its approval with regard to Section 3.4 of our Technical Specifications. One experiment, R7402, did not receive adequate evaluation. Incident report and delineation of root cause was submitted to NRC-II on February 23, 1988.

6. Radioactive Effluents Releases

a. Gaseous Effluents

1) Gross Radioactivity Releases a) Total gross radioactivity-noble gases:

Curies of Ar-41 (only detectable noble gas) 109.82 1

b) Average normal steady state concentration l released out of stack.

l 1 MW: -6 3.0 x 10 ]

microcuries/cc j S MW: No run at 5 MW l (See Ib for qualifi- l cation.) I c) Maximum instantaneous concentration released:

-6 6.0 x 10 microcuries/cc or 41 113 microcuries/sec Ar j l

i I

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 7 February 26, 1988 d) Percent of Technical specification limit:

19%

l 2) Iodine Released a) Total radioactivity of iodine released:

(Minimum detec table release is 400 microcuries/ year) b) Percent of Technical Specification Limit:

, Less than 1.7 l

3) Particulates Released l

l a) Total gross radioactivity (Beta, Gamma) l released:

Less than 1 microcurie b) Gross alpha radioactivity released:

Less than 1 microcurie c) Total gross radioactivity of nuclides with half-lives greater than eight days:

Less than 1 microcurie

d) Percent of MPC for particulates with half-l lives greater than eight days:

l 1

Less than 0.01

b. Liquid Effluents

1) Total gross radioac tivity (Beta, Gamma) released, excluding tritiym, and average concentration Total Released: 545 microcuries

! Average Concentration: 1.04 x 10 -6 l microcuries/cc before 1 l dilution with other l l Georgia Tech water  !

1 1

1 s The majority is from laboratory sinks or operations outside  ;

the reactor containment building and is not generally l attributable to reactor operations. i l

1

l. - -

L -

Nuclear Regulatory Commission l -~ U.S.

! Page 8 l February 26, 1988

2) Maximum concentration of gross unidentified (Be ta ,

j. G amma) released, excluding tritium, to ,

t unrestricted area:

2.1 x 10 -6 microcuries/cc gross  !

l 3) Total alpha radioactivity-released: (min imum ,

detectability 2 microcuries/ year),:

None

4) Total volume of liquid waste released:

5.0 x 108 ,1 j

5) Total volume o' dilution water:- -

7.4 x 10 10 ,1  ;

6) Total radioactivity and concentration released by_ ,

nuclide ,

58,438.91 microcuries Tritium Average concentration: 1.1 x 10 ~4 i microcuries/cc Tritium .

7) Percent of Technical Specification limit for total

, radioactivity from site l l

34.67% for gross Beta, Gamma exluding tritium and 0.11% for tritium  :

7. Environmental Monitoring i l

a. through,d. Environmental monitoring jg done with 47 i TLD's end 30 film badges. See Figure 1; "Environmental Monitoring Stations."

TLD's are changed on a thtee-month basis.

Film badges are at 30 of the same locations as the TLD's.

c

.n- - - ~ . - - = - - - - - - - - - , ~ . - ,,n, ...-n n,- - - --,--------n--+---.,n,-

a U.S. Nuclear ~ Regulatory Commission Page 9 February 26, 1988 TLD Dose mrem Highest 130 (Station 9)-

Lowest 0 (all stations except 9 and in the stack On three ogcasions (5/27/87, 6/26/87,f/2/87) 4.05 x 10 microguries/cc, 3.711x 10

- microcuries/

cc and 1.42 x 10 microcuriegfcc, respectively was.

identified and measured as Co Minimum sensitivity for TLD is 3 mrem before 7/1/87 and le mrem after 7/1/87 Minimum sensitivity for film badge is 10 mrem This dose was not f rom GTRR operations but rather from sealed sources used for calibration of health physics instruments.

Highest Annual ,

Average Radioactive Level 111 mrem / year (S ta tion 9)

e. Maximum cumulative radiation dose from:

1. Direct radiation and gaseous effluent:

17 mrem /yr

2. Liquid effluents:

none or 1% 10 CFR20 limits

8. Total Occupational Personnel Radiation Exposure for 1987 No person received greater than 1000 mrem to the whole body. No person under the age of 18 years recaived greater than 20 mrem.

This dose which includes background, was not f rom GTRR operations but rather from sealed sources used'for calibration of health physics instruments.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 10 February 26, 1988 If you have any questions concerning this report, please let me know.

Sincerely, b' 7 R.A. Karam Director Nuclear Research Center RAK:jlr pc: Members, Nuclear Safeguards Committee Director, Of fice of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Dr. T.E. Stelson Frank Murphy l

l

Table 1 Uncsheduled Reactor Shutdowns-1987 Report No. Date Trip Signa 1 Cause Corrective Action 87-1 2/3/87 Manual Shutdown A stuck pen on the power icvel Recorder pen drive motor was dissasembled recorder caused the automatic cleaned, regreased and tested for proper control circuit to start pulling response. Cleaned and lubricated all the regulating rod. Reactor pulleys and drive cable. Checked recorder power increased to 2.3 MW before slidewi re. Electronics shop checked the reactor operator noticed response. Functional tests showed that that somthing was wrong. Regu- performance was norm 1. Nuc1 car Safeguards 1ating rod was taken out of Committee required to change period trip automatic made and the reactor to 15 seconds and switch to mode 1 was manually shutdown. opera tion.

87-2 2/10/87 Manual Scram Arcing of K-16 relay contacts Disassembled K-16 relay and cleaned when SSB-1 drive motor was contacts. Tested and returned to service.

energized.

87-3 J/17/87 Reactor Tank . Lev-1 The switch is difficult to A new switch was ordered and has been adjust and operate at the low received. The new switch must be reviewed 87-4 4/28/87 Reactor Tank Icvel end of its range because of low and approved by the Nuclear Safeguards pressure differential Committee before installation. In the meantime the switch continued to perform satisfactorily.

87-5 4/30/87 Power Trip (Flux Insulation leakage in the Replaced the uncompensated ion chamber Aws #2) neutron detector caused the flux with a new one.

amp to driEt up to the trip point.

87-6 S/21/87 Flux Amp M1 The power recorder got stuck in a Careful evaluation of root cause revealed manner similar to unscheduled that one electrical lead in the input shutdown #87-1. The power level resistance network was loose due to an this time did not exceed 1.2 MW. untightened screw. Tightening the screw removed the problem.

87-7 5/27/87 Manual Scram Criticality Alarm Required by procedure 87-8 10/17/87 Control Air Low System air pressure was at the Four isolation valves use a large volume pressure low end of its cycling range of air when opened. Corrective action when the ventilation isolation taken was to allow compressor to pump valves were reopened after a up before opening valves.

source check of Kanne chamber.

-w ' -

ii , ..

, y ,y 1 . - -

4

.'; }. ,

Environmenta.1. i, 9, A N{ ( . ) ' s l\/lonitoring

!a[-,i.,'. l:..,! x':';s _

, ,i -

f- '

,/

, \ : [ /(. -

I}

i  ;.

s c~

Stations

' [ em,_, / O29

. '10 , Ii'~

o. v

~ ~S -. hn -

'$ / ,

n -.

[J' / , r -. i

., , j .kh SEPTEMDEll,l W c,- ~~-7.1'L..ji{. 8

,;, :p '

u

/ -

s f j(, , I?

2a

,: _ ._ .I l,' /

, L  !,,% g scai.e vn.-ico!t.

.; y y ;; y,p) \.,, F .w, i.w '

/ eo,.'2 ,

t: .F

-* ~ -'~~ ^ '

w (eW W. Mji] x t ~

_f_ . Uv.t _. j i, ' .

)- y . , c , ( ( ,rq\ -

. iy l 1}; )1 i -.--

m,~ . . ~ ft o 4 ~

w s p ..,

w' ~m.s *42 -

m,f  %)M-4

~ :-

-g,,, -g 1. y2 m .,

4 w'g,; i=-

9,m,xy,m.._

.n-g $_.c ,J,- m s #y p h

~ ]\ \ g{n\2s,_.. .__ -

fgj ; f (.

I*-.]i - ,

,,, p t 2 . .;#W n c .-%  ! ! ] ANNUAL SURFACE i{J]

' y M_ g T2 gA..

WIND ROSE

.c L m, 2 u \ 1

'N

. . _ .,..- + ,.

' w:.ce _.. ., sw

.g

. .. < a

%, \

~'8 Qm . 7. ) . .

). '

grw

. ... roact c. A...

t . . - . t ~~.,? ean ...

, ;; {; 3rm,.n a *p . j*t~.;.

\M.

~ .

d 3 g]_. - A

} " y, .. # _.

vt,

• c.

i% p j

. -- . ,_a , n .. =, / -

,t g.

']j ..'~ L V e; . w y [. ,

r' ooe _/,[

.s=

,yq c- l-ca ; ,g ' ;_ l. t f K(d, *1 3- - -

s 3G_3Ase ./ I sa . "' ' y .7l

. . ,s. , '

m . ,- a_ g .,. - .

s;j .. . - 2 s.

.n_5.

'yx,g _ ,[ , ,,.. y. o( a4 ,

1}-

(

• __ _._,,c_,.--eja _.p _ ,

, s

s. , k t p.

j,' ' t ,. ,

,f'J . ' .

i i

t , _<

'/%*f3er /

{_

i

. y,s. . .

/ I ,

..-hwa r.sa f.::~ .

• M "7[*'

T j.spo ,A -

. q. 7/ -: ~ U; s. Ic~. Isv.

..~. . . p* ~ ,

PCf5n'- W p= , ,

w,a ,,,, ee ,,,e aa,,:,

.a ( k

__m._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ __ .

4. .  ; _ _ _ _ _

Garci,a Institute cf Tichnti:gy '

f'

=

( 'Neely Nuclear Research Center ~-~~'

Atlanta, Georgia 30332 ( '

(404) 894 3600 otoRGIA TECH 1885 1965 4 DESIGNING TOMOS. ROW TODAY g 67-3 MINUTES \

HUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS COMMITTEE \

The Committee was called to order _by Chairman, br. James A.

Maha f f oy at 9: 00 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, 1987. 3 Members Present: it . Boyd (late arrival), P. Desai, J. Ilopper, J.

Mahaffey, R. MacDonald,,and D. McDowell, _

i:

Members Absent: B. Kahn , and 11. Neumann s.

Others Prcsont: R.A. Karam, M. Mercer, and S. Millspaugh' ,

3 1

Agenda: 1. Approval of February 10, 1987 meeting minutes' i-

2. Approval of new procedure and modification to procedures y

3. Discussion of draft report by Ad' iloc Commit. tee on GTRR saf ety-related electronic

\

equipment ,

s; q

\ \

1. Minutes ,

The Committee unanimously approved the minutoa of the Fopruary "'

' 4 10, 1987 meeting as submitted. \ s s.

2. Procedure Approval ,  ;

I A new procedure covering the Liquid Waste Disposal System l (Procedure 3800) was circulated to rnembers o f the Committee. This procedure was written in order to meet Technical Specifications 6.4.b(6) and 6.4.b (7) which require having approved procedures detailing the sampling of liquid waste. In addition, the Committee {

was informed of the installation of'stra!ners at three locations in the system of liquid waste storage tanks. One strainer (2500 microns) is located at the output of the two sump pumps; one is i located at the output of the 5000 gallon tank, and one at the I output of the two 1500-gallon tanks. These strainers and a minor pipe ccnnection were added, after approval by the Safequards Committee, so that liquid waste is filtered befcre dumping to the '

Atlante sewer system. Procedure 3800 is appended. j

'i The Comnittee considered Procedure 3800 from the point Yaf 10 CFR 50.59 and concluded that the change did not constitute an ca3 '

unreviewed safety question and that the change enhan::ed ?af ety. g .

The procedure was unanimously approved. -

1 i

5

\

An Equal Educata and Employment Opportunity Instituton A Unit of the University SyWp cf To Ygla w_- =

+

( ,/ ~

-8 f ., *

,, , 8 je i , v' l' Nuclea r Sa f eguards Commi'itse s, Page 2 x April 9, 1987, 87-03 .  !

s Othet prOcedu"es which were modified slightly and approved were: Proccoures 20)l, 2012, 3100, and llealth Physics procedures, page 14, item 14.1.bi All revised procedures are appended.

3. Discussit'n of Draf t Repor t by Ad Hoc Committee on GTRR Satety-Related Electronic Equipment The Committee discussed the draft report and made the following recommendations.

1. Re-issue the. report with.tpi fic factual informdticn clearly stated.

2. Remove ed i to r ials tha t 'a re' no t b a c k c- d h'f ?pec/fics.

3. Correct errors.

4. Strengthen conclusions to reflect Mr. Paul Springer's excellent findings.

There b e i r.g no further busin ss the meeting was adjou 2d, the next .eet ing shoul.1 be on or before July 9, 1987.

l Submitted O' M' Nl R.A. Karam A r, f i l 20, 1987 i

RAM:jlr Attachments a l a

w s

n_ _ _ _ _ )

l .. .

I I GEORGIA TECil RESEARCil REACTOR l napter l 1 Procedure 3800 5 .I I Last Rev. 04/09/87 s.u x i l i a r y 'l Liquid Waste. l Last Rev. App. 04/09/87 i,v s t em s l Disposal System l Page 1 of 3 I. Purpose To assure that any release of radioactive effluents to the environ-ment from the liquid waste disposal system is within specified limits. . Waste water may be collected in either the 5000 gallon suspect Waste tank or the two 1500 gallon Low-Level. Waste tanks.

II. Pumping _ Low-Level Waste Tanks

a. Switch waste collection to Suspect (the switch is located on the vestibule panel)

Pumping Low Level Tank il

b. Check that valve 336A on the bottom of LLil is OPEN c, OPEN valve 302B (pump 42 suction valve) . All other. valves on the suction manifold should be closed

d. OPEN valve 3058 (pump 82 discharge valve)

e. Check that valves 308a and B and 307A and B (the inlet and  ;

outlet valves to filter il (5 micron) and filter #2 (125 micron)) are OPEN

f. Check that valves 309A and B (filter bypass valves) are CLOSED

g. OPEN valve 340A (cross connection f rom 82 discharge manifold.

to il pump discharge)

h. Check that valve 305A (pump fl discharge) is CLOSED

1. Check that valve 318B is CLOSED. OPEN valve 318A .

j. OPEN valve 31]A

k. Start the pump 1 1, Recirculate LLil for several minutes. OPEN valve 306A and obtain a 500 m1 sample. Secure the pump

m. Take the sample to llP for analysis.- If analysis shows that the sample is within specified limits, proceed to pump the tank 1

n. CLOSE valve 311A. OPEN valve 353A (discharge manifold) j

o. Install the removable spool piece in the sewer discharge line at the discharge manifold

p. OPEN valves 354 and 355. Note: The flow discharge rate will vary from 1000 to 0 gal /hr depending on the pressure drop I across the filters. Blowdown the Y strainer as often as is necessary

q. Start the pump. Note the time and tank level at the start of i the discharge to the sewer  !

i i

- -- - .y - _- 4 . , _ ,-m -m , , , - , . , , - . . . - _ . . , _ . . , . , ,- . . . . - - -Dr-

l I

l GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH REACTOR l' l

'hapter l l Procedure 3800 l 5 l l Last Rev. 04/09/87 )

iuxiliary l Liquid Waste i Last Rev. App. 04/09/87 i lystems _l Disposal System l Page 2 of 3-  ;

r. At approximately the =l.dpoint of the discharge take two 500 m1 samples: l

1. OPEN valve 366A (at cross connection between 125 and 5 l micron filters), to obtain the samples j

2. Take the samples to HP for analysis (should be analyzed gitickly)

s. When the tank is empty or the discharge is terminated:

1. Note the time and tank level-

2. Secure the pump

3. CLosE all preceeding valves except the 4 filt.er valves (307A and B, 308 A and B)

4. Remove the spool piece f rom the discharge line and return it to the waste panel l

5. Complete the necessary paperwork j Pumping Low Level Tank 12 Repeat steps b. thru s. with the following exceptions:

1. Substitute valve 336B for 336A in b.

2. Reverse valves 318A and 3188 in j.

III. Pumping Suspect Waste Tank

a. Switch waste collection to Low-Level (the switch is located on the vestibule panel)

b. Check that valve 323 (bottom of Suspect tank) is OPEN -

c. OPEN valve 303B (pump 82 suction manifold)

d. OPEN valve 305B (pump diccharge)

e. Check that valves 307A and B, 308A and B (inlet and outlet to 125 and 5 micron filters) are OPEN l

f. Check that valves 309A and B (filter bypass valves) are CLOSED

g. OPEN valve 340A (cross connection from 32 discharge manifold to il pump discharge)

h. OPEN valve 312A. CLOSE valve 312B

1. Start the pump

j. Recirculate for several minutes. OPEN valve 306A and obtain a 500 m1 sample. Secure the pump

k. Take the sample to HP for analysis. If analysis shows that the sample is within specified limits, proceed to pump the tank

1. CLOSE valve 312A. OPEN valve 353A (discharge manifold)

m. Install the removable spool piece in the sewer discharge line at the discharge manifold

n. OPEN valves 354 and 355.

o. CLOSE valve 312B. S ta r.t the pump

p. Note the time and tank level. The flow discharge rate will vary from 1000 to o gal /hr depending on the pressure drop across 'the filters. Blowdown the y strainer as often as is necessary

! GEORGIA TECil RESEARCH REACTOR l

hapter l  ! Procedure 3800 5 l l Last Rev. 04/09/87

\uxiliary l Liquid Waste. -l Last-Rev. App. 04/09/87 systems ,1 Disposal-System i Page 3 of 3

q. At approximately the midpoint. of'the~ discharge taka two 500 ml samples:

1. OPEN valve 306A (at cross connection between 125 and 5 micron filterc) , to obtain the samples

2. Take the samples to llP for analysis (should be analyzed quickly)

r. When the tank is empty or the discharge is terminated:

1. Note the time and tank level

2. Secure.the pump

3. Close all proceeding valves except the 4 filter valves (307A and B, 308A and B)

4. Remove the spool piece from the discharge line and return it to the waste panel

5. Complete the necessary-paperwork ,

IV. Ancillary Information

a. Reference Data 10 CFR part 20 Technical Specifications 3.5.a

_ i- ; _, _ . . - _ . L . -- _ . o . _

c t.

. ~ .

^

A 2

1 3 _

^

t K

s 9 n r" u

J ktEI

~

X R

• Vd 0

3 (>

l 1

~

_n pv r

4]

n f( -

e -

. u R 2 , g r o

Ml<

3b _

i -

w ,~ J

?

't

- 1r _ )

Ml? 6 Nn T .

l i

[ I_ _

S A L N Cd _

nS A n 0 _ 3 [> -

J ,

, na 2 2 s, on?W 8 i

M3 0 N al 9 6, gnc 3

a . g f t

u C fl '

c u ,,. k fu G g 1

4 _

3> -

t a

6 _

M33 0

r ,- 3 _

2

s. , J p,

s a

1 av e 1

}

g -

yarw

- t S *

, I jl ,

' \ "

Georgia Institut] of Technology '

. Neely,Nucl:ar Res: arch Canter

~ Atlanta, Georgia 30332

- ~ - ~ -

(404) 894-3600 mamara Tscas seeH,es

[ESIGNING Tomorrow TCOAT 87-02 MINUTES NUCLEAR SAFH3UARDS COMMITTEE The Cor:nittee was called to order by Chairman, Dr. James Mahaffey at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 10, 1987.

Members present: R. Boyd, P. Desai, J. Hopper, J. Mahaf fey, R. MacDonald, D. McDowell, and H. Neumann h

Members Absent: Bernd Kahn

\

i Others Present: Becky Inng and Larry Mellen of U.S.N.R.C. and R.A. Karam Agenda:

Unintended power increase on the GTRR on 2/3/87 at 4:25 p.m.

Background of the event: The reactor was started up for a class training in reactor operation. The power lev?1 reached 300 KW. At this level, the servo mechanism was activated to automatically control the power w that a neutron radiograph is obtained using the beam f rom port !!-1. The chart recorder Irom which the signal to the servo mechanism is taken got stuck in j such a way that the reactor was on a positive period of approximately 15 seconds (equivalent to 0.0017 delta M/k) . The power increased to approximately

-l 2.3 Md before the senior operator on duty discovered the increase and brotr3ht the reacter back under control. The time span durire which the power was increasing was about 31 seconds (based on a 15 second period) . The dose to those around the beam port H-1 was apparently too small and the TLD's worn by grsonnel cid not record any increase.

On February 5,1987 af ter R.A. Karam returned from a t. rip to California, Mr. B^yd infer =cd him Gf what nappened on February 3,1987. Dr. Karam called a staff meeting at 8:15 a.m. to discuss the incident. At this meeting two issues were discussed.

(1) what was the cause of the malfunction of the chart reccrder and (2) what changes in instrumentation and/or procedures are needed to prevent future repeats.

With regard to the cause of the malfunction Mr. Mitchell t'ercer, -

Electronics Specialist, reported that he cleaned the chart recorder thoroughly. During this process he observed that the guidewire was otf the pulley and around the post. Hei could not racall if the cleanity process was responsible for the guidewire beiry out of its normal position on the pulley.

He turther stated that he tightened a is electrical contacts. After this the chart recorder was operating in a normal mare.ar.

With regard to what changes in instrtmentation ana/cr procedures are needed to prevent a repeat the fellowing were discussed:

! An Equal Educabon and Employment Opportunity insttuton 1 A Und cf the Urnersdy System of Georgia

..______._-_-_----~------a

. 7. i . -

b' . 1 t

Nuclear Safeguards Cocnittee page 2 February 10, 1987 87-02

1. Set the period trip at either 15 or 20 seconds rather than at the 10 second Technical Specifications limit.

2. When operatiry in mode one, i.e. at or below 1 M, set the power level trip at 1.25 W rather than at 5 MW.

3. Devise some method through which the attention of the operator can be attracted if the chart recorder were to get stuck again.

4. Operators as a matter of course should pay close attention. No action was taken with regard to any of the items discussed above.

At 9:00 a.m. February 5,1987, R.A. Karam called for a meeting of the Nuclear Safeguards comittee to discuss these issues. The meeting was held on February 10,1987 at 9:00 a.m.

The cocnittee discussed the issues at some length in the presence of U.S.N.R.C. Inspectors Becky tong and Larry Mellen. The following recor.nendations were adopted.

1. For mode 1 operation (i.e. at or below 1 M level) the power level trip will be set at 1.25 M.

2. The period trip setting will be at 15 seconds instead of the Technical Specifications limit of 10 seconds.

3. Opsrating staff will look for ways to incorporate a buzzer in the linear picoameter which does not drive the chart recorder of the automatic control servo mechanism. The control room has two linear picoameters, one drives the servo mechanism and the other is there for redundancy. A limit switch at the upper end of the scale of one picoammeter could activate a buzzer to draw the attention of the operator. The operating staff will report back to the Comittee about the design change required for this modification. Approval for the change from the Comittee will be soteht before implementation.

1 1

4. Jim Mahaffey volunteered for, and the Comittee accepted his conducting an evaluation of the condition and the operability of all safety related equipnent used in the GTRR. Mahaffey's report is due back to che Comittee on April 9,1987.

The operating staff will implement items 1 and 2 imediately.

There beiry no fur ther business, the meeting was adjourned.

The next Cormittee meeting should be on or before April 9,1987.

Sutaitted M - [ COLA ~~- - -

R. A. Karam February 10, 1987

!V.Kij lr I

- .