ML20151R350

Annual Rept on Operation of Wa State Univ Triga Reactor for Reporting Period of Jul 1997-June 1998

ML20151R350
Person / Time
Site:	Washington State University
Issue date:	06/30/1998
From:	Tripard G WASHINGTON STATE UNIV., PULLMAN, WA
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
NUDOCS 9808270116
Download: ML20151R350 (8)

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] Washington StateUniversity Nuclear Radiation Center P O Box 641300 Pullman, WA 991641300 509-335-8641 FAX 509-335-4433 August 20,1997 Non-Power Reactors and Decommissioning Project Directorate Division of Reactor Program Management Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852-2738 l Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R-76

Dear Sir:

In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of 10 CFR 50.59, paragraph (6), the attached Annual Report prepared by Jerry A. Neidiger, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period July 1,1997 to June 30,1998. 1 Sincerely, f AfM Gerald E. Tripard Din:ctor GET/pw Enclosure j cc: J.A. Neidiger  !

American NuclearInsurers U.S. NRC, Document Control Desk f j l

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ANNUAL REPORT ON THE OPERATION OF THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY TRIGA REACTOR Facility License R-76 for the Reporting Period of i July 1,1997 to June 30,1998 l

A. Narrative Summary of the Year's Operation i 1. Operating Experience

' The Washington State University Reactor has accumulated 482 Megawatt hours on Core 33-X hours during the reporting period. A total of 319 irradiations for a l

total of 6940 samples were performed. In addition,8 pulses greater than $1.00 of reactivity addition were performed during this reporting period. The quarterly l l operations summaries are shown in Table I, section B.

2. There were no changes in design, performance characteristics, or procedures tha" related to reactor safety during the reporting period.

3. All surveillance tests and requirements were performed and completed within the prescribed time period. The results of allinspections revealed no abnormalities.

I l B. Energy and Cumulative Ouiput t The quarterly operations summaries are given in Table I.

TABLEI Fiscal Year Summary of Reactor Operations J-A-S O-N-D J-F-M A-M-J TOTALS Hours of Operation 110 149 139 137 535 l Megawatt Hours 99 129 129 125 482 No. ofIrradiations 57 127 63 72 319 No. of Samples Irradiated 1257 2437 2446 800 6940 No. Pulses > $1.00 0 4 1 3 8 The cumulative energy output since criticality of the TRIGA core since 1967 is 792 Megawatt Days, The mixed core of FLIP and Standard fuels installed in 1976 has accumulated 526 Megawatt Days.

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l C. Emergency Shutdowns and Inadvertent Scrams There were no emergency shutdowns that occurred during the repolting period. The i

dates and causes of the 6 inadvertent SCRAMS are listed in Table II.

TABLE II Inadvertent SCRAMS DATE CAUSE 10/02/97 Log-N short period wh3e at 100% power - No other indication.

I1/05/97 Log-N short period while at 100% power - No other indication.

12/02/97 Scram - No other indication.

_01/23/98 Loss of building power.

03/11/98 Log-N short period while at 100% power - No other indication.

05/18/98 Log-N - No other indication - Possible power line transients.

D. Major Maintenance All other major maintenance performed was routine planned maintenance items.

E. Changes, Tests and Experiments Performed Under 10 CFR 50.59 Criteria I

There were no items performed and documented under 10 CFR 50.59 criteria during the l

reporting period: 1 F. Radioactive Emuent Discharges

1. Radioactive Liquid Releases A total of 0.46 microcuries was released in 56,859 liters ofliquid during the reporting period. The releases are listed in Table III.  ;

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TABLE III i Radioactive Liquid Releases Quantity uCi Tank Release Tank Release WSU Sewer Total Dilute Sewer Conc  %'MPC Date  % uCi/ml Vol. Uters Vol. Users Vol. Users uci/mi 11/07/97 0.15 8.17x 10 18.935 498,935 480.000 - 3.0lx10-" 1.51 03/27/98 0.23 1.23x10* 19,003 480,000 499,003 4.61x10'" 2.30 06/05/98 0.08 4.30x10* 18,921 480,000 498.921 1.60x10'" 0.80

• Based on a release limit of 2.0x10-8 uCi/ml for unknown mixture,10 CFR 20. Table 3.

' 2. Radioactive Gaseous Release  !

During the reporting period, no significant quantity of any gaseous or particulate I material with a half-life greater that eight days was released.

During the reporting period, at no time did the Argon-41 release exceed 20% of I the Effluent Release Limit.

A total of 4.52 Curies of Argon-41 was released in 5.86x10" cc of air, which yields an average monthly concentration of Argon-41 of 7.71x10" uCi/cc. The monthly releases are summarized in Table IV.

TABLE IV Monthly Argon-41 Releases Conc. Before  % Release Limit (1)  % DAC Limit (2) Quantity mci Month Dilution, uCi/ml Before Dilution Before Dilution Jul.(1997) 9.01x10* 3.60 0.01 450 Aug. 7.35x10* 2.90 0.01 367 Sep.- 5.68x10* 2.30 0.01 275 Oct. 7.11x10* 2.84- 0.01 355 Nov. 6.49x10* 2.60 0.01 314 Dec. 8.17x10* 3.27 0.01 408 Jan.(1998) 1.10x10* 4.40 0.01 550 Feb. 7.61x10* 3.04 0.01 344 Mar. 5.76x10* 2.30 0.01 288 Apr. 6.88x10* 2.75 0.01 333 May. 8.60x10* 3.44 0.01 430 Jun. 8.47x10* 3.39 0.01 410 (1) Based on 10 CFR 20 effluent release limit of 1.0x10-8 uCi/ml for 41 Ar (Table 2, Col.1), and a  ;

dilution factor of 4.0x10-3 (S.A.R. 6.4.2) for a before dilution limit of 2.5x10-6 uCi/cc. (20% of limit is 5.0x10-7 uCi/ml).  !

(2) Based on 10 CFR 20 DAC limit of 3.0x10-6 uCi/ml for 41 Ar (Table 1, Col 3) and a dilution factor of 4.0x10-3 for a before dilution DAC limit of 7.5x10-4 uCi/ml. 4

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3. Radioactive Solid Waste Disposal During the reporting period,16 cubic feet of non-compacted solid waste for a total of 0.56 millicuries of activity was transferred to the Campus Radiation Safety Office for packaging and disposal.

G. Penonnel and Visitor Radiation Exposures The average quarterly exposures of Nuclear Radiation Center reactor staff and experimenters who routinely utilize the W.S.U. reactor are given in Table V. The maximum quanerly exposure of a reactor staff member was 30 nullirem, whole body.

A total of 2410 non-Nuclear Radiation Center staff or routine facility user individuals visited the Center during the reporting period, out of which 823 enter Restricted Areas.

As determined by digital pocket dosimeter and an exposure recorded, the average individual exposure was <1.0 millirem.

A total of 23 group tours, consisting of 312 individuals, visited the Center during the reporting period. As determined by digital pocket dosimeter and an exposure recorded, the average group exposure was <1.0 millirem.

TABLE V Quarterly Reactor and Experimenter Staff Exposure (in millirem)

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Badge No. Jul-Aug-Sep Oct.Nov-Dec Jan-Feb-Mar Apr-May-Jun 1 0 10 0 10 2 0 10 0 10 3 10 0 0 0 4 0 0 30 0 5 0 0 20 0 Note: 10 mrem minimum exposure reported by vendor.

H. Reactor Facility Radiation and Contamination Levels The routine area radiation surveys of the building in non-reactor vital areas (1) had an average dose level of 0.03 mR/Hr., while routinely accessible reactor vital areas had an average dose level of 0.03 mR/Hr. The highest average dose'levelin a routinely accessible reactor vital area was 0.3 mR/Hr., which occurred in Room 201, Reactor Pool Room, South side. The lowest average dose in a routinely accessible reactor vital area was 0.02 mR/Hr., which occurred in Room 201 A, the Reactor Shop area. The average dose in the Reactor Control Room was 0.02 mR/Hr. The average dose in the radiochemistry sample hoods was 0.15 mR/Hr. The highest average on site dose level was 6.0 mR/Hr. which occurred in Room 2A, Cave Room, which is a locked storage a ea where radioactive material and radioactive sources are stored.

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R6utine buikling surveys for removabh contamination in non-reactor vital areas (1) had an i average level of 2.7x10" uCV100cm2, while the average levelin the reactor vital areas was 5.28x10" uCV100cm2. The highest average value in the reactor vital areas was 1.07x10" uCV100cm2 which was found on the platform where experimen,ers stand to l insert and withdraw their samples from the reactor. The lowest average value in the

' reactor vital areas was 1.21x10" uCV100cm2 which was in Room 201, the Reactor t Room Floor. The average level of removable contamination in the radiochemistr/ sample i hoods was 7.06x10" uCV100cm2.

(1) A non-reactor vital area is an at a in the building where radioactive materials are used or stored but which is not a part of the Licen.wi mactor facility.  !

! i L. Environic. ental Monitedng Program The environmental monitoring program uses thernpluminecent dosimeters (TLD's) at '

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' locations both near and at distances around the reactor building facility. The quarterly exposures in the vicinity of the Nuclear Radiarian Center are listed in Table VI. The average ambient gamma radiation levels for this area (80 mile radius) is 243 uRenVday as reported in the 30th Annual Report of the Environmental Radiation Program, Washington l State Department of Health, Environmental Health Program, Table A-12, page 131.

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The values observed indicate there is no significant effect on the environment radiation -

i levels due to reactor operation. l TABLE VI , ,

Environmental Radiation Levels in the Vicinity of the Nuclear Radiation Center (1) l (Exposuruin uRenVday) . 1 Jul-Aug-Sep Oct-Nov-Dec Jan-Feb-Mar Apr-May-Jun Median 167 250 186

• 201 (2)725 764 733

• 741 'l

_( 1) For sa

.pling sta: ions located 25 meters or greater from the Nuclear Radiation Center.

! . (2) TLD attached to " Decorative" granite display on Compton Union Building Mall 1 approximately 1300 meters from the Nuclear Radiation Center.

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• Apr-May-Jun TLD's exposures not available at the time report was prepared.

o L Quarterly exposures at locations at the reactor facility are listed in Table VIL No significant L

effect on the environmental radiation levels by reactor operation was noted.

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TABLE VII Environmental Radiation levels Adjacent to the Nuclear Radiation Center (l)

(Exposure in uR/ day) '

IF#:M Jul-Aug-Sep Oct-Nov-Dec Jan-Feb-Mar. Apr-Mav-Jun Median E. Inadine Dock 143 140 207

• 163 Rad. Storaae Shed 187 229 207

• 208 Rx Rm W. Secr. Omer 198 191 221

• 203 c'nniin. Tower Fanr* 165 185 256

• 202 I i-id Wa* Tank 176 191 195

• 187 Buddmg Roof West 143 166 153

• 157 Bai'dirs W. Ri+ 176 204 233

• 204 Pool Room Exh. Vent 110 121 163

• 131 Pool Room W. Vent (2) 341 395 407

• 381 Pool Room E. Vent 253 287 293

• 278 Buildma Roof East 110 140 152

• 134 S. Ride E - r-v 231 242 213

• 229 (1) For s unpling stations located less that 25 meters from the Nuclear Radiation Center.

(2) Pool Room West Vent. TLD on roof, directly above reactor core.

• Apr-May-Jun TLD's exposures not available at the time report was prepared.

Underlined locations indicate areas that are readily accessible.

Technical Specifications ALARA effluent releases in 3.12(2) specify annual radiation exposures at the closest off-site extended occupancy shall not, on an annual basis, exceed the average local off-site background radiation level by more than 20%. For the reporting period, the average total l background radiation level for sampling points 400 meters or greater from the facility was 165 uR/ day, while the average total radiation level at the closest extended occupied area 930 meters away was 181 uR/ day. This yields a ratio of 9.7%, indicating no significant exposure level above l natural background. i i

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] WashingtonStateUniversity Nuclear Radiation Centor P O Box 641300 Pullman. WA 99164-1300 509-335-8641 FAX 509-335-4433 August 20,1997 American NuclearInsumrs

- Town Center, Suite 300S

- 29 South Main Street :

West Hartfod, CT 06107-2445 Re: Do:iet No. 50-27; Facility License R-76

DearSir:

In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of10 CFR 50.59, paragraph (6), the attached Annual Report prepared by Jerry A. Neidiger, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers. the period July 1,1997 to June 30,1998.

Sincerely,

'fQttAk Gerald E.Tripani l

Director

' l GET/pw Enclosure I

cc: J.A. Neidiger Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

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] WashingtonStateUniversity E Nuclear Radiation Center . P O Box 641300 Pullman, WA 991641300 509-335-8641 FAX 509-335-4433 August 20,1997 Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington,DC 20555 Re: Docket No. 50-27; Facility License R

DearSir:

In accordance with the Technical Specifications for Facility License R-76 and the provisions of 10

CFR 50.59, paragraph (6), the attached Annual Report prepared by Jerry A. Neidiger, Reactor Supervisor of the WSU facility, is hereby submitted. The report covers the period July 1,1997 to June 30,1998.

Sincerely,

/a h !

l Gerald E. Tripartl t

Director GET/pw

l. Enclosure ,

t l cc: J.A. Neidiger

! Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation j American NuclearInsurers e

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