ML20204D288

Summarizes 781013 Review of Lic Amend Appl Requesting to Use Up to 1.0 Microcurie of U-235 & Up to 0.1 Microcurie of Plutonium in Subj Facil'S Res & Dev.Recommends Amend Appl Be Approved

ML20204D288
Person / Time
Site:	07001359
Issue date:	11/13/1978
From:	Crow W, Delaney J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
NUDOCS 7812140217
Download: ML20204D288 (2)

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% UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g j WASHINGTON, D. C. 20666

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..... NOV 131978 DOCKET NO.: 70-1359 APPLICANT: IRT Corporation (IRT)

FACILITY: San Diego, California

SUBJECT:

REVIEW 0F LICENSE AMENDMENT APPLICATION DATED OCTOBER 13, 1978 -

Background i The subject license amendment application requests authorization to use, in unencapsulated form, up to 1.0 microcurie of U-235 and up to 0.1 microcurie of _ plutonium in research and develop-ment activities 1at.the licensee's Convoy Court Facilities. The licensee is presently limited to encapsulated U-235 and Pu at these facilir.ies. This limitation has been self-imposed by IRT in its previous license applications. IRT now is planning a laboratory bench scale program for measuring long lived radio--

nuclides which may be present in filters used to sample gaseous effluents from several nuclear power plants. This program will require the use in radiochemical studies of unencapsulated special .

nuclear material. l l

Nuclear Safety i l

The total amount of SNM at each of the Convoy Court Facilities is l 1ess than a critical mass taking into acount the materials and I enrichments involved.

Radiological Safety All IRT programs involving the use of radioactive materials are ,

reviewed and approved by the IRT Radiation Safety Committee (RSC). l The RSC has listed in the application for license amendment their safety rules for handling uncontained radioisotopes including provisions for daily contamination surveys and for the use of air samplers and daily analysis of such samples. The total amount of 1

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b unencapsulated plutonium that the licensee wishes to have at a facility is 0.1 microcurie. Actual . operations involving plutonium-will . require.the use of no greater than nanocurie amounts at one time. I believe that the radiological safety program at IRT;is.

- adequate to' permit their possession and use of 0.1 microcurie of Pu and'1.0 microcurie of.U-235.

Environmental . Impact The possession and use of a t'otal of 1.1 microcuries of unencapsulated radioactive material will not have any'significant impact on existing environmental considerations.

Recommendation On the basis of the above, I recommend that the amendment application be approved. ,

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J. C. Delaney ..

Fuel Processing & Fabrication Branch Division of Fuel Cycle and

/$ Material Safety Approved by: b l . . . //

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W. T. Crow 1

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