ML20207B643
| ML20207B643 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Plum Brook |
| Issue date: | 12/31/1998 |
| From: | Furnas R, Pfanner H NATIONAL AERONAUTICS & SPACE ADMINISTRATION |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9903080200 | |
| Download: ML20207B643 (10) | |
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National Aeronautics and l
Space Administration Lewis Research Center ,
i Plum Brook Station 6100 Columbus Avenue l Sandusky, Ohio 44870 aw m i.nn
- 7030 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Washington,DC 20555
Subject:
Report of Reactor Status for the NASA Plum Brook Reactor (License No. TR-3, Docket 50-30) and the NASA Plum Brook Mock-Up Reactor (License No. R-93, Docket 50-185)
Enclosed is the Annual Status Report, dated January 1999, for the Plum Brook Reactor (License TR-3) and the Plum Brook Mock-Up Reactor (License R-93). This report is for the reporting period January 1,1998, through December 31,1998.
Submission of this annual report is in compliance with Section 3.31 of the current TR-3 and R-93 possess-but-not-operate licenses which became effective May 19, 1998.
Subject reactors continue to be maintained in a protected safe storage condition.
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W Henry G. Pfanner Engineer, Plum Brook Reactor Facility Enclosure Approved:
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~~~~ q ndall B. Fulmas '
Director, Engineering and Technical Services c l
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l 9903000200 981231 ~ T PDR ADOCK 05000030 R PDR_
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U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
. Attn.: Mr. Thomas Burdick, Inspector Reactor Operations Nuclear Support Branch '
Program Support Section 801 Warrensville Road Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351
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t U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission :
Attn.: Mr. Marvin Mendonca l PDNP j MS-D-19 !
Washington,DC 20555 1
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ANNUAL STATUS REPORT ,
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- Re; orting Period: January 1,1998 - December 31,1998
, j NASA, Plum Brook Reactor NASA, Plum Brook Mock-Up Reactor l License No. TR-3 License No. R-93 ;
Docket No. 50-30 Docket No. 50-185 1 USNRC Dismantling Order ,
Dated May26,1981 j NASA Application to USNRC, l Dated July 26,1985, ;
Requesting Return to !
Possess-But-Not-Operate" Status I
I NASA, Plum Brook Reactor NASA, Plum Brook Mock-Up Reactor -l License No. TR-3 License No. R-93 Amendment #8 Amendment #4 !
i November 30,1989 October 12,1989 I l !
i NASA, Plum Brook Reactor NASA, Plum Brook Mock-Up Reactor 5 License No. TR-3 License No. R-93 ,
Amendment #9 Amendment #5 ,
May 19,1998. May 19,1998 :
i January 1999 :
NASA Lewis Research Center !
Plum Brook Station 6100 Columbus Avenue Sandusky, Ohio 44870
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Status of Reactor Facility ;
- 3. Organization ' i
- 4. Condition of Systems and Components -
- 5. Security and Surveillance Measures
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- 6. Facility Changes
- 7. Facility and Environmental Radiological Surveys I
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- 8. Maintenance Performed i
! _9. Audits and Inspections l l
- 10. Unusual Occurrences i
- 11. License Status 1
- 12. Other I
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ANNUAL STATUS REPORT FOR THE NASA PLUM BROOK REACTOR AND PLUM BROOK MOCK-UP REACTOR i
- 1.
Introduction:
The following Annual Status Report for the period January 1,1998, through December 31,1998, has been prepared pursuant to Section 3.3.1 of the Plum Brook Reactor Facility (PBRF) TR-3 and the Mock-Up Reactor (MUR) R-93 License both i effective May 19,1998. Both of the above-mentioned reactors are licensed as
" possess-but-not-operate." :
- 2. Status of Reactor Facility:
At the time NASA requested a Dismantling Order, funding for the reactor ]
dismantling project was anticipated, and an active dismantling effort was I I
planned and scheduled. However, because of continuing federal budget restrictions, NASA has continued to find it necessary to defer funding for this project. As a result, no major dismantling activities have been performed to date. j During 1998, however, NASA renewed its intention to seek the necessary funding for decommissioning of the Plum Brook Reactor Site and to complete 4 decommissioning in an expeditious manner. Current plans call for the I forwarding of a decommissioning plan to the NRC by the end of 1999, and completion of decommissioning activities by the end of 2007.
Since 1982, NASA has continued to remove various uncontaminated tools, spare parts, and experimental hardware not required for maintaining protected safe storage or supporting future dismantling efforts. This is being done to make such items available to NASA and other Government agencies. l i
In its letter to NASA dated August 16,1984, the NRC directed NASA to either request reinstatement of the " possess-but-not-operate" status for the two Plum Brook Reactors, or submit a revised dismantling plan and schedule. NASA j responded in a letter dated October 29,1984, stating that it intended to formally request return to the " possess-but-not-operate" licensing status. On July 26,1985, NASA submitted applications and supporting documents to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the " possess-but-not-operate" status. The PBRF (TR-3) License was issued January 28,1987, and the MUR ()R-93 License l was issued January 12,1987. Both licenses were in effect for ten years. ;
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Renewal applications for the PBRF License (TR-3) and the MUR License (R-93) were submitted to the NRC on November 4,1996. The NRC issued renewals for both of these licenses, PBRF (TR-3) and the MUR (R-93) on May 19,1998. These licenses are in effect until NRC termination following decommissioning which is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007.
In addition to providing adequate resources and funding for past, present and future protected safe storage of the reactors, NASA funded an engineering study in 1984 to document the existing conditions at the site. The study was initiated near the end of CY 84, and major fieldwork began in early 1985. The purpose of '
the study was to gather data on the current condition of the facilities and equipment at the site, and to re-inventory the radioactive contamination at the end of the twelve-year radiological decay period since Reactor shutdown in January 1973.
NASA completed a review and update of this existing engineering study during 1998 in preparation for eventual decommissioning of the PBRF .
- 3. Organization:
The Plum Brook Management Office (PBMO) reports to the Engineering and Technical Services Directorate of the NASA Lewis Research Center. This organization is in accordance with the Generic Organization Chart in the current (TR-3) and (R-93) licenses.
During the reporting period, Mr. Henry G. Pfanner continued to serve as the ;
Plum Brook Reactor Facility (PBRF) Engineer, responsible for maintaining the protected safe storage mode of the reactors. The daily security, surveillance, and l maintenance activities continue to be performed by an on-site support service !
l contractor, Gilcrest Electric & Supply Company.
l l Mr. Keith Peccook continues to serve as the first alternate PBRF Engineer. l Ms. Gayle Reid remains as the Radiation Safety Officer for the PBRF and also .
l serves as an alternate PBRF Engineer.
l l Mr. Robert P. Kozar continues to serve as Chief of the Plum Brook Management Office (PBMO). The PBMO is responsible for the Level 2 Management of the l PBRF. Mr. Keith Peecook remains as chairman of the PBRF Safety Committee; j there were two safety committee meetings conducted during 1998.
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. 4. e condition of Systems and Components:
The condition of all systems and components vital to maintaining safe protected l storage has been carefully reviewed. All systems are performing satisfactorily.
3 As reported last year, a new Cathodic Protection System (CPS) was installed on the PBRF Containment Vessel (CV) in 1997. The new CPS was reviewed after !
one' year of operation and found to be operating satisfactorily. The annual ,
corrosion rate assessment and visualinspections of sample CV material coupons l
' immersed in ground water wells has been eliminated as a result. However, the !
ultrasonic thickness testing at four inspection ports will contmue.
I 5.- Security and Surveillance Measures: l Security inspections are conducted at the PBRF twice daily and each of the major f buildings is inspected by a security guard once each day. In addition, other !
security checks, such as inspection of fences'and locks, are conducted monthly. ;
Surveillance of operating systems and components, absolute filters, and l radiological surveys are performed as specified in the PBRF Procedures Manual. j Surveillance inspections are performed for some non-operating systems and .j components to assure that the protected safe storage conditions are maintained. i All of the security and surveillance inspections are accomplished by use of Inspection and Test Report (ITR) check sheets to insure they are promptly and
- properly completed. Completed ITRs are reviewed and approved by the PBRF Engineer and/or alternate and filed in the PBRF Vital Records. ITRs indicating that corrective action is required are the responsibility of the ?BRF Engineer to insure the proper corrective action is taken.
Equipment Maintenance Records (EMRs) are utilized to document maintenance on vital components, equipment, systems and facilities which are not otherwise
- covered under the routine ITR system (see Section 8).
Personnel access to areas of the reactor _ site with signiticant known or suspected levels of radiation is controlled under a Safe Work Permit (SWP) system.
YThe security and surveillance program in effect at the PBRF appears to be i adequate to maintain the facilities in a protected safe storage mode. j i I L
HA total of nine SWPs were issued during 1998, and all personnel exposures were l
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well within permissible limits of 10 CFR 20. A statistical breakdown of the J
, exposure levels as per 10 CFR 20.407 follows:
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l Estimated Whole Body Number of Individuals Exposure Range (REMS) in Each Range No Measurable Exposure 5 Measurable Exposure Less than .1 2
.1to.25 0 l
.25 and Above 0
- 6. Easility_ Changes:
A Facility Change (FC) System is utilized to provide documentation and i approval of changes to existing facilities and structures, new structures, a i physical change to equipment or system, or any change that alters a defined PBRF End-Condition statement.
i There were no new FCs initiated during 1998. However, one FC initiated in 1997 was completed in 1998. This FC involved changing the electrical power feed to the PBRF complex and this work was completed during September of 1998. l h
- 7. Facility and Environmental Radiological Surveys:
l The 1997 monitoring data continued to include direct radiation, surface contamination, airborne and waterborne activity and stream silt. These parameters did not vary significantly from data obtained during the previous 25 years of standby or protected safe storage of the PBRF. All data indicates the radioactivity within PBRF is being safely contained.
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- 8. Maintenance Performed:
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All maintenance performed during the reporting period fell under the !
Equipment Maintenance Record (EMR) System. I The work covered under the EMR System involved routine maintenance and I
. Other minor repairs made to equipment within the Reactor complex. This work ,
rias normally performed by the on-site support service contractor who j conducted the normal day-to-day maintenance and surveillance at the PBRF. l There were a total of 18 maintenance tasks completed in 1998 under the EMR system described.
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- 9. - - Audits and Inspections:
Mr. Kerry Remp has been replaced by Mr. Robert Corban as chairman of the PBRF Audit team. Mr. Timothy Gaydos remained as an audit team member.
L Mr. Gerald Carek has been assigned to serve as the third PBRF Audit team member. Mr. Carek has been employed for 16 years by NASA as a mechanical systems engineer and is currently the Facility Manager of NASA's Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station.
- There was no PBRF audit conducted during the CY98 of the PBRF. However, an
- audit team review has been scheduled for January 15,1999, to review the 1998 PBRF activities.
There was one on-site Routine Safety Inspection of the PBRF on January 28,1998.
This inspection was conducted by Mr. Marvin Mendonca of the NRC Division of Reactor Program Management.. No violations of the NRC requirements were identified during the course of this inspection.
- 10. Unusual Occurrences:
i l There we' c no unusual occurrences at the PBRF during 1997 which were L reportable to USNRC under the criteria of 10 CFR 21.3,10 CFR 21.4 and 10 CFR 50.72.
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'11. License Status:
l The effective date of both the PBRF (TR-3) and the MUR (R-93) licenses is May 19,1998. Both licenses are in effect until license termination by the NRC following decommissioning.
The license stipulates that NASA is to provide a decommissioning plan to the NRC by the end of CY 1999 and to complete decommissioning by the end of CY 2007.
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- 12. Other:
Maintenance Proie.st The $950,000 maintenance project for the PBRF initiated in 1997 and reported on in 1998 is essentially completed.
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. Nitronen Purge l During October 1998, r. reduction in the p.:rge flow of dry nitrogen gas through j the PBRF Reactor Tank was noted as a result of routine weekly inspection of the !
system. Upon further investigation, it was determinct that the vent line between l'
- the Reactor Tank and the release stack was partially blocked in an area not ,
l normally accessible. Plans are being made to obtain access to the area and make !
repairs as required. It has been determined that at all times, the Reactor Tank !
was under a positive nitrogen purge, however, the flow is less than 50% of what it had been in the past. t i
Alternatives Study NASA performed a study during 1998 to update its knowledge base regarding final disposition of the Plum Brook reactors. The study included a review of the radiological data obtained during the 1985 Engineering Study, field verification .
of a representative sample of the 1985 radiological data, a review and update of NRC license termination criteria changes since 1985, and updated cost estimates for various decommissioning alternatives. A final report for this study was completed in November 1998. ,
Land Excessing ;
i The General Services Administration (GSA) continues to investigate the possible i tre der of 604 acres of excesses property in the western area of Plum Brook Station to other government agencies. If this transfer occurs, the Station fence line mill be modified to conform to the new Station perimeter. The nearest point of property affected is approximately 5,000 feet from the fenced site of the PBRF.
NASA will continue to control access to the total Station, as well as inspect, maintain and provide security surveillance for the existing or revised Plum
. Brook Station perimeter fence line. Conditions at the PBRF will be unaffected.
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