ML20215A711

Ack Receipt of Util 870408 & 0512 Ltrs Responding to 870311 Notice of Violation & NRC 870311 & s & Informing NRC of Corrective Actions Re Violations.One Violation Withdrawn & Second to Be Reviewed During Insp

ML20215A711
Person / Time
Site:	05000128
Issue date:	06/11/1987
From:	Yandell L NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:	Richardson H TEXAS A&M UNIV., COLLEGE STATION, TX
References
NUDOCS 8706170043
Download: ML20215A711 (2)

Text

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4 JUN l l 1987 In Reply Refer To:

Docket: 50-128/87-01 a

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Dr. Herbert H. Richardson, Director {

Texas Engineering Experiment Station l Texas A&M University ^

i College Station, Texas 77843 Gentlemen:

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Thank you for your letters of April 8,1987, and May 12, 1987, in response to our letters of March 11, 1987, and April 28, 1987, and the Notice of Violation dated March 11, 1987. As a result of our review of the additional documents you l submitted on May 12, 1987, we are in agreement that the experiment involving the irradiation of bromophenanthrene was reviewed in accordance with the j requirements of Technical Specification 6.3.3(a) and 3.6.3(a). Therefore, j the violation (128/8701-01) concerning the failure to evaluate a reactor '

experiment is being withdrawn.

With regard to violation 128/8701-02, we have no further questions at this' l time on your proposed corrective actions. We will review the implementation 1 of your corrective actions during a future inspection to determine that full compliance has been achieved and will be maintained.

1 Sincerely,  !

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Lawrence A. Yandell, Chief .

Radiological Protection and Safeguards I Branch .

cc:

F. E. Vandiver, President Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843 M. E. McLain Radiation Safety Officer Texas A&M University )

College Station, Texas 77843 Mr. Feenan Jennings, Chairman i Reactor Safety Board Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77843

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Texas State Department of Health 1100 W. 49th Street Austin, Texas 78756 i l

Texas Bureau of Radiation Control ATTN: C. Dittman, Region 6 j 1100 W. 49th Street l Austin, Texas 78756 )

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D. Weiss, RM/ALF l RIV File l DRSP j RSB l MIS SYSTEM RSTS Operator Inspector j Section Chief L. A. Yandell l R. L. Bangart R. E. Hall NRR Project Inspector i l

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g TEXAS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS 77843 3575 #

1 M i 12 May 1987 NUCLEAR SCIENCE CENTER 409/845-7551 j

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Mr. William L. Fisher, Chief l f '

Radiological and Safeguards Programs ,

Branch E !. 3 19 9 ,' ii U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ..i, O,

Region IV '

l 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76011

Reference:

Docket 50-128/87-01

Dear Mr. Fisher:

This writing is in reply to your letter of 28 April 1987 requesting additional information on the irradiation of bromophenanthrcne at the Texas A&M University  !

Nuclear Science Center on 18 December 1986. As stated-in our reply of 8 April I 1987 to the stated violation this routine experiment was reviewed and approved for i irradiation under blanket authorization EA-1 "In-Pool Irradiations" a copy of 1 which was previously provided. Additional information is provided to document  !

review and approval of bromophenanthrene irradiations of which several have been j performed over the past six years. Modifications have been made to bromine sample i handling procedures the latest being a detailed review in August 1985. That review in the form of Staff Meeting #374 is attached. Review requirements of 50P IV-A for the irradiation of the bromine samples is also attached as is the authorization Form 514 dated 12/18/86.

Res ectfully submitted, oA_A, ( O b Do ald E. Feltz Director DEF/ym Attachments cc: H. H. Richardson, Director, Texas Eng. Experiment Station F. Jennings, Chairman, Reactor Safety Board M. E. McLain, Radiological Safety Office K. L. Peddicord, Head, Nuclear Engineering Department J. A. Reuscher, Director, Nuclear Research Reactor Programs

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Nuclear Science Center Staff Meeting #374 23 August 1985 l l

In Attendance: Feltz, Krohn, Stasny, Jeffords ,

i The purpose of the meeting was to review procedures for the production of isotopes La-140 and Br-82 for Teledyne Isotopes. This material is to be irradiated Tuesday, 27 August 1985 and prepared for delivery on the morning of 28 August i 1985. The material will be shipped on Federal Express. The irradiation involves 3 each 1.4 mC samples of La-140 powder and 3 each 20 mC Br-82 post irradiation prepared samples. Since post irradiation handling of the samples is required it is important that all personnel involved be familiar with the special handling procedures. The attached proedures were approved in the staff meeting. Tests.

were performed on the preparation of the Br-82 samples using low activity samples.

These test verified dissolving methods. During the Br-82 test it was determiend that 30 percent of sample activity will be lost to gases and residue following transfer. The Br-82 gases will be extracted and held for decay.

See attachment for detailed procedures. ,

1 Res,pectfully submitted,

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Donald E. Feltz Director

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TELEDYNE IS0 TOPE PRODUCTION 3- . Handling and Loading Procedures John Krohn, 23 August 1985 . >

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In preparation for the upcoming production and loading of tracer materials for l Teledyne Isotopes, Inc., the following set of handling and loading procedures is set forth. It is requested that each person that will be involved become familiar with procedures prior to the runs which are scheduled for Tuesday, 27 August.

General Guide.ines

. All post-irradiation handling, chemistry and shipping container loading will_be  !

done in the Chem Lab.

. The operation will be under the supervision of Technical Services.

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. A representative from the HP group will be present during all. handling, etc., and will have final approval of any proposed actions. '

. The operation will involve loading 6 (six) injector bombs (containers) with NSC produced radioisotope tracers. There will be 3 bombs filled with catalyst powder and 3 with a liquid solution.

. Handling time will be split between several NSC personnel to reduce any one person's exposure. ,

Specific Procedures Isotope Production Both tracer materials will be irradiated on Tuesday, 27 August. There will be "

three vials of bromophenanthrene each containing approximately 2 grams to'be run for two hours from startup and producing 34 millicuries of Br-82 and the end of l irradiation. The second material is a powder catalyst. Again there will be three vials, each containing one gram of the powder to be run for the last six hours and 24 minutes of the day's run and producing 2.63 millicuries of La-140 and 1 milli ' .s Curie of Na-24 at the end of irradation.

Handling Bromine Tracer l 1

The bromine vials will be unloaded from the long tube at 1600 on Tuesday. The-vials will be placed in the " bullet" shields used for M. D. Anderson iridium ship-i l

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l ments. These shields will be transported to the Chem Lab by placing them into a

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five gallon can and lowering them with the crane to the lower level. From there they will be carried to the Chem Lab and the shields placed in the fume hood. This ]

j transport procedure may be changed at the discretion of the Reactor Supervisor. 4 After the shields are in the Chem Lab fume hood, the bromine vials will be taken out and placed in the holes in the lead brick at the front of the fume hood. An empty syringe will be inserted into each of the vials and a suction drawn. These l

syringes will be placed into a plastic bag which will then be sealed. '

A 10 cc syringe of toluene will then be inserted into each bromine vial and the vial filled with toluene. The tops of the vials will then be covered with tape to prevent evaporation.

On Wednesday morning, 28 August, the tracer containers will be loaded. The following procedures will be repeated for each of the three bromine samples:

1. Prepare a tracer container as per the attached instructions.

2. Place the glass funnel in the top of the container.

3. Remove the tape from a bromine vial, take a small sample with a syringe and replace the tape.

4. Repeat the sampling procedure for the other two vials at this time, and Nit on assay results from Lab 4.

5. Cut the top off of the bromine vial with the exacto.

.. 6. Lift the vial with the holder and pour into the funnel.

7. Wash the funnel with clean toluene in a squirt bottle.

8. Close the container valve and have the HP place a bag over the valve and top of the container. t

9. Repack the shipping drum with the full tracer container as per the attached i instructions. ,

l The results of the assay from Lab 4 should be used to properly mark each shipping container. Great care should be taken while handling the liquid solution as toluene is very volatile. Af ter the drums are packed and marked, they should be i m removed from the Chem Lab and the remaining three drums brought in. N l

s. l Lanthanum Tracer l The three lanthanum vials will be left in the pool overnight following their irradiation. The vials will be unloaded Wednesday morning following the loading of the bromine tracer containers. The lanthanum vials will be transported to the Chem Lab in the same manner as the bromine. After the shields containing the lanthanum vials are placed in the fume hood, the vials will be placed in the same brick as was used for the bromine vials. The following procedura rtill be followed in loading the lanthanum tracer containers:

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1. Prepare the tracer container as per the attached instructions. l

2. Place the glass funnel into the top of the container.

3. Cut the top off of a lanthanum vial.

4. Lift the vial with the holder and pour into the funnel.

5. Wash the funnel with toluene from the squirt bottle.

6. Close the container valve and have the HP place a bag over the valve and top of the container.

7. Repack the shipping drum with the full tracer container as per the attached instructions. i

8. . Repeat for the two remaining lanthanum vials.

Handling Personnel i The following schedule of sections responsible for performing each operation is designed to reduce the radiation exposure to any one. person and to ensure proper q handling of the tracers. Each group leader will assign the duties for that group j as he sees fit. i Operation Groups Responsible

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~, Initial bromine transfer to Chem Lab Operations, HP Transfer of bromine to brick Operations, HP Extraction of gas and addition of toluene Tech Services, HP Bromine sampling, assay, vial opening Tech Services, HP Tracer container preparation, filling, pack Tech Services, HP Initial lanthanum transfer to Chem Lab Operations, HP Lanthanum transfer to brick Operations, HP {

Lanthanum vial opening Tech Services, HP d Tracer container preparation, filling, pack Tech Services, HP l

Again, clease have everyone involved study these procedures before the operations d are .eduled. Any questions should be answered before the operations begin.

Please bring any questions to the attention of John Krohn. , l

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.> Handling Procedure for Packaging' '

Tracer Container for Shipping

1. Insert carrier r6ds with plate th*ough~the sleeves on the tracer container shielding.

2. Slide top plate on the rods and screw on the wing nuts.

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3. Insert the tracer container with the carrier into the inner shipping.

container and acrew cap by hand. ,

4. Replace absorbent in drum and insert the plywood lid.

5. Till the remaining void with shock absorbing packaging material. j

6. Close the drum with a lid, ring and bolt. -

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ea Handling Procedures for Readying Tracer Container  !

for Filling or Injection of Radioactive Meterial- ,

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1. Remove ring and lid from the shipping drum.

2. Remove packing material from the drum down to the' top plywood lid.

3. Remove the plywood lid. A screw type cap of the inner shipping container surrounded by absorbing media should be visible.

4. Unscrew the cap and extract the tracer container from the inner '

shipping container by the handle with its carrier.

5. To remove the carrier, unscrew the wing nuts when the tracer container is in position for filling or injecting and extract' the bottom plate and rods. .

6. Ensure that the valves are closed and that the valve handles are removed. ,

NOTEt' Avoid excess handling of tracer containers containing radioactive .

material.

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RSC l 112 Nuclear Science Center  !

i STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES l Prepared by Subject Section Page

) JLK EXPERIMENT APPROVAL IV-A 1 j

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1. General i These procedures apply to the use of NSCR experimental facilities and cover the approval, irradiation,and release of a large variety of samples which are submitted in many shapes , chemical forms ,and various states. The procedures apply to all experiments associated with the operation of the reactor. No new experiment shall be implemented until:

a. A hazards analysis has been performed and reviewed for compliance with the I limitations on experiments (Section 3 6 of Technical Specifications) by the Reactor Safety Board. Minor modifications to a reviewed and approved experiment may be made at the discretion of the SR0 upon the determination and documentation that the changes do not constitute a significantly new or different safety risk than the original approved experiment (Technical Specification 4.6(a)).

b. The reactivity worth of an experiment has been measured. Prior to the first use of an experiment for which there is no previous reactivity worth re-corded for the current operational core and position , the worth will be measured.

Furthermore ,no experiment classified as approved by the RSB will be performed until it has been reviewed for compliance with Section 3.6.1 through 3.6.3 of the Technical Specifications by a licensed Senior Reactor Operator and a person qualfied in health physics. Approval procedure will depend on whether the service is a i routine sample irradiation or whether it is a non-routine operation. ,

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2. Routine Sample Irradiation Approval j l

Each experimenter requiring the irradiation of a sample will initiate action by com- '

pleting NSC Form 514--Irradiation Information Sheet (See Figure IV-A-1). This form which will be submitted with each set of samples describes the isotope needed , the activity expected,and the preferred method of release. Information concerning the method of sample preparation, details of the irradiation record,and sample disposition are completed by the Operations and Health Physics Staff as a record of the sample history. This form must be signed and approved by the Senior Reactor Operator and Health Physicist prior to irradiation.

For guidance of the individuals reviewing NSC Form 514,the sample,its encapsu-lation , the procedures for handling it , and the method of positioning it in the j reactor should satisfy the following criteria to be approved for irradiation:

a. Encapsulation will insure sample containment to prevent contamination of the reactor pooi , handling areas,and any laboratories involved.

b. The induced sample activity can be safely handled using available equipment.

c. If a dimensional change of the sample is expected , adequate expansion space will be left in the irradiation capsule.

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Prepared by STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Subject Page i

Section

) JLK EXPERIMENT APPROVAL IV-A 2

d. The expected reactivity change due to incertion and removal are within acceptable limits (See S0P II-D-6).

e. Significant reactivity variations due to sample movement (sway , bobbing ,  !

or rotation) will be prevented, j

f. The limitations on experiments as indicated in Technical Specifications  :

3.6.1 through 3.6.3 must be satisfied prior to approval.

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g. Expected activity should reflect either total activity of all samples or a per-batch amount from which total activity can be calculated. The ,

activity should be categorized according to the major contributing isotopes.  !

Activity level should be that at the end of irradiation (i.e. , decay time ,

equals zero) unless the release time is known. When the time of release is  !

known and the activity is calculated for such time , the time should be i noted (e.g. ,500 mci total e 1200, 10-10-83).

I 3 Approval of Non-routine Reactor Services j

This section pertains to all experiments that cannot be described as routine reactor service. The service ,which may be a single measurement or a series of experiments will be initiated by the experimenter submitting NSC Form 511--Description of Services Requested. This form is attached as Figure IV-A-2. After completion by the experi- menter the form will be reviewed by the Management and Health Physics Staff to determine if:

a. The serv ~s requested are within the capability of the NSC.

b. They can be performed safely.

c. No violation of Technical Specifications would arise in performing the service.

d. Prior RSB approval has been obtained in the form of an Experiment Authorization.

If the above conditions can be met satisfactorily the experiment may be scheduled.

If not , the experiment will be discussed in detail in a staff meeting and submitted j to the RSB for approval if necessary. q l

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