ML20236W193
| ML20236W193 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Wisconsin |
| Issue date: | 06/30/1998 |
| From: | Cashwell R, Jerome Murphy WISCONSIN, UNIV. OF, MADISON, WI |
| To: | NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 9808050145 | |
| Download: ML20236W193 (18) | |
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University of Wisconsin 1
NUCLEAR REACTOR LABORATORY ADDRESS:
. DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND (.NGINEERING PHYSIC $
- 1. mail, cashwsfleemgr_wix.edu 130 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 8UILDING PHONE (608) 262 3392 1313 UNIVf R$1TY AVENUE
' FoV %08) 262-6707 -
MADISON 53706-1572 I
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l Tech Specs,. Docket 50-156 July 21, 1998
.U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ATTN:
Document Control Desk Washington, D. C.
20555
Dear Sir:
Enclosed herewith is a copy of the Annual Report for the fiscal L
year 1997-98 for the University of Wisconsin Nuclear Reactor Laboratory as required by our Technical Specifications.
Very truly yours, i
R. J. Cashwell Reactor Director Enc.
(Annual Report) l f i
XC:
Region III Administrator j
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i 9908050145 980630 PDR ADOCK 05000156 R
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UWNR l
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN NUCLEAR REACTOR LABORATORY i
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l fiscal year 1997-98 ANNUAL OPERATING REPORT Prepared to meet reporting requirements of:
U.
S. Department of Energy SPECIAL MASTER TASK RESEARCH SUBCONTRACT NO. C87-101251 and
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U.
S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l
I (Docket 50-156, License R-74) l P epared by:
J. G. Murphy I
R. J. Cashwell Department of Engineering Physics 1
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I THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN l
NUCLEAR REACTOR LABORATORY.
r-l fiscal year 1997-98 ANNUAL OPERATING REPORT Prepared to meet reporting requirements ofs f
U. S. Department of Energy SPECIAL MASTER TASK RESEARCH SUBCONTRACT NO. C87-101251 l
and U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Docket 50-156, License R-74) l l
Prepared by:
l J. G. Murphy L
R. J. Cashwell Department of Engineering Physics l
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1 UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 1 of 15 l
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EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
OF REACTOR UTILIZATION Teaching: Teaching usage of the reactor during the year included:
16 NEEP students in laboratory courses.
14 students in lecture courses which included demonstrations in the reactor laboratory.
343 instructors and students from area school systems were given demonstrations in reactor operations and use.
Students and staff from 7 additional college-level l
educational institutions used the facilities for formal J
instruction or research.
l 100 licensed operations personnel attended one-day i
training programs.
I Research Neutrons from the reactor were used primarily for neutron activation and analysis.
673 samples were irradiated for departments at UW-Madison.
676 samples were irradiated for other educational institution research programs.
Industrial Uses.
NAA services were provided to Mcauliffe Mechanical l
Contractors.
Sample irradiations were performed for l
l McCrone Associates. Sodium was activated for Carry-Over tests at Wisconsin Electric Power Company's Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant. A total of 7 samples were L
irradiated for these industrial users.
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s UWNR ANNLAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 2 of 15 TABLE OF CONTENTS i
l EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
OF REACTOR UTILIZATION 1
A.
SUMMARY
OF OPERATIONS 3
1.
INSTRUCTIONAL USE
--UW-Madison Classes and Activities
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2.
REACTOR SHARING PROGRAM.
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3.
SAMPLE IRRADIATIONS AND NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS j
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SERVICES 4.
OTHER MAJOR EDUCATIONAL USE 8
5.
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL, FACILITY AND PROCEDURES 10 6.
RESULTS OF SURVEILLANCE TESTS 10 B.
OPERATING STATISTICS AND FUEL EXPOSURE 11 C.
EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS 11 E.
CHANGES IN THE FACILITY OR PROCEDURES REPORTABLE UNDER 10CFR 50.59 11
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F.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL 11 G.
SUMMARY
OF RADIATION FvMSURE OF PERSONNEL (7/1/97-6/30/98) 12 i
12 H.
RESULTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS l
I.
PUBLICATIONS BASED ON REACTOR USE 12 1
Table 1 LIQUID RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISCHARGED TO SEWER 13
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TABLE 2 EFFLUENT FROM STACK.
14 TABLE 3 ANNUAL DOSE DATA -- Environmental Monitors 15 l
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 3 of 15 A.
SUMMARY
OF OPERATIONS 1.
INSTRUCTIONAL USE
--UW-Madison Classes and Activities NEEP 427 was offered in the fall and spring semesters with a total enrollment of 11 students.
Several NEEP 427 experiments use materials that are activated in the reactor.
One experiment entitled " Radiation Survey" requires that students make measurements of radiation levels in and around the reactor laboratory.
All of these reactor uses take place during normal isotope production runs, so no reactor time is specifically devoted to NEEP 427.
The enrollment in NEEP 428 was 5 as it was offered in the spring semester.
Three experiments in NEEP 428 require exclusive use of the reactor.
Each of these experiments i
(" Critical Experiment," " Control Element Calibration," and
" Pulsing") was run once during the year requiring a total of 9 hours1.041667e-4 days <br />0.0025 hours <br />1.488095e-5 weeks <br />3.4245e-6 months <br /> of exclusive reactor use.
Other NEEP 428 laboratory l
sessions uce material that has been irradiated in the reactor
(" Fast Neutron Flux Measurements by Threshold Foil Techniques" and " Resonance Absorption").
These two experiments were each run once during the year.
An individual class session for Physics 208 was held in l
the Reactor Laboratory, with 6 students participating.
l The Reactor Laboratory continues to attract large numbers of tours, with groups from public schools, day cares, scout troops, Kollege for Kids, trades apprentice programs, teacher groups, and service organizations visiting for tours and nuclear power information.
UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 4 of 15 2.
REACTOR SHARING PROGRAM l
User institutions participated in the program as detailed below.
Participating Principal Number of Faculty Institution Investigator Students Involved Edgewood College Madison, WI I
P. Weldy 1/21 NAA demonstration / reactor tour for chemistry class.
Lakeshore Technical Institute D.
Gossett 1/7 l
Reactor operations demonstration, neutron survey instrument use, NAA demonstration. For Health Physics Technician class instruction.
I Milwaukee School of Engineering S. Mayer 1/7 Reactor operation demonstration, nuclear power plant discussion.
University of Minnesota-Duluth G. Rapp 3/3 Used NAA services to characterize copper artifacts and pottery samples, primarily to determine provenance.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee T. Naik 2/0 Professor Naik and a research associate from the Center for Byproduct Utilization used NAA to investigate incorporation of waste products into construction materials.
College of William and Mary G. Johnson 1/1 Professor Johnson and a student from the Geology Department used NAA to perform a provenance study on clay tobacco pipes found at the original Jamestown Settlement.
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l UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 5 of 15 Non-College Groups:
' Boy Scouts of America 4/36 Reactor tour, potential nuclear power applications.
Discussion of shielding and neutron activation analysis.
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John Muir Academy (High School Teachers) 18/0 Reactor tour, nuclear applications discussion, uses of UW Nuclear Reactor facility.
Deforest Area School Teachers 10/0 Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion.
Spring Harbor School 2/30 Reactor tour, discussion of nuclear power applications.
Students use tour to assist in an energy technology debate at their school.
Upward Bound Program 1/14 Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion.
ESTEAM 11/134 Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion for minority high school students. Part of a program to interest minority students in technical education.
l Summer Enrichment Program 1/22 l
Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion for minority high school students. Summer program to interest minority students in technical education.
New Glarus High School 1/19 High school physics students toured the lab and discussed nuclear power issues.
l Bayfield High School 1/4 i
Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion.
Fond du Lac High School 1/9 Reactor tour and nuclear power discussion.
i UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 6 of 15 Society of Women Engineers 1/11 Engineering society promoting women's roles in engineering.
Reactor tour and talks with high school students about career options.
USER
SUMMARY
Educational Institutions:
17 Students:
318 Faculty / Instructors:
60 3.
SAMPLE IRRADIATIONS AND NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS SERVICES There were 1356 individual samples irradiated during the year.
Of these samples, 465 were irradiated for 15 minutes or less.
Samples accumulated 173.55 irradiation space hours and 1817.10 sample hours.
Many samples were irradiated and then counted at the Reactor Laboratory as part of our neutron activation analysis service.
In the listing I
below the notation (NAA) indicates that the samples were processed by our neutron activation analysis service.
Animal health and Biomedical Sciences Department (NAA) 439 samples, 871 sample hours, and 27 irradiation space hours. Professors Albrecht, Darian, and Kruse-Elliott, two staff menbers and 1 graduate student used the NAA service to trace processes by colloidal gold transport in animal metabolism Biochemistry Department (NAA) 15 samples, 15 less than 15 minutes, 1.5 sample hours, and 1.5 irradiation space hours. Professor Ludden and a graduate student used the NAA service to determine vanadium in aqueous solutions and enzymes.
l Soil Science Department 30 samples, 33.75 sample hours, and 5.75 irradiation hours.
Professor Helmke and graduate students used reactor-prcduced L____________
O UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 7 of 15 radioisotopes to study the behavior of materials in laboratory soil-water-plant systems. Supported by Hatch Act and USDA.
University of Minnesota-Duluth (NAA) (RSP) 5/0 samples, 288 less than 15 minutes, 550.8 sample hours, and 35.6 irradiation space hours. Professor George Rapp, two additional staff members and three graduate students continue their use of NAA for characterization of copper artifacts and pottery samples, primarily to determine provenance.
Supported by DOE Reactor Sharing Program.
l University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (NAA) (RSP) l 84 samples, 45 less than 15 minutes, 82.5 sample hours, and 8.5 irradiation space hours. Professor Naik from the Center for Byproduct Utilization used neutron activation analysis to investigate incorporation of waste materials into l
construction materials (primarily concretes). Industrial support.
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Mcauliffe Mechanical Contractor (NN4) 4 samples, 2 less than 15 minutes, 4.2 sample hours, and 2.2 irradiation space hours. NAA coal ash analysis.
IES - DeWitt (NAA) 30 samples, 60 sample hours, and 4 irradiation space hours.
l An NAA study of peat soil and vegetation.
Col.Lege of William and Mary (NAA) (RSP) 18 samples, 9 less than 15 minutes, 18.9 sample hours, and 2.9 irradiation space hours. Dr. Gerald Johnson (Geology) lead the provenance study on clay tobacco pipes found at the original Jamestown Settlement.
Edgewood College (RSP) 4 samples, 4 less than 15 minutes, 0.4 sample hours, and 0.4 irradiation space hours. Samples were irradiated for reactor demonstration for chemistry class, NAA demonstration.
Geology Museum (NAA) 10 samples, 20 sample hours, and 2 irradiation space hours.
Prof. Skulan and his summer institute group of high school science teachers performed instrumental NAA on dinosaur i
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 8 of 15 bones, amber, and dark and light sharks teeth for comparison of elemental composition with the formation in which the objects were found.
McCrone Associates 2 samples, 2 less than 15 minutes, 0.2 sample hours, and 0,2 irradiation space hours. Irradiated plastic strips, with material returned to McCrone for further analysis.
Wisconsin Electric Power Company (Point Beach) i 1 sample, 2.89 sample hours, and 2.89 irradiation space hours. Sodium sample irradiated for carry-over tests at Point Beach Nuclear Power Station.
Engineering Physics, UW-Madison NEEP 427 and 428 laboratory Courses 131 samples, 97 less than 15 minutes, 146.16 sample hours, and 75.06 irradiation space hours. Irradiations in support j
of teaching laboratory classes.
Reactor laboratory 18 samples, 3 less than 15 minutes, 24.8 sample hours, and j
5.55 irradiation space hours. Irradiations for instrument l
calibration, in support of NAA demonstrations, and lab l
investigations.
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OTHER MAJOR EDUCATIONAL USE A two-week summer session on reactor operations and systems was conducted during the last week in May and the first week of June. Faculty and staff from Prairie View A&M University R
(PVAMU) in Houston, Texas, attended the seminar. The course consisted of morning sessions in the UW Nuclear Reactor Laboratory and afternoon sessions at Computer Aided Engineering.
The first week of morning sessions dealt with the reactor lab physical arrangement, radiation health physics, nuclear physics (specifically fission), and reactor lab water systems. These four lectures, with accompanying reactor lab tours,'were used to familiarize PVAMU personnel with the basic systems that are essential to nuclear reactor operations. The second week of sessions dealt with hands-on l
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 9 of 15 reactor operations. The seven visitors from PVAMU were able to manipulate reactor controls through various exercises that illustrate the capabilities of the reactor, and teach through example very important concepts in reactor operations. An
. approach to critical was performed, were the PVIGRJ personnel were able to predict criticality based on 1/M plots derived from measurements taken at various subcritical heights. A rod l
bump method was then used to determine the worth of one of the UWNR's control blades. The reactor was then square-waved to show the negative temperature effects during a transient l
to the. power range. Finally, the reactor was pulsed to show prompt critical behavior. All exercises were well accepted by the group and spawned genuinely interesting discussions with the attendees. The group consisted of mechanical engineers, many of whom work in the area of combustion engineering.
The reactor seminar required 20 hours2.314815e-4 days <br />0.00556 hours <br />3.306878e-5 weeks <br />7.61e-6 months <br /> of exclusive reactor use, with Reactor Director Richard Cashwell, Supervisor Steve Matusewic, and alternate Supervisor John Murphy j
participating. A total of 230 Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) j hours were required to prepare and. conduct the seminar. The seminar will hopefully be taught on a yearly basis with an emphasis placed on recruiting undergraduate. physics and engineering students. Funding was provided by Assistant Vice-Chancellor Mercile Lee as part of UW's continuing effort to collaborate with Historically Black Colleges.
A one-day training session on subcritical multiplication and reactivity transients was developed and presented for licensed personnel from the Braidwood Nuclear Power Station.
The sequence consisted of plotting 1/M (Inverse Count Rate
-Ratio) versus control element bank' position for prediction of the critical rod height, and comparing the prediction with that from an eight-fold countrate increase and actual critical position.
The effect of a neutron source on prediction of critical with the reactor at minimum power level for critical and at 1 watt was demonstrated.
Then, the point of adding heat was determined, followed by measurement of transient power level reached following step changes in reactivity.
This series culminated in a prompt-critical insertion demonstrating the same reactivity feedback occurs no matter what the initial insertion.
Finally, fuel temperature and reactivity loss at steady state powers up to I
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e UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 10 of 15 full power were measured.
This program was repeated 16 times in order to instruct all RO and SRO licensed personnel during scheduled training time.
A concurrent demonstration of the effects of over-and under-compensation on performance of intermediate range reactor instrumentation was included in the operating sequences.
A total of 112 hours0.0013 days <br />0.0311 hours <br />1.851852e-4 weeks <br />4.2616e-5 months <br /> of exclusive reactor use was devoted to this program.
5.
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL, FACILITY AND PROCEDURES Any changes reportable under 10 CFR 50.59 are indicated in section E of this report.
Personnel changes during the year were as follows:
The following Senior Reactor Operator completed degree requirements and left the university.
Robert J. Agasie The following Operators completed degree requirements and left the university.
Robert M. Ulfig Robert C.
Chapmann The following emeritus f&culty member decided to discontinue status as a Senior Reactor Operator.
Professor William F.
Vogelsang 6.
RESULTS OF SURVEILLANCE TESTS The program of inspection and testing of reactor components continues.
Inspection of underwater components showed no deterioration or wear.
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 11 of 15 B.
OPERATING STATISTICS AND FUEL EXPOSURE Critical Oceratina Period Mrs MW Hrs Runs Pulses fiscal year 1996-97 637.30 531.58 204 48 FLIP Core 12223.04 10156.18 3452 743 TRIGA 19488.03 15144.36 5442 2054 Core I23-R10 was operated throughout the year.
The excess reactivity of this core decreased by 0.092 %p (to 4.044 %p) i during the year.
C.
EMERGENCY SHUTDOWNS AND INADVERTENT SCRAMS There were 3 automatic scrams or inadvertent shutdowns during the year.
Each is described below in chronological sequence.
May 14,1998 Relay scram from down-ranging picoammeter too far; trainee error May 14,1998 Relay scram from down-ranging picoammeter too far; trainee error June 8, 199 Relay scram from short period on startup; licensed operator underestimated the period that would result from a control element withdrawal.
E.
CHANGES IN THE FACILITY OR PROCEDURES REPORTABLE UNDER 10CFR 50.59 There were no changes in the facility of procedures reportable under 10CFR Part 50.59.
F.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL 1.
SOLID WASTE No solid waste was transferred from the facility during the year.
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98
? age 12 of 15 2.
LIQUID WASTE Liquid waste discharges are detailed in Table 1.
3.
PARTICULATE AND GASEOUS ACTIVITY RELEASED TO THE ATMOSPHERE Table 2 presents information on stack discharges during the year.
G.
SUMMARY
OF RADIATION EXPOSURE OF PERSONNEL (7/1/97-6/30/98)
No personnel received any significant radiation exposure for the above period.
The highest doses recorded were 20 mrem to the whole body and 70 mrem to extremities.
H.
RESULTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS The environmental monitoring program at Wisconsin uses Eberline TLD area monitors located in areas surrounding the reactor laboratory.
Table 3 indicates the dose a person would have received if continuously present in the indicated area for the full year.
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PUBLICATIONS BASED ON REACTOR USE i
l Theses:
Broderson, Brian: Utilization of Post-Consumer Plastics as a l
filler in Concrete.
Chopada, Parag: Low-Cost, High Performance Construction Materials UsingCoal Combustion By-Products.
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Gupta, Mayank: Utilization of used Foundry Sand in Concrete l
Production In preparation:
Zichao Wu, PhD thesis Yoon-Moon Chun, MS thesis
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 13 of 15 l
Table 1 LIQUID RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISCHARGED TO SEWER pCUmi 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 Fraction of MPC 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 Co-58 pCi 44.11 10.39 54.50 2.00E-04 pCl/mi 6.86E-06 2.39E-06 5.05E-06 Fraction of MPC 3.43E-02 1.19E-02 2.53E-02 l
Co-60 pCi 24.07 2.99 27.06 l
l 3.00E-05 pCi/mi 3.74E-06 6.87E-07 2.51E-06 Fraction of MPC 1.25E-01 2.29E-02 8.36E-02 j
Cr-Si pCl 62.24 57.98 12002 5.00E-03 pCUml 9.67E-06 1.33E-05 1.11E 05 Fraction of MPC 1.93E-03 2.66E-03 2.23E-03 K-40 pCi 0.00 4.00E45 pCi/mi 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 i
Fraction of MPC 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 0.00E+00 Mn-54 pCi 73.04 10.94 83.98 l
3.00E-04 pCi/mi 1.14E-05 2.51E-06 7.79E 06 l
Fraction of MPC 3.78E-02 8.38E-03 2.60E-02
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- Ru-106 pCl 108.15 22.01 130.16 3.00E-05 pCi/mi 1.68E-05 5.06E-06 1.21E-05 Fraction of MPC 5.60E-01 1.69E-01 4.02E41 Zn-65 pCi 299.32 52.73 352.05 5.00E-05 pCi/mi 4.65E-05 8.19E-06 3.26E-05 Fraction of MPC 9.30E-01 1.64E-01 6.53E-01 Total release No dilution Fraction of MPC 1.63 0.38 1.19 Daily dilution Fraction of MPC 0.11 0.02 0.03 Average concentration (pCi/ml) at point of release to sew 7.12E-05 Avg. fraction of release limit w/o dilut:on =
1.19 Max. fraction of release limit w/o dilution =
1.69 Average daily sewage flow for dilution (gallons) =
2.37E+04 Max. fraction of MONTHLY release limit with DAILY diluti 0.11 Max. fraction of MONTHLY release limit with MONTHLY 0.01 i
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UWNR ANNUAL REPORT-fiscal year 1997-98 Page 14 of 15 TABLE 2 EFFLUENT FROM STACK 1.
Particulate Activity There was no discharge of. particulate activity above background levels.
2.
Gaseous Activity - All Argon-41 Month Activity Maximum Average Discharged Concentration Concentration (Curies) pCi/ml x IE-6 pCi/ml x 1E-6 July 0.07941 3.1 0.0443 August 0.06692 3.3 0.0373 September 0.05689 2.8 0.0328 October 0.04158 2.7 0.0232 November 0.031 2.1 0.01787 December 0.01118 1.7 0.00624 January 0.02574 1.7 0.01463 February 0.03983 1.7 0.0246 March 0.06904 1.7 0.0385 April 0.0235 1.9 0.01354 May 0.02453 2.3 0.01368 June 0.01556 2.1 0.00897 Total Maximum Average 0.485 3.3 0.022 The concentration resulting in 1E-8 personnel exposure is BE-6 at stack discharge.
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UWNR ANNUAL" REPORT--fiscal year 1997-98 Page 15 ofL15 A..
-TABLE 3-ANNUAL DOSE DATA'-
Environmental Monitors
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i Location-1997-1998 l
[CONTROLL 74.8 HIGHEST INSIDE RX: LAB WALLS:
202,2
.INSIDE RX= LAB STACK?
108.0 L
~ HIGHEST OUTSIDE RX LAB WALLS 156.0 h
-- AVERAGE. UNREST;; AREA /
88.2 y
., HIGHEST OCCUPIED UNRESTRICTED AREA 92.6' 4
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