ML20247A417

Annual Operating Rept,CY88

ML20247A417
Person / Time
Site:	University of Buffalo
Issue date:	12/31/1988
From:	Danielle Sullivan BUFFALO MATERIALS RESEARCH CENTER
To:	NRC
References
NUDOCS 8905230139
Download: ML20247A417 (14)

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o-BUFFALO MATERIALS RESEARCH CENTER 29 L.% '

March 29,.1989 Secretary-U. S. ' Nuclear. Regulatory Conunission - Washington, D. C. 20545

Dear Sir:

m Docket'50-57 License R-77 We.are enclosing two copies of'th'e' Annual Operating Report of the Buffalo Materials Research Center, State University-of New York at Buffalo, for.th.e calendar year'1988. We submit the report pursuant - to 10.CFR'50.71(b).. Very.truly yours,. BUFFALO MATERIALS RESEARCH CENTER Daniel W. Sullivan, Jr. Associate Director luiun enclosures-2' '8905230139'88'1231ADOCK 05000057@ PDR R PNU f/4Y 0 . SUNY BUFFALO, ROTARY ROAD, BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14214-TELEPHONE (716) 8312826

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. ;~., s. _.1^ i a. o s ( f Y l-s + a s< s F 0 t ja i ANNUAL OPERATING REPORT STATE' UNIVERSITY'OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO- ' BUFFALO-MATERIALS RESEARCH CENTER' t.' ~ .m .i Li' cense R-77 Docket 50-57 L CALENDAR YEAR 1988 Submitted by Daniel W. Sullivan, Associate Director J -q. i i 4 . t g_.. :t I g .{6Yh i i i

I i INTRODUCTION This report is submitted pursuant to.section 6.7.2 of Appendix A, license R-77, Technical Specifications for the Buffalo Materials Research Center of the State University of New York at Buffalo. It summarizes operations, personnel radiation exposures, and radioactive effluents for the calendar year 1988. 1. . Safety-Related Cha.Daes in Facility Desian or Performance There were no safety-related changes in facility design or performance during 1988. 2. Results of Surveillance Tests and Inspection All required monthly, quarterly, and annual inspections, tests, and calibrations were performed. The results were unremarkable. Control Blade #5 was removed from the reactor core for visual inspection. No discernible damage, distortion, or degradation of the blade or it's support structures was observed. 3. Monthly Enerav Releases The reactor released 421 megawatt-days of energy during the calendar year 1988. This represents an average of 97.0 hours of full-power operation per week. A summary of energy releases is presented in Appendix A. 1 1 l 1

4. Unplanned Shutdowns Durina 1988 ~ f There were 14 unplanned shutdowns during 1988, as follows: Date Type cause Action Taken 03/30/88 Run In Swollen sample stuck Sample removed in 5 hole vertical after cooling standpipe 04/20/88 Flow Water drained from Restart after pool too'quickly drained to desired level 05/31/88 Flow Loss of supply air to Restart flow measuring system 06/07/88 Run in Foreign object on core Object removed 06/08/88 Run in Foreign object on core Object removed 06/14/88 Manual Foreign object on core Object removed 08/10/88 Manual Foreign object on core Object passed through core, confirmed that it'was trapped in primary screen 08/10/88 Manual Foreign object on core Object removed 108/22/88 Manual Foreign object free in Canister pool, canister knocked recovered off shelf 08/30/88 Rod drop Interruption of power Restart to facility l 10/17/88 Safety amp Transient signal due to Restart mechanical shock to UIC safety 2 10/17/88 Safety amp Loose connector in Wire repaired bridge junction box 10/19/88 Rod drop Low magnet current Adjusted magnet current 12/27/88 Rod, drop Electrical short in Wire repaired control panel i

e ~ 1 l ~ Regarding 04/20/88 unplanned shutdown; P A small amount of water was drained.from the primary loop up stream of the primary coolant flow measuring orifice plate..As a result, water flow was diverted around the flow orifice plate reducing'the differential pressure sensed by the system. The reduced flow through the orifice plate tripped the low flow scram, even though flow through the reactor core and heat exchanger'was normal.- Corrective' action included re-instruction L of. involved operations personnel.' In addition, the incident and -its' consequences were discussed during the annual operator requal training session. .x Regarding.05/31/88 unplanned shutdown; Reactor-service compressed air systems were cross connected such that the accumulator supplying air to the flow measuring system i-was depressurized. When'this accumulator was depressurized, the flow measuring system failed in the' conservative direction and shut the reactor down on a' loss of' flow scram. Corrective action included re-instruction of involved operations personnel. In addition administrative controls were established to prevent cross connecting these air systems in the future. .Regarding 06/07/88 thru 08/10/88 unplanned shutdowns; 06/07/88 - wire twist-tie fell into pool 06/08/88 - customer detector ID tag fell into pool ( 06/08/88 - in house security card fell into pool 08/10/88 - wire twist-tie fell into pool '08/10/88 - wire twist-tie fell into pool Correcti"e action included re-instruction of involved Operations j personnel. In addition two memos were issued to all Operators. The first memo outlined steps operators must adhere to when . working around the reactor pool to avoid dropping things into the pool. The second memo addressed a new method developed to reduce the risk of dropping (twist-tie) fasteners'into the pool. The second memo issued, required Operators to use a modified twist- -tie - ie. one that floats, when working over the reactor pool. Since this second memo, there have been no unplanned shutdowns as a result of objects falling into the pool. Management at the facility is satisfied that the problem has been corrected. 5. Maintenance Operations I There were no remarkable maintenance operations during this l reporting period. L 6. Experiments, Tests, and Facility Chances There were no changes which would change a description in the Safety Analysis Report; no experiments were conducted that deviated from the Safety Analysis Report. There were no major changes or upgrades in the Facility. fln a

+ 7. Effluents j l a.- Releases to the Sanitary Sewer During 1988 there were five controlled releases of radioactivity-to the sanitary sewer. The total volume of water released was .105,490 liters, with a total radioactivity of 107.6 millicuries. The yearly and isotopically averaged fraction of maximum permissible concentrations released was.21 per cent. In 1987 the BMRC began using a new liquid waste holding. system. -TheLnew system features a 10,000 gallon holding tank which is housed in an accessible concrete vault. The original waste water system is buried in an inaccessible underground vault on the South-east side of the containment. The old tank system'is being maintained in a wetted condition and tell tale ground water monitoring is being continued. Since the primary long-lived radioactive contaminant is Silver 110 M (half life-250 days) the residual activity in the old tanks is being allowed to decay pending eventual decommissioning. The tanks are sampled and pumped to the sanitary sewer periodically and fresh water is added. Tables I -V provide individual nuclide and total quantity information for each release to the sanitary sewer. Tables labeled "old tank" refer to releases from the original (buried) system. Tables labeled "new tank" refer to the above ground system. Table VI;provides yearly averages. The average sewer flow rate for the'Winspear Avenue trunk for 1988 was 3.79 E08 ml/ day. 1 j b. . Building Air The building air system releases airborne effluents from the general bay. areas (breathing air) and certain low level fume hoods. The primary gaseous effluent is Argon 41, of which a total of 6.6 curies was released in 1988. The maximum and yearly average release concentrations were 5.4 E-07 and 9.8 E-08 microcuries/ml, respectively. This corresponds with 13 per cent and 4.9 per cent of the limits established by technical specifications. H on July 24, 1988 an irradiation experiment resulted in the release of 0.6 mci of Argon 41 gas in a fume hood venting to the building air system. A concentration of 4.6 E-6 uCi/ml at the release point was determined. This release was not in excess of limits set forth by 10CFR 20, however, Technical Specification Limit 3.6.2 (girborne effluents from the Building Air duct) was exceeded by a margin of 15 percent. This event was considered a' reportable occurrence as per Section 6.4.6 of technical specifications. A report describing this event was submitted on . August 5, 1988 to Region I of the U.S.N.R.C. by Mr. Louis Henry, director B.M.R.C. j R O I

f c. Stack Gas The stack exhaust system releases airborne effluents from the j high level fume hoods, the hot cell, and from various irradiation { and experiment facilities, through a filtered 50 meter high stack. The primary gaseous release is Argon 41, and the primary particulate release is Cesiur. 138. The-maximum and yearly averaged release rates were 2.2E-04 and 4.4 E-06 curies per i second, respectively. This represents 23 per cent and 1.4 per cent of the limits established by technical specifications. Table VII provides thr, total activities and yearly average concentrations for measured particulate and gases. 8. Environmental Surveys There were no environmental surveys outside the BMRC building, with the exception of occasional chocks for radiation near the large " truck" containment door, and surveys of vehicles leaving or arriving at DMRC. All resulte were unremarkable. 9. Dosimetry Dosimetry records were maintained for a total of 113 staff members and facility users. Out of this total, 53 were University Public Safety Officers, three of which received measurable exposure. An additional 1058 persons entered the facility, using the " visitor" dosimetry badges, 30 of whom received measurable exposures. The maximum annual whole body dose to an individual was 1.46 Rem. The average annual exposure was.338 Rem, with a total man-rem expenditure of 12.850, distributed over 38 individuals who received measurable exposures. Table VIII provides a summary of personnel exposures. 10. Radiation and Contamination Surveys a. Exit Monitoring Exit monitoring is required from each egress from the reactor containment or the sub-basement. These surveys occasionally detect contamination, allowing rapid detection and correction of contamination problems. b. Routine Surveys Short-liv 9d radioisotopes are processed on a nominal twice per week frequency. Contamination and dose rate surveys are performed after each day's processing. The results of these surveys du, ring 1988 were unremarkable. Monthly surveys are performed by the BMRC Health Physics personnel, of all areas of the Center. Contamination in excess of action limits was detected 52 times during thege surveys. Of the 52 detections, none exceeded 10,000 dpm/100cm. Surveys include'the inside of fume hoods and liquid disposal sinks. There were no known or suspected uncontrolled releases, or

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' personnel uptakes of radioactive materials-except as described. below. c. Non-Routine Surveys A small amount of airborne radioactivity was released by an experimental apparatus.within the confines of the B.M.R.C. containment building on 6/17/88. No radioactive material escaped from the controlled area. The release resulted in the minor contamination of two individuals and generated low level surface contamination in many areas of the containment building. Of.the two individuals contaminated, the person in the vicinity of the release was contaminated over most areas of his clothing and exposed skin, with typical levels ranging from 500 to 1,000 CPM, using a pancake G-M frisker. The other individual involved experience similar levels of contamination only on the bottom of I his shoes. A' lung scan was conducted on the one individual in the vicinity of the release, which indicated the presence of 1.2 nano curies of co-60 (marginally greater than M.D.A. for the counting apparatus). Based on measured levels of Co/Mn in representative smears, and on calculated levels of Fe, it is assumed that 0.03 nanocuries of Mn-54 and'6.0 nanocuries of Fe-55 were also'present. This activity represents a 50 year committed dose equivalent of less than 5 mrem. A complete report of this incident was submitted to Region I ,'U. S. N. R. C. on 6/28/88. 11. Additional Items on 10/19/89 following an unplanned rod-drop due to low magnet' current, an area Radiation monitor located two to three feet from a primary coolant line began alarming. It was determined that a Hot metal particle of Indium had lodged on a. l . primary pipe elbow weld joint near the area monitor. Follow-Up rod-drop tests revealed that additional particles were observable using an ion chamber survey meter in contact with the primary pipe. It was concluded that the reactor control blades which are 15% indium, was the likely source of the particles. In light of these observations, quotes are being sought from vendors for replacement blades. In addition, procedures are being developed to perform the change-out operation. In the interim reactor operations are continuing as usual. Additional radiological or administrative controls have been implemented to-negate the potantial hot particle hazards. Rod drop tests, scram tests, and all other safety system tests have been verified to be within specifications. In addition, control blade reactivity worth and shutdown margin requirements have been confirmed to be within the required' ranges. p n Il dl

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Month ~ MW-hours-Released; s u i . - January -859.6: March ' 1006.5' ~ ]j February- -893.4. April'. ~875.1- .n 1 ~ May ~660.7 1 June' 682.6i i July 485.6' i August. 996.3 1 September. 869.5 ji . October' 874.5 l November 844.2 1 ,?- December 846.4 f! Total Mw-hours 10104.2 l, Total Mw-days 421.O

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I P 4. -g. TABLE'I fWASTE' TANK 88-1A (old tank) 6 Z LAmount' Released: .3.99E+06.ml b Date of Release: 23-Mar ' H I =l l -l Release'l Percent l l-1 l l l Isotope ll mpc ,le -Tank-I l(uci/ml) l (uci/ml) l .I I l (uC1/ml) l mpo l I I i -l H-3 l-1E-01'l 1.9E-05.l.2.OE-07 l 2.OE-04-l l l I I I I l Mn-54 l 4E-03 l 7.2E-06-l 7.6E-08 l 1.9E-03-l l 1 l . l: 1 1 l Co-58: l 4E-03 l-2.6E-06 l 2.7E-08 l 6.8E-04 l l l l 1 l-1 l -Co-60 l 1E-03 l 1.1E-04 l 1.2E-06 l 1.2E-01 l l l 1 I I I l l Ag-110m j .9E-04 l 2.1E-03.l 2.2E-05 l 2.5E+00 j l' l 'l l I I l Sb-124 l-7E-04 l 2.3E-05.l 2.4E-07 l 3.5E-02-l 1 I l -- l_ l l La-140 l. 7E-04 1.3E-05-l 1.4E-07 l12.0E-02.l l 'l i I I -l Total of mpc Released: 2.6'% i f TABLE TI-WASTE TANK 88-1B (old tank) i Amount Heleased: 1.08E+07 ml Date of Release: 24-Mar-88 I I I I I I i l Isotope l mpo l Tank l: Release l Percent l l j(uci/ml) l (uci/ml) l(uci/ml) l mpo [ i l 1. I I I _,_ I ~ l H-3 l 1E-01 l 1.9E-05 l 5.4E-07 l 5.4E-04={ - 1 I I _I l _. I l Mn-54 l 4E-03 l 7.2E-06 l 2.1E-07 l 5.1E-03<j' I l __. _I I 'l l Co-58 l 4E-03 l 2.6E-06 l 7.4E-08 l 1.9E-03 l l 1 I __1__ l I, I ( Co-60 l 1E-03 l 1.1E-04 l 3.1E-06 l 3.1E-01 l

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l l __. I l l l,Ag,-110m l 9E-04 l 2.1E-03 l.6.0E-05 l 6.6E+00 l 1 I I ..I 'l 1 l Sb-124 l 7E-04 l 2.3E-05 l 6.6E-O', l 9.4E-02 l j l i I l l l 1 l La-140 l 7E-04 l 1.3E-05 l 3.7E-07 l 5.3E-02 l 1 1 I I I I I Total of mpc Released: 7.1 %

a TABLE.III WASTE TANK 88-2 (new tank) I Amount Released: 3.08E+07 ml Date of Release: 04-May-88 L I I I I I I l Isotope l mpc I Tank l Release l Percent l l l l(uci/ml) l (uci/ml) l(uci/ml) l mpo l L l. l I I I I l H-3 l 1E-01 l 3.7E-05 l 3.0E-06 l 3.0E-03 l 1 I l__ l i l Co-50 l 4E-03 l 5.7E-06 l 4.6E-07 l 1.2E-02 l 1 I I I ._._ I I l-Co-60 l 1E-03 j 7.4E-06 l 6.0E-07 l

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I I l_ l __ _ l l Ag-110m l 9E-04 l 1.2E-03 l 9.BE-05 l 1.1E+01 l 1. I I I i 1 l Sb-124 l 7E-04 l 2.7E-04 l 2.2E-05 l 3.1E+00 l 1 I I I l-l l La-140 l 7E-04 l 5.5E 06 l 4.5E-07 l 6.4E-02 l l l_. - I _.2.4E-04 j 2.0E-05 l 2.2E+01 l l_ l I l UN-ID l 9E-05 l f l Beta l l l l l 1 _.1 1 I I I Total of upc Released: 35.B;% q TARLE_.lY f WASTE TANK 88-3 (new tank) ] Amount Released: 3.12E+07 ml [' Date of Release: 02.Aug-88 ~ I I 1 1 I I l Isotope l mpc l Tank l Release l Percent l l l(uci/ml) l (uci/ml) l(uci/ml) l mpo l l l 1 1 I -l l H-3 j 1E-01 l 3.3E-05 l 2.7E-06 ! 2.7E-03 l l I I I I i l Co l 4E-03 l 8.7E-06 l 7.2E-07 l 1.8E-02 l l l I I I I I l Co-60 l 1E-03 l 1,.4E-05 l 1.2E-06 -l 1.2E-01 l [ l l -= l l 1 I J Ag-110m l 9E-04 l 2.1E-04 l 1.'E-05 l 1.9E+00 l . I I i __ I I I l Sb-124 j 7E-04 l 8.9E-05 l 7.3E-06 l 1.0E+00 ) I i 1. __.I_ l .) 1 La-140 l 7E-04 l 1.2E-06 l 9.9E-08 l 1.4E-02 ') i I 1. l.. __.__. I i 9 l UN-ID l 9E-05 l 2.2E-04 l 1,8E-05 l 2.0E+01 l l Beta I l l l l l I l= l l _ __. 1 Total of upc Released: 23.2 % j _a

e ) i TABLE V WASTE TANK 88 (old. tank) Amount Released: 2.87E+07 al Date of Release: 04-Aug-88 f l I l l I l l l Isotope l .mpo l Tank l Release l Percent l ) l l(uCi/ml) l (uCi/ml) l(uC1/ml) l mpc l l 1. _._. I I I l I .. c l H-3 l 1E-01 l 9.6E-06 l 7.3E-07 l 7.3E-04 l l l I .I l l l l Co-60 l 1E-03 j 5.6E-05 l 4.2E-06 l 4.2E-01 l l___ l l I I I I Ag-110m l 9E-04 ) 8.1E-04 l 6.1E-05 l 6.8E+00 l I 1 1 I I I I l La-140 j 7E-04 j 3.5E-06 l 2.7E-07 l 3.8E-02 l l 1 ..I I - 1 I i 4 Total of mpc Released: 7.3 % TABLE VI YEARLY AVERAGE RELEASES TO THE SANITARY SEWER - 1988 l l' l Average l l l l Annual l l Isotope l Release l Concentration l l l (C1) l (uci/ml) l t i I I I l H-3 l 2.7E-03 l 2.0E-08 l l 1 _ __ I i l Mn-54 ] 1.1E-04 l 7.7E-10 l l l .I I l-Co-53 l 4.9E-04 l 3.5E-09 j l I l__ l l Co-60 l 3.9E-03 l 2.8E-08 l 1 l_ l i l Ag-110m l 7.5E-02 l 5.4C-07 l l l 1 l l Sb-124 l 1.lE-02 l 8.3E-08 l 1 1 1 1 l La-14 0 l 4.0E-04 l 2.9E-09 l 1 l_ l l l UN-ID l 1.4E-02 l 1.0E-07 l l Beta l 1 l l .I I I 7;

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gs ) $i i a , g. 7. f.. .j f:;; ,n 4 Table VII r ~,. 1 c ' BMRC ARGON-41 AND CESIUM-138 AIR RELEASES FOR 1988' .a POINT OF RELEASE- -l BUILDING STACK :. . STACK AIR GAS -PARTICULATE ' UNITS. ~ o Nuclide. Argon-41 Argon-41 . Cesium-138 -TotalJamount 6.6E+00

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'8.9E-03 .1 -i .t Maximum. values: .j l . concentration 5 4E-07 7.7E-051 5'.1E-10.. -uC1/cc: . i > rate- 'l.'1E-06 2.2E-04 1.4E-09 Ci/sec.! limit.* 4.0E-06 1 ~ 9.6E-04 7.2E-04. fuCi/cc Ci/sec i ..% of limits **- 1.3E+01 2.3E+01 2.0E-04

percent-j

. Annual average: concentration 9.8E-08 1.9E-06 1.2E-10 uCi/cc

rate 2.1E-07 4.4E '2.8E-10-'

Ci/sec m . limit '!

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Luci/cc. O f! 3.2E-04 2.4E-04/ Ci/, sec.. 7 T C of limits ** .4.9E+00 1.4E+00 1.2E+00

per0ent b

- Monitor sensitivities:. JANUARY 1.- 2.7E-09 2.2E 4.6E-13 uCi/cc-CPM' q E c SEPTEMBER 28'- 2.6E-09. 2.9E-09 5.SE uci/cc-CPM l i q Additional Data: ' Period include in calculations 366 days = Number of transient releases 131 = Time'of reactor operation = 5079 ' hours J Ventilation system ON 6155.8 hours = Stack flow rates: 1 = 7.65E+09 cc/hr ' Building air 1.02E+10 cc/hr Stack (vent. ON) = C'htack-(shut-down) 4.25E+09 cc/hr i + = Total sthck flow to date 7.39E+13 cc = s_____________________________________________________________________ ' *?=' Permissible limit based on BMRC. Technical Specifications (6/83) '** =.Percentsimust be~ summed for all nuclides for each release' point 1: Ly g, jj O 'J. F.l a a n V'

+ 1: 9 TABLE VIII .6 ^ EXPOSURE

SUMMARY

- 1988-1 1

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