ML24257A189

Reed College, Submittal of Annual Report for the July 1, 2023 Through June 30, 2024

ML24257A189
Person / Time
Site:	Reed College
Issue date:	09/13/2024
From:	Newhouse J Reed College
To:	Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Document Control Desk
References
2024-064
Download: ML24257A189 (1)

Text

September 13, 2024 2024-064 ATTN: Document Control Desk U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Enclosed is the annual report for the Reed Research Reactor (Docket 50-288, License No. R-112) for the period July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Jerry Newhouse Director, Reed Research Reactor

Enclosure:

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 cc Dr. Kathryn C. Oleson, Dean of the Faculty, Reed College Duane Kilsdonk, Compliance Officer, Oregon Department of Energy REED COLLEGE Reed Research Reactor 3203 SE Woodstock Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97202-8199 phone: 503/777-7222. email: reactor@reed.edu Jerry Newhouse Digitally signed by Jerry Newhouse Date: 2024.09.13 14:08:11

-07'00'

1 REED RESEARCH REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT July 1, 2023 -- June 30, 2024 3203 Southeast Woodstock Blvd.

Portland, Oregon 97202-8199 503-517-7222 https://reactor.reed.edu reactor@reed.edu

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 i

Table of Contents 1.0 Overview........................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 People............................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Reactor Staff.............................................................................................................................. 2 2.2 Reactor Operations Committee.................................................................................................. 4 3.0 Experiment Facilities......................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Beam Facility.............................................................................................................................. 5 3.2 In-Core Facilities......................................................................................................................... 5 3.3 In-Pool Facilities......................................................................................................................... 5 3.4 Pneumatic Transfer System........................................................................................................ 5 3.5 Radiation Detection Equipment................................................................................................. 5 3.6 Rotating Specimen Rack............................................................................................................. 5 4.0 Inspections and Audits...................................................................................................... 6 5.0 Users................................................................................................................................. 7 5.1 Chemistry 010: Reactor Seminar................................................................................................ 7 5.2 Reed College Research............................................................................................................... 8 5.3 Community Engagement............................................................................................................ 9 5.4 Academic Use by Other Institutions......................................................................................... 10 5.5 High School Student Projects.................................................................................................... 10 5.6 Industrial and Commercial Applications................................................................................... 10 6.0 Reactor Operations......................................................................................................... 11 6.1 Operating Statistics.................................................................................................................. 11 6.2 Unplanned Reactor Shutdowns................................................................................................ 13 7.0 Reactor Maintenance...................................................................................................... 14 7.1 Changes, Tests, and Experiments............................................................................................. 14 7.2 Planned Maintenance.............................................................................................................. 14 7.3 Unplanned Maintenance.......................................................................................................... 14 8.0 Radiation Protection....................................................................................................... 15 8.1 Personal Dosimetry.................................................................................................................. 15 8.2 Fixed Area Dosimetry............................................................................................................... 15 8.3 Gaseous Releases..................................................................................................................... 16 8.4 Liquid Waste Releases.............................................................................................................. 16 8.5 Solid Waste Disposal................................................................................................................ 16 8.6 Environmental Sampling.......................................................................................................... 16

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 ii List of Charts Chart 1 Number of RO and SRO Candidates 2015-2024 ________________________________ 7 Chart 2 RO and SRO Exam Pass Rates 2015-2024 _____________________________________ 8 Chart 3 Number of Visitors 2015-2024 ______________________________________________ 9 Chart 4 Number of Times Critical and Days Operated by Year __________________________ 12 Chart 5 Energy Production by Year ________________________________________________ 12 Chart 6 Unplanned Shutdowns by Year 2015-2024 ___________________________________ 13 Chart 7 Average Concentration of Gaseous Activity Release (µCi/ml) by Year ______________ 16 List of Tables Table 1 Supervisory Staff ________________________________________________________ 2 Table 2 Staff __________________________________________________________________ 3 Table 3 July 2023 - June 2024 Operating History by Month _____________________________ 11 Table 4 2023-2024 Unplanned Shutdowns __________________________________________ 13 Table 5 Fixed Area Dosimeter DDE ________________________________________________ 15

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 1

1.0 Overview This report covers the period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and is intended to fulfill the reporting requirements of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission License No. R-112, Docket 50-288, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Oregon Department of Energy Rule No. 345-030-010.

Reed College operates a 250 kW TRIGA Mark I reactor. The Reed Research Reactor has been a resource for research and educational projects in the Portland area since 1968. The main uses of the Reed Research Reactor are instruction, research, and community engagement.

Through tours, the reactor facility supports Reed Colleges community engagement efforts. Tours for local high schools typically include a laboratory portion in which students monitor the decay of radioactive Vanadium-52 and calculate its half-life, although a variety of laboratory activities are available. During the reporting period 1,325 visitors toured the reactor facility.

During the reporting period the reactor was taken critical 356 times on 146 days. The total energy produced was approximately 23.92 megawatt-hours.

The reactor staff consists of a Director, a Reactor Operations Manager, and Reed College undergraduate students. The student staff consist of technicians, trainees, and students who are licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as reactor operators or senior reactor operators. During the reporting period, 9 RO candidates and 2 SRO-U candidates received licenses.

There were no radiation exposures to individuals in excess of organizational administrative or regulatory limits during the year. There were no releases of liquid radioactive material from the facility. Airborne releases were well within regulatory limits. There were no shipments of low-level radioactive waste from the facility.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted one inspection during this reporting period:

March 25-27, 2024.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 2

2.0 People 2.1 Reactor Staff During the reporting period the staff consisted of the following:

Table 1 Supervisory Staff Title Name(s)

Dates Position Held Reactor Director Jerry Newhouse 10/2020 - Present Reactor Operations Manager Toria Ellis 06/2019 - Present Radiation Safety Officer April Sams 05/2016 - Present Operations Supervisor Vivian Chen Elijah Whitlam-Sandler 05/2023 - 05/2024 05/2024 - Present Training Supervisor Hope Palmer Laura Smith Hades Schwarzwald 05/2022 - 05/2024 05/2023 - Present 05/2024 - Present Requalification Supervisor Miles McCall 05/2023 - Present Projects Supervisor Olive Ross Elijah Whitlam-Sandler Vee Bartko Victor Kirchmeier 05/2023 - 05/2024 05/2023 - 05/2024 05/2024 - Present 05/2024 - Present

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 3

Table 2 Staff Senior Reactor Operators Conor Bekaert Michael Dunn Auden Oliveri Laura Smith Leandra Bruggink Toria Ellis Hope Palmer Sydney Stitt Vivian Chen Henry Jacques Olive Ross Sophia Subramanian Daniel Collier Miles McCall Hades Schwarzwald Elijah Whitlam-Sandler Holden Doherty Jerry Newhouse Reactor Operators Amelie Andreas Elio DiMauro Clementine McTaggart Megan Regier Vee Bartko Sarah Ellis Heath Nevis Ella Roundy Ivan Bondarenko Joaquin Fernandez Odell Finlay Norton-Lindsay Acteon Tong Cameron Bryzek Connor Gilligan Ali Pardini Kathryn Trent Abigail Carmack Azra Hrnjica Johnny Protiva Valerie Wu Sam Cotera Victor Kirchmeier Oscar Pulliam Irene Zhang Anne Determann Reactor Technicians Tate Beech Vicky Gao Grace Mauk Asher Nee Tazwell Brandabur Malori Graves Solís McClain Sherry Wang Miranda Estrada The table of operators includes everyone who held a license at any time during the reporting period.

Reactor Operators who upgraded their licenses to Senior Reactor Operators during the reporting period are listed under Senior Reactor Operators. On June 30, 2024 there were 43 licensed operators at Reed College.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 4

2.2 Reactor Operations Committee The membership of the Reactor Operations Committee during the reporting period was:

§ Dan Gerrity, ROC Chair (Chemistry Faculty, Reed College)

§ Vivian Chen, (Operations Supervisor, RRR)

§ Martha Dibblee, (Radiation Safety and Regulator, retired)

§ Toria Ellis, (Reactor Operations Manager, RRR)

§ Michael Foat, (Religion Faculty, Reed College)

§ Wayne Lei, (CTO, Restoration Fuels)

§ Jerry Newhouse, (Director, RRR)

§ Kathy Oleson, (Dean of the Faculty, Reed College)

§ April Sams, (Director, Reed Environmental Health and Safety)

§ Jerry Shurman, (Mathematics Faculty, Reed College)

§ Steve Reese, (Radiation Center Director, Oregon State University)

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 5

3.0 Experiment Facilities 3.1 Beam Facility The central thimble can be evacuated with compressed gas, producing a vertical neutron beam.

The flux above the beam exit at full power is approximately 1x106 n/cm2s.

3.2 In-Core Facilities The central thimble is a water-filled irradiation chamber about 3 cm in diameter. It provides the highest available neutron flux at full power, approximately 1x1013 n/cm2s.

Foil-insertion holes, 0.8 cm in diameter, are drilled at various positions through the grid plates.

These holes allow the insertion of special holders containing flux wires into the core to obtain three-dimensional neutron flux maps of the core.

3.3 In-Pool Facilities Near core, in-pool irradiation facilities can accommodate larger samples. Neutron fluxes are lower than in the rotary specimen rack. An iridium gamma irradiator is also in the reactor pool for gamma-only irradiations.

3.4 Pneumatic Transfer System The pneumatic transfer system consists of an irradiation chamber in the outermost F-ring of the core and its associated glovebox, blower, and piping. This allows samples to be transferred in and out of the reactor core very rapidly while the reactor is at power. The flux in the core terminal at full power is approximately 5x1012 n/cm2s.

3.5 Radiation Detection Equipment The equipment includes: high purity germanium gamma spectrometers, ion chambers, beta counters, Geiger Muller tubes, and alpha detectors. These instruments are used for experiments, and training in nuclear science and radiation detection. One exit monitor is in the control room. A liquid scintillation detector serves both the reactor and broad scope license users.

3.6 Rotating Specimen Rack The rotating specimen rack is located in a well on top of the graphite reflector surrounding the core. The rack consists of a circular array of 40 tubular receptacles, each of which can hold two irradiation tubes. The rack automatically rotates during irradiation to ensure each sample receives the same neutron fluence. The thermal neutron flux in a rotating rack position at full power is approximately 1.7 x1012 n/cm2s with a cadmium ratio of 6.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 6

4.0 Inspections and Audits The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted one inspection during this reporting period from March 25-27, 2024.

This was a routine safety inspection, and no items were opened or closed. Details of the inspection may be found in Inspection Report No. 050002886/2024201.

The Reactor Operations Committee conducted its required audit during this reporting period. The audit reported,...a well-managed program and included two recommendations for improvements in area radiation monitoring and environmental soil sampling documentation that were both accepted and incorporated into procedure.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 7

5.0 Users 5.1 Chemistry 010: Reactor Seminar For many years, the Reed Research Reactor has conducted an annual seminar series for students interested in learning about the reactor and nuclear technology. Formerly, this series has been considered an extra-curricular activity, however, this year the seminar was incorporated into the curriculum as Chemistry 010: Reactor Seminar. In this course, students receive an introduction to atomic theory, radiation, radiation safety, reactor theory, and research reactor operations. 47 students were registered in the course, from which 15 were selected to apply for Reactor Operator licenses.

The U.S. NRC administered two licensing exams during the reporting period: one in March 2024, and one in May 2024. The March 2024 exam included initial licensing exams, and the May 2024 exam included senior reactor operator upgrade exams.

Chart 1 below shows the number of reactor operator and senior reactor operator candidates over the past ten years. Chart 2 below shows the pass rate for reactor operator and senior reactor operator exams over the past ten years.

Chart 1 Number of RO and SRO Candidates 2015-2024 0

5 10 15 20 25 30 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Number of Candidates Year RO and SRO Candidates 2015-2024 RO License Candidates SRO License Candidates

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 8

Chart 2 RO and SRO Exam Pass Rates 2015-2024 5.2 Reed College Research Theses:

• One Chemistry senior used the reactor facility to support her thesis, Thats Hot! Heat Loss at the Reed Research Reactor.

Other Research:

• 25 students produced 22 internal research papers using the reactor and associated radiation facilities.

• Eight students made presentations regarding reactor associated research or instructional work at the 2023 TRTR conference, 2023 Reed Summer Poster Session, 2024 Portland State University Student Research Symposium, 2024 WM Conference, 2024 Cascade HPS Spring Meeting 40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Pass Rate Year RO and SRO Exam Pass Rate 2015-2024 RO Pass Rate SRO Pass Rate

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 9

5.3 Community Engagement During the reporting period 1,325 visitors toured the reactor facility. Chart 3 below shows the number of visitors per year over the past ten years.

Chart 3 Number of Visitors 2015-2024 Our tours can be classified into a number of categories: academic groups, interest groups, general members of the public, and Reed support.

Academic groups are typically either high school or college classes, but can also include Reed College academic clubs such as STEMGeMs. A typical academic tour differs from the other categories in that it includes a laboratory component. During the report period we hosted 69 academic tours with a total of 662 visitors.

Interest groups are groups of people with an academic interest, but not necessarily part of an academic institution. During the report period we hosted 7 interest tours with a total of 45 visitors.

General groups are typically friends and family of reactor student-staff, Reed staff, or Reed faculty. During the report period we hosted 17 general tours with a total of 108 visitors.

Reed support tours include events such as Orientation Week, Junior Visit Days, Parents Weekend, Admit Days, and Reunions, but also include smaller tours for Reed staff and donors.

During the report period we hosted 48 Reed tours with a total 510 visitors.

During Fall 2023 and Spring 2024, the reactor program hosted a participant in the Young Scholars program. This high school student joined our operator training program and participated in the program throughout the academic year.

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Number of Vistors Year Number of Visitors 2015-2024

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 10 5.4 Academic Use by Other Institutions Students and professors from area institutions without nuclear or radiation facilities commonly conduct experiments at the Reed Research Reactor. During the reporting period the facility supported:

• Pacific University modern physics courses phantom lung experiment.

• Warner Pacific University physical chemistry courses radiation detection lab.

5.5 High School Student Projects The reactor facility hosted two high school interns through the ASE Saturday Academy program during the summer of 2023. The interns learned the basics of nuclear science, experiment design, and completed independent research projects. One tested the radioresistance of bacteria found in the reactor pool, and the other the effects of gamma radiation on germination and growth of clover.

5.6 Industrial and Commercial Applications The Reed Research Reactor is available for industrial or commercial use when doing so would not conflict with our education goals. There were no industrial or commercial uses of the reactor during the reporting period.

The facility also offers radiation protection training to interested parties and schools in the area, including an annual 40-hour Radiation Safety Officer course. Additionally, the facility provides radiation meter calibration for many first responders and other organizations in the area.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 11 6.0 Reactor Operations 6.1 Operating Statistics During the reporting period the reactor was taken critical 356 times on 146 days. The total energy produced was 23.92 megawatt-hours. Table 3 below lists operating history by month.

Chart 4 below shows the number times critical and days operated by year over the past ten years.

Chart 5 below shows energy production by year over the past ten years.

Table 3 July 2023 - June 2024 Operating History by Month Times Critical Days Operated MW-Hours July 2023 28 12 1.04 August 2023 28 13 2.75 September 2023 23 9

1.37 October 2023 18 10 0.93 November 2023 43 14 2.04 December 2023 19 11 1.19 January 2024 19 14 2.40 February 2024 53 18 3.13 March 2024 53 17 2.92 April 2024 42 14 2.78 May 2024 14 6

1.93 June 2024 16 8

1.43 Total 356 146 23.92

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 12 Chart 4 Number of Times Critical and Days Operated by Year Chart 5 Energy Production by Year 0

100 200 300 400 500 600 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Number of Criticalities or Days Year Number of Times Critical and Days Operated by Year Times Critical Days Operated 5

10 15 20 25 30 35 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Energy Production (MW-hr)

Year Energy Production in MW-hr by Year

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 13 6.2 Unplanned Reactor Shutdowns There were six unplanned shutdowns during the reporting period. Table 4 below lists details of each shutdown. Chart 6 below shows the number of unplanned shutdowns per year over the past 10 years.

Table 4 2023-2024 Unplanned Shutdowns Date Scram Channel Cause of Shutdown August 8, 2023 Linear While increasing power between 25kW and 250kW ranges, the channel did not auto scale before reaching 99%

December 2, 2023 Manual Unexpected delivery to the facility.

December 10, 2023 Linear Transient signal while manually scaling from 2.5W and 25W ranges January 19, 2024 All Power outage January 25, 2024 Linear While increasing power between 25kW and 250kW ranges, the channel did not auto scale before reaching 99%

February 24, 2024 Manual Unexpected loud noise heard in the facility. The operator scrammed the reactor to investigate and found a cabinet cover had fallen from its position onto the floor.

Chart 6 Unplanned Shutdowns by Year 2015-2024 0

2 4

6 8

10 12 14 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Number of Unplanned Shutdowns Year Unplanned Shutdowns by Year

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 14 7.0 Reactor Maintenance 7.1 Changes, Tests, and Experiments Five 50.59 reviews were completed during the reporting period. All five reviews screened out, and evaluations were not required.

7.2 Planned Maintenance Reactor staff performed routine maintenance and surveillance on a daily, biweekly, bimonthly, semiannual, and annual schedule as required by technical specifications and in accordance with facility procedures. Reed College facilities staff assisted with routine preventative maintenance to auxiliary support equipment.

7.3 Unplanned Maintenance Two unplanned maintenance activities were documented in accordance with facility procedure during the reporting period.

• Wiring associated with the pool level indication was disconnected during routine surveillance while the reactor was secured. The wiring connection was immediately repaired.

• Following the December 10, 2023 inadvertent shutdown, senior staff attempted to recreate the event while the reactor was shut down. Staff found that pressing a manual range button slowly or incompletely results in no range being selected and the drawer defaulting to operating as if it were in the 2.5mW range. This information was shared with the operating staff.

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 15 8.0 Radiation Protection 8.1 Personal Dosimetry Dosimeters are changed on a calendar quarterly schedule. All staff are issued beta-gamma sensitive ring badges and whole-body badges. Select staff who may work with neutron emitting sources are issued beta-gamma-neutron sensitive whole-body badges.

The highest individual doses received were 4mR/quarter Deep Dose Equivalent (DDE) and 29mR/quarter Shallow Dose Equivalent (SDE). These doses are well below regulatory and internal administrative limits and no additional action was required.

8.2 Fixed Area Dosimetry Radiation levels are continually monitored to provide an indication of the average radiation levels in the reactor bay and dose outside the facility. All fixed dosimeters monitor beta and gamma radiation. Five locations also measure neutron dose.

The Deep Dose Equivalents (DDE) measured by the fixed dosimeters during the reporting period are shown below in Table 5. An M indicates the dose was below the minimum measurable quantity for the dosimeter, which in this case is 1mR.

Table 5 Fixed Area Dosimeter DDE Dose per Quarter (mR)

Location Height (m)

Radiation Monitored Jul 1 -

Sep 30 Oct 1 -

Dec 31 Jan 1 -

Mar 31 Apr 1 -

Jun 30 Total Reactor East Wall 1.5 b, g, n 5

5 M

4 14 Reactor North Wall 1.6 b, g, n 10 4

5 6

25 Reactor West Wall 1.0 b, g, n 4

4 M

2 10 Reactor South Wall 1.6 b, g, n 4

5 5

4 18 Reactor North Wall High 2.3 b, g 3

4 3

1 11 Control Room 1.5 b, g 8

M 7

5 20 Mechanical Room*

1.5 b, g, n N/A N/A 41 48 99 Outside North 2.8 b, g M

M M

M M

Outside Roof 4.5 b, g, n M

M 1

M 1

Outside East 1.5 b, g M

M M

M M

Outside South 0.4 b, g M

M M

M M

Counting Room 1.5 b, g M

M M

M M

• Mechanical Room monitoring began in January 2024

Reed Research Reactor Annual Report 2023-2024 16 8.3 Gaseous Releases The only routine release of radioactive gas from the facility is Ar-41. For the reporting period, the average concentration of gaseous activity at the site boundary was calculated to be 2.50 x 10-10 µCi/ml. This concentration is well below the Technical Specification limit of 1 x 10-8 µCi/ml. If a member of the public was present at the site boundary for the entire year, then they would have received a total dose of 1.25 mR, which is well below regulatory limits.

Chart 7 below shows the average concentration of gaseous activity at the site boundary over the past 10 years.

Chart 7 Average Concentration of Gaseous Activity Release (µCi/ml) by Year 8.4 Liquid Waste Releases No liquid radioactive waste was released from the Reed Research Reactor during the reporting period.

8.5 Solid Waste Disposal There were no shipments of solid radioactive waste from the Reed Research Reactor during the reporting period.

8.6 Environmental Sampling All environmental samples were counted in a high purity germanium gamma spectroscopy system. Soil samples taken from the area surrounding the facility showed no activity above background. Water from the facilitys secondary cooling system and nearby Reed Lake were sampled for activation products and tritium. The water samples showed no activity above background.

0.00E+00 5.00E-11 1.00E-10 1.50E-10 2.00E-10 2.50E-10 3.00E-10 3.50E-10 4.00E-10 4.50E-10 5.00E-10 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Average Concentration (µCi/ml )

Year Average Concentration of Gaseous Activity Release (µCi/ml) by Year