ML24262A238

Annual Report for the Ohio State University Research Reactor

ML24262A238
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	09/18/2024
From:	Cao L Ohio State University
To:	Lovett J Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Document Control Desk
References
Download: ML24262A238 (1)

Text

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH REACTOR

ANNUAL REPORT FOR FY 2023 /2024

SEPTEMBER 2024

OSURR Annual Report Page 1 of 11 Sep 2024 Introduction As stated in The Ohio State University Research Reactor (OSURR) Technical Specifications Section 6.6.1, Operating Reports, an annual report shall be made to the NRC by September 30 of each year. This report is to include the following seven information items:

1. A narrative summary of operating experience (including experiments performed) and of changes in facility design, performance characteristics, and operating procedures related to reactor safety occurring during the reporting period

2. A tabulation showing the energy generated by the reactor (in kilowatt hours) and the number o f hours the reactor was in use

3. The results of safety related maintenance and inspections and the reasons for corrective maintenance of safety-related items

4. A table of unscheduled shutdowns and inadvertent scrams, including their reasons and the corrective actions taken

5. A summary of the safety analyses performed in connection with changes to the facility or procedures, which affect reactor safety, and performance of tests or experiments carried out under the conditions of 10 CFR 50.59

6. A summary of the nature and amount of radioactive gaseous, liquids, and solid effluents released or discharged to the environs beyond the effective control of the licensee as measured or calculated at or prior to the point of such release or discharge

7. A summary of radiation exposures received by facility personnel and visitors, including the dates and times of significant exposures These seven information items are discussed below for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, except as noted for exposure records.

1. Summary of Operating Experience and Changes 1.A. Experiments Performed The OSURR engages in a wide range of research, service, and education activities. Examples of recent types of research and industry service include: evaluation of material properties using neutron depth profiling and neutron transmission testing; evaluation of radiation response and damage for electronic components and other materials, such as optical fibers and optical fiber-based sensors; evaluation of neutron and gamma-ray radiation sensitive detector performance, including at high temperatures; and isotope production. The OSURR has been involved in the evaluation of multiple potential types of neutron and radiation detectors, including fiber -optic, solid-state, and scintillator-based, and it is utilized regularly to test fission chambers for use in commercial power reactors by characterizing their response to known neutron flux. Neutron transmission testing has been used to verify boron loading in borated aluminum, and neutron depth profiling has been used for battery-technology studies. Isotope production has typically been performed for medical research, but sources have been created for other uses, including testing of radiation-sensitive detectors.

OSURR Annual Report Page 2 of 11 Sep 2024 In addition, educational student laboratories and demonstrations are performed at the OSURR, including reactivity worth measurements, spectrum and profile characterizations using flux -wire activation and analysis, radiation measurements using neutron and gamma-sensitive detectors, and reactor dynamics measurements. The OSURR provides these via educational tours and student laboratory sessions. The OSURR also supports faculty-led student research, which provides invaluable experience for the next generation of researchers.

The following are typical laboratory topics taught at the OSURR:

a. laboratory introduction, radiation safety training, radiological survey

b. approach to critical (using banked control rods rather than fuel loading)

c. control rod calibration by rod drop, positive period, and subcritical multiplication

d. temperature coefficient measurement

e. delayed neutron groups measurement

f. core axial profile

g. neutron spectrum measurement For tour groups, neutron activation and measurement of small samples with a short half-life is typically performed.

The reactor utilization for July 1, 20 23, through June 30, 2024, is summarized in the following reports.

Please note that the utilization hours listed below only reflect actual reactor operating time. The list does not include hours spent on tasks supporting this reactor utilization.

OSURR Annual Report Page 3 of 11 Sep 2024 OSURR Utilization Summary July 1 - December 31, 2023 Institution (PI) Description Hours 1 OSU NE 4505 Class support (tours) 7.5 OSU NE 4506 Class support (labs) 9.1 OSU NE 6726 Class support (labs) 7.5

OSU NE (Cao / Various) Thermal beam facility experiments 13.4 2 OSU NE (Cao / Bisbee) Fast beam facility experiments 1.9 2 OSU NE (Cao / VanZile) Radioactive tracer in uranium-bearing salt 3.2

Air Force Inst. of Tech. (Little) Irradiation of MgO 7.6 Florida State U. (Yu / Oksuz) Scintillators in the Thermal Beam Facility 22.9 Georgia Inst. of Tech. (Wang / Zhou) Irradiation of hBN 1.2 Kansas St. U. (Edgar) Irradiation of hBN 76.2 2 U. of Illinois U-C (DiFulvio) Neutron detectors 10.7 U. of Tenn. Knoxville (Hutchins) Heated irradiation of electronic devices 15.0 U. of Michigan (Kavner) Radiation detectors in the Thermal Beam Facility 30.0

INL (C. Tsai) Irradiation of stainless -steel samples 2.8 INL (K. Tsai) Heated irradiation of radiation sensors 35.1 ORNL (Reed) Rad effects on GaN transistors 21.5

Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc. Radiation effects on cryo temperature sensors 27.0 Orrvilon, Inc. Neutron transmission testing 16.2 Reuter-Stokes, LLC Fission chamber testing 38.4 Reuter-Stokes, LLC Radiation effects on moderator material 7.6 USNC-Tech Tm-170 production 1.3

NRL staff Operator training & equipment maintenance 3.3 2

Various3 Facility Tours 6.7 Total: 366.2

Notes:

1. Reactor utilization reflects actual operating time. These values do not include time spent performing tasks to support utilization (pre -start and post -shutdown checkout, experiment planning and setup, etc.).

2. The value listed does not include utilization when run as a secondary user concurrent with a primary user.

3. In addition to those performed in support of OSU Nuclear Engineering courses, tours were provided to support a radiation therapy course at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, student chapters of the American Nuclear Society (OSU & AFIT), the OSU chapter of the Society of Physics Students, OSU ROTC instructors &

students, the OSU College of Engineering, and staff from OSU Occupational Health.

OSURR Annual Report Page 4 of 11 Sep 2024 OSURR Utilization Summary January 1 - June 30, 2024 Institution (PI) Description Hours 1 OSU NE (Cao) Production of Ar-41 for detector characterization 0.6

Air Force Inst. of Tech. (McClory / Ferguson) Radiation effects on Ga2O3 devices 0.0 2 Florida State U. (Yu / Oksuz) Scintillators in fast & thermal neutron beams 26.6 2 Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) Irradiation of hBN 2.2 University of Chicago (Collar) Detector calibration in thermal neutron beam 10.8 U. of Illinois U-C (DiFulvio) Neutron detectors & shielding 21.3 University of Maine (Doucette) Radiation effects on LGS SAW sensors 62.5

INL (C. Tsai / Harper) Neutron-Induced Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy 1.8 ORNL (Ezell / Reed) Rad effects on GaN transistors 21.9 2

AwareAbility (Hlinka / Oksuz) Fast neutron imaging 2.5 Luna Innovations (Westcott) Gamma thermometer 7.6 Nusenics (Sheng) Radiation effects on fiber-based sensors 7.4

Orrvilon, Inc. Neutron transmission testing 16.0 Reuter-Stokes, LLC Fission chamber testing 32.6

NRL staff Operator training & facility maintenance 15.7 2

Various3 Facility Tours 14.6

Total: 244.1

Notes:

1. Reactor utilization reflects actual operating time. These values do not include time spent performing tasks to support utilization (pre -start and post -shutdown checkout, experiment planning and setup, etc.).

2. The value listed does not include utilization when run as a secondary user concurrent with a primary user.

3. Tours were performed in support of the OSU NE program (NUC conference), an OSU Nuclear Engineering course (NE 4505), an OSU Environmental Science course (ENR/ES 2155), the OSU student chapter of IEEE, and Metro High School.

OSURR Annual Report Page 5 of 11 Sep 2024 1.B. Changes in Facility Design There were no facility design changes that required a change to the Technical Specifications. 10 CFR 50.59 changes are described in Section 5.A of this report.

1.C. Changes in Performance Characteristics There have been no changes in performance characteristics related to reactor safety in the last year.

1.D. Changes in Operating Procedures There were no changes in operating procedures related to reactor safety in the last year. 10 CFR 50.59 changes are described in Section 5.B of this report.

2. Energy Generated and Hours of Use Kilowatt-Hours of Operation: 111,588.1 kW-hr Hours of Utilization: 610.3 hr

3. Safety Related Maintenance and Inspections All TS-required maintenance and surveillance activities were completed within the required time frames,

and other system maintenance activities were performed as needed. No effects on the safe operation of the reactor were observed. The safety -related maintenance activities from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, are summarized below.

1) 2023- 09-25: Issue with the power supply unit (PSU) for shim safety #2's numeric display. During the pre-start checkout, the numeric display did not indicate a change in armature height. The issue was resolved by cycling power.

2) 2023-12-18: Installation of a backup PSU for use in powering shim safety #2's numeric display due to the issue identified on 2023-09-25.

3) 2024- 01-18: Repair of the control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) power cords due to the crumbling of the jacketing of the shim safety #1 power cable.

4) 2024- 03- 01: Planned replacement of the PSUs for each of the CRDMs to resolve the issue identified on 2023-09-25.

5) 2024- 03- 07: Failure of the primary pump motor drive resulting in only low-power reactor operations until the drive was able to be replaced.

6) 2024- 03-20: Planned replacement of the primary pump motor drive to resolve the issue identified on 2024-03-07.

7) 2024- 05- 03 & 05- 06: Planned replacement of the beam port and rabbit gaskets during a maintenance outage.

8) 2024- 05-15: Planned installation of replacement in-core dry tubes.

9) 2024- 05-16: Planned swap from a partial fuel element to a full fuel element during a maintenance outage to boost reactivity.

10) 2024- 05-23: Planned swap from a blank element to a partial fuel element during a maintenance outage to further boost reactivity.

OSURR Annual Report Page 6 of 11 Sep 2024

4. Unscheduled Shutdowns From July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, there were eight unplanned shutdowns that are summarized below.

Reason Corrective Action Linear level scram due to operator error; failure to (1) None required properly index the linear electrometer High power / no pumps scram due to operator error; (1) None required failure to turn on the secondary pump when increasing reactor power Period safety scram due to noise on the log channel (5) None required Linear channel recorder scram due to noise on the linear (1) None required channel

5. Changes in Facility and Procedures in Accordance with 10 CFR 50.59 5.A. Facility Modifications During the period July 1, 202 3, to June 30, 2024, six OSURR Modification Requests were completed:

1) CRDMs 12 VDC supplies replacement

2) Primary pump motor drive replacement

3) Replacement beam port and rabbit extensions and gaskets

4) OSURR core changes

5) OSURR core excess reactivity boost

6) Rabbit controller replacement and repair

All the modifications screened out of 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation per Procedure AP-16, 50.59 Screening and Evaluation.

OSURR Annual Report Page 7 of 11 Sep 2024 5.B. Procedure changes The following is a list of procedure changes made under 10 CFR 50.59 from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 202 4, in accordance with Administrative Procedure AP-06, Format for Writing, Revising, and Approving Procedures.

Procedure Procedure Revision Number Title Date AP-07 Document Distribution 09/20/23 AP-08 NRL Audit 07/10/23 OM-01 Reactor Operations 06/18/24 OM-03 Experimental Facilities 08/29/23 OM-15 Process System Checks 08/30/23 OM-17 Thermal Beam Facility Use 06/24/24 OM-18 Fast Beam Facility Use 06/24/24 IM-03 Pre-Startup Checkout 02/19/24 IM-03 Pre-Startup Checkout 06/2 3/2 4 IM-04 Post-Shutdown Checkout 02/19/24 IM-07 Rod Parameter Testing 02/19/24 RS-01 Posting, Labeling, and Storage Requirements 10/09/23 RS-02 Radioactive Waste Disposal 12/27/23 RS-04 Particulate Air Sampling 07/07/23 RS-06 Radiation Monitor Calibrations 08/15/23 RS-08 Smear Surveys 10/16/23 RS-09 Area Radiation Surveys 10/16/23 RS-10 Receiving and Opening Packages 12/27/23 EP-01 Emergency Procedures 09/08/23 EP-01 Emergency Procedures 02/09/24 EP-03 Response to Scrams and Alarms 06/27/24 EP-04 Emergency Equipment Inventory 01/29/24

All the procedure changes screened out of 10 CFR 50.59 evaluation per Procedure AP-16, 50.59 Screening and Evaluation.

6. Radioactive Effluents 6.A. Gaseous Effluent The only gaseous effluent releases made from operation of the OSURR are Ar -41 releases from activation of the naturally occurring noble gas Ar-40. For the period July 1 - December 31, 2023, Ar-41 releases measured 3.4% of the annual average concentration limit. From January 1 - June 30, 2024, releases measured 1.7% of the annual average concentration limit. In accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 20.1101(d), the COMPLY code was run using the total Ar-41 release of 261 mCi for the period July 1, 2023,

- June 30, 2024. Using level 2 in the code, the effective dose equivalent rate at the facility fence was computed to be 0. 2 mrem/yr. This is well below the 10 mrem/yr constraint specified in the regulation.

Any other releases were reported under the universitys license with the state of Ohio.

OSURR Annual Report Page 8 of 11 Sep 2024 6.B. Liquid Releases Hot sink releases are recorded and reported through the OSU Office of Radiation Safety. One release of 0.8 mCi of H-3 from operation of the OSURR was made to the sanitary sewer system during the period July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. Any other releases were reported under the universitys license with the state of Ohio.

6.C. Solid Releases No releases of solid radioactive material were made to the uncontrolled environment.

7. Radiation Exposures

Since the firm that maintains records for The Ohio State University keeps a year-to-date record, it is simpler to report radiation exposure records by the nearest completed calendar year. Therefore, dosimetry badge exposures in this report are for the period January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.

Sixteen individuals were monitored as radiation workers during this period, and the measured dose equivalent values are tabulated below in mrem.

Individual Dose Equivalent (mrem)

DDE LDE SDE, WB SDE, ME Visitors 0 0 0 n/a Staff member #1 82 84 181 878 Staff member #2 23 25 53 76 Staff member #3 68 76 155 538 Staff member #4 11 11 15 43 Staff member #5 7 7 131 138 Staff member #6 13 15 18 n/a Staff member #7 15 17 19 87 Faculty member #1 20 24 25 101 Student #1 58 62 66 326 Student #2 82 86 90 136 Student #3 39 40 41 157 Student #4 0 0 0 0 Student #5 29 33 37 112 Student #6 19 23 26 86 Student #7 10 21 33 112 Visiting Scientist #1 37 36 36 80

OSURR Annual Report Page 9 of 11 Sep 2024 COMPLY: V1.7. 7/ 1/2024 9:51

40 CFR Part 61 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH

THE CLEAN AIR ACT LIMITS FOR RADIONUCLIDE EMISSIONS

FROM THE COMPLY CODE - V1.7.

Prepared by:

Ohio State University Nuclear Reactor Lab Columbus, OH

Andrew Kauffman 614 -688-8220

Prepared for:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Radiation and Indoor Air Washington, DC 20460

OSURR Annual Report Page 10 of 11 Sep 2024 COMPLY: V1.7. 7/ 1/2024 9:51

OSU NRL FY2024

SCREENING LEVEL 2

DATA ENTERED:

Release Rate Nuclide (curies/YEAR)

AR-41 2.610E- 01

Release height 10 meters.

Building height 11 meters.

The source and receptor are not on the same building.

Distance from the source to the receptor is 15 meters.

Building width 25 meters.

Default mean wind speed used (2.0 m/sec).

NOTES:

Input parameters outside the "normal" range:

None.

RESULTS:

Effective dose equivalent: 0.2 mrem/yr.

• • • Comply at level 2.

This facility is in COMPLIANCE.

It may or may not be EXEMPT from reporting to the EPA.

You may contact your regional EPA office for more information.

• • • • • • • • • • END OF COMPLIANCE REPORT **********

OSURR Annual Report Page 11 of 11 Sep 2024