ML24358A159
| ML24358A159 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pennsylvania State University |
| Issue date: | 12/17/2024 |
| From: | Geuther J Pennsylvania State Univ, State College, PA |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML24358A159 (1) | |
Text
~~,, PennState College of Engineering RADIATION SCIENCE &
ENGINEERING CENTER 17 December 2024 Attention: Document Control Desk US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 To Whom It May Concern, The Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering Radiation Science and Engineering Center Breazeale Nuclear Reactor University Park, PA 16802-2301 Phone:814-865-6351 Fax:
814-863-4840 6S BREAZEALE Nuclear Reactor So-oD5 Enclosed please find the Annual Operating Report for the Penn State Breazeale Reactor (PSBR) located at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center. This report covers the period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, as required by our Facility Operating License R-2, Appendix A, Section 6.6.1.
Please contact me with any questions you have regarding this report.
Sincerely, Je~~
Acting Director Associate Director for Operations PSU Radiation Science and Engineering Center 109 Breazeale Nuclear Reactor University Park, PA 16802
Enclosure:
Annual Operating Report, FY23-24 cc:
A. Read A.Atchley T. Peeples C. Davison A. Wilmot M. Balazik, NRC J. Lovett, NRC D. Morrell, INL College of Engineering An Equal Opportunity University
Penn State Breazeale Reactor Annual Operating Report, FY 2023 - 2024 License R-2, Docket 50-005 Reactor Utilization The Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC) houses the Penn State Breazeale Reactor (PSBR), a TRI GA Mark III reactor capable of 1 MW steady state operation and pulses of up to approximately 2000 MW peak power. Utilization of the reactor and its associated facilities falls into three major categories:
Education The RSEC's several radiation laboratories allow for an interactive learning environment and supply the equipment necessary for several Nuclear Engineering courses. The RSEC hosts approximately 3000 visitors each year for public outreach and educational support. These visits vary from visiting faculty and graduate level classes to scouting and middle school field trips. Our facility also strives to educate members of the public about the many benefits of nuclear power as well as the diverse applications of radiation across several fields of study.
Some of the major topics covered in public outreach sessions are radiation basics, nuclear security, and reactor physics. Recent upgrades to the neutron beam laboratory include the installation and testing of a cold neutron source and the completion of most of the Small Angle Neutron Spectrometer (SANS).
Research The research performed at the RSEC is associated with several different colleges as the University. RSEC staff, professors, and graduate students all play a key role in maintaining a constant flow of research projects through the facility. The RSEC maintains flexibility with radiation laboratories and equipment to support research such as thermo-acoustic testing, reactor instrumentation testing, neutron and gamma ray detection, radiation signatures from used fuel elements, neutron activation analysis, and neutron imaging applications. The SANS is expected to increase the demand for Breazeale reactor operations. This increase in demand will increase urgency both for new fuel to be provide to PSU from DOE and for spent fuel disposal.
Service The resources available at the RSEC, paired with the diverse capabilities of the PSBR, allow us to serve the nuclear industry and satisfy the unique needs of several domestic and international companies. The RSEC is frequently involved in neutron radiography for composition uniformity testing as well as providing fast neutron irradiation fluxes to support the nation's defense infrastructure. Also, the RSEC remains at the forefront of neutron transmission testing for spent fuel storage and equipment to be used at nuclear utilities.
I,
The PSBR facility operates on an 8 AM - 5 PM shift, five days per week, with early morning, evening, and weekend shifts as necessary to accommodate laboratory courses, public education, university research, or industrial service projects.
Technical Specification 6.6.1.a - Summary of Reactor Operating Experience Between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, the PSBR was utilized as follows.
Mode of Operation Time [hours]
Hours per Shift i
Critical 509 2.0
- I Sub-Critical 215 0.8 I
S)lutdown j
541 2.1 I
TOTAL 1265 4.8 The reactor was pulsed a total of 65 times with the following reactivities:
Reactivity Number of Pulses
<$2.00 54
$2.00 to $2.50 81
~ $2.so:
J 4..
TOTAL 139 The square wave mode was used a total of 22 times to operate the reactor with power levels between approximately 100 and 500 kilowatts. The total energy produced during this reporting period was 225.9 MWh, corresponding to the consumption of approximately 11.6 g of 235U. A comparison between this and previous fiscal years shows that this reporting period had a very low burnup. However, the facility still anticipates an increase in burnup due to SANS use, and has already observed a significant increase in use during the final two calendar quarters of 2024.
Technical Specification 6.6.1.b - Unscheduled Shutdowns The following unscheduled shutdowns and unplanned reactor trips occurred during the reporting period. Reactor trips with the key on but the reactor in a subcritical state, such as a reactor trip during the daily checkout procedure, are not included.
1/29/2024 4/1/2024 5/22/2024 Reactor high power scram while at 1 MW steady-state power.
Reactor high power scram while at 1 MW steady-state power.
Reactor high power scram while at 1 MW steady-state power.
The three reactor high power scrams were all initiated by the analog wide-range channel with no record of power exceeding the setpoint on the data historian. These scrams are thought to be caused by noise internal to the wide-range channel. Operations are currently
I administratively restricted to 950 kW in steady state mode while the suspected noise issue is investigated and rectified.
Technical Specification 6.6.1.c - Major Corrective or Preventative Maintenance with Safety Significance TS-required maintenance and surveillances were completed within required time frames.
Non-routine maintenance and repair is documented under facility procedure # AP-13.
Safety-related maintenance during the reporting period was as follows.
AP-13 2023-05 8/24/23 AP-13 2023-06 8/28/23 AP-13 2023-07 9/15/23 AP-13 2023-08 11/8/23 AP-13 2023-09 11/13/23 AP-13 2023-10 11/15/23 AP-13 2024-01 1/10/24 AP-13 2024-02 2/22/24 AP-13 2024-03 4/1/24 AP-13 2024-04 4/2/24 AP-13 2024-05 4/26/24 AP-13 2024-06 5/16/24 New PA system speakers were connected in the beam laboratory and tank room.
The shim rod drive end-of-travel limit switch and shim rod bottomed limit switch were adjusted.
The console UPS batteries were replaced.
The shim rod connecting rod armature was discovered to be loose and was repaired.
Secured unseated ribbon cables in wide range drawer following display failure during interlock test.
Fuel temperature 1 read zero on the digital console, while reading normally on the analog console. This issue was not repeatable and no root cause was identified.
Shim rod coupling issue corrected by adjusting actuator screw.
Lexium motor controller reset following error on regulating rod motor controller.
Wide range square root bistable trip card replaced to attempt to correct spurious 1 MW scrams.
Fission chamber high power trip and 950 kW steady state operation test.
Fission chamber and preamplifier connector cleaning.
Source level interlock did not operate correctly during CCP-4. It was discovered that the control rod motor controllers were not wired as specified in drawings. This was corrected.
Technical Specification 6.6.1.d - Major Changes Reportable Under 10 CFR 50.59 Facility changes are processed via procedure AP-12. From July 2023 - June 2024, no changes requiring a 10CFR50.59 review were completed. Records are maintained for minor changes which did not screen in to a 50.59 review; these are available for review upon request.
Procedures Procedures are normally reviewed biennially, and on an as-needed basis. Numerous minor changes and updates are made during the year and do not require a report under 10CFRS0.59.
New Tests and Experiments The tests/ experiments performed at the RSEC during FY2023-2024 did not require 10CFRS0.59 evaluation or reporting.
Technical Specification 6.6.1.e - Radiological Effluents Released Liquid There were no planned or unplanned liquid effluent releases under the reactor license for the reporting period. Liquid radioactive waste from the radioisotope laboratories at the PSBR is under the University byproduct materials license and is transferred to the Radiation Protection Office for disposal with the waste from other campus laboratories. Liquid waste disposal techniques include storage for decay, release to sanitary sewer per 10CFR20, and solidification for shipment to licensed disposal sites.
Gaseous All gaseous releases were less than 10% of the allowed concentrations and do not require a specific report.
Argon-41 (41Ar)
Gaseous effluent 41Ar is generated from dissolved air in the reactor pool water, air in dry irradiation tubes, air in neutron beam ports, and air leakage to and from the CO2-operated pneumatic sample transfer system (i.e., "rabbit"). The amount of 41Ar released from the reactor pool is dependent on the operating power level and the length of time at power. The release per MWh is highest for extended high power runs and lowest for intermittent low power runs. The concentration of 41Ar in the reactor bay and bay exhaust were measured by the Radiation Protection staff during the summer of 1986. Measurements were made for conditions oflow and high power runs simulating typical operating cycles.
For a conservative calculation of 41Ar release, all power operations were assumed to take place at the Fast Neutron Irradiator (FNI) Tube, the location of the greatest 41Ar production and release. The calculation method includes direct release from the pool in addition to release from the FNI. For 41Ar, the maximum permissible concentration in the unrestricted area is 1.0x 10-8 µCifmL. For FY2023-2024, a quantity of 934 mCi of 41Ar was produced for the 225.9 MWh of total energy produced by the reactor. A portion of the 41Ar will decay in place, however, if all of the 41Ar were released, it represents 1.43% of the annual limit.
Tritium (3H)
Normally tritium is only released from the reactor facility due to the evaporation of reactor pool water. The total makeup to the reactor pool for FY2023-2024 was 15767 gallons, or 1.8 gal / hr. The evaporative loss rate is dependent on air movement, relative humidity, temperature of air and water, etc.
Based on the measured average pool tritium concentration of 31364 pCi / L (averaged between July, 2023 -.June, 2024), the total tritium activity released through ventilation would be ~1872 µCi. A dilution of factor of 2.0 x 108 mL / sec was used to calculate that unrestricted area concentration. This is from 200 m2
( cross sectional area of the building) times an assumed wind speed of 1 m / sec. These are the same values used in the reactor Safety Analysis Report.
Parameter Value Units I Tritium released 1872
µCi I
Average concentration, unrestricted area 2.97 X lQ-13
µCi/ mL Permissible concentration, unrestricted area 1.00 X lQ-7
µCi/ mL Percentage of permissible concentration 0.00030 Calculated effected dose equivalent, unrestricted area
~1.5 X 10*4 mrem J
Technical Specification 6.6.1.f - Environmental Surveys The only environmental surveys performed were the routine environmental dosimeter measurements at the facility fence line and an off-site point at a childcare center approximately 100 yards from facility.
The following table summarizes the net measurements, in millirem, for the current reporting period.
Quarter North South South North South East West Childcare Fence Central SANS East Fence Fence Fence Fence Fence Fence 2023 Q3 15 14 12 10 11 14 18 9 [mrem]
rmreml f mreml
[mrem]
fmreml fmrem]
[mrem]
[mrem]
2023 Q4 0
11 11 10 10 0
12 0
I 2024O1 0
0 0
0 0
0 12 0
-~
2024 Q2 0
0 0
0 0
0 12 0