ML26079A329
| ML26079A329 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | University of Missouri-Columbia (R-103) |
| Issue date: | 03/23/2026 |
| From: | Delosreyes J NRC/NRR/DANU/UNPL |
| To: | Sanford M Univ of Missouri - Columbia |
| References | |
| EPID L-2025-NFA-0012 | |
| Download: ML26079A329 (0) | |
Text
Mr. Matthew Sanford Reactor Facility Director University of Missouri-Columbia Research Reactor Center 1513 Research Park Drive Columbia, MO 65211
SUBJECT:
THE CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI - REGULATORY AUDIT RE: REVISE THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE ADDITION OF ANCILLARY EXHAUST SYSTEMS (EPID L-2025-NFA-0012)
Dear Mr. Sanford:
By letter dated November 17, 2025 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML25321A748), the Curators of the University of Missouri submitted a license amendment request for the University of Missouri - Columbia Research Reactor (MURR). The proposed amendment request would add a new section to the facility technical specifications (TS), section 3.11, "Radiation Monitoring Systems and Airborne Effluents for Ancillary Exhaust Systems," and corresponding Surveillance Requirement TS section 4.11 "Ancillary Exhaust Systems" to reflect a planned addition to and modification of ventilation exhaust systems supporting radiological activities at the MURR facility. The proposed amendment request also updates TS sections 3.7 "Radiation Monitoring Systems and Airborne Effluents," 3.10 Iodine-131 Processing Hot Cells, and 4.10 "Iodine-131 Processing Hot Cells."
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will conduct a regulatory audit beginning March 30, 2026, and continuing as necessary. The audit will be conducted virtually to gain a better understanding of the MURR amendment request. The regulatory audit will identify information that will support the basis of the licensing decision and will allow the NRC staff to more efficiently gain insights necessary to complete its review of the MURR amendment request. The NRC staffs audit plan is provided as an enclosure to this letter.
At the completion of the regulatory audit, a regulatory audit summary will be prepared and provided to you. NRC staff may request that information needed to complete its review of the MURR amendment request be provided by supplements. If so, the NRC staff will provide a list of the necessary documents, and you will have the opportunity to supplement the application to provide additional information.
March 23, 2026
M. Sanford If you have any questions, please contact me at (301) 415-4141 or by electronic mail at james.delosreyes@nrc.gov.
Sincerely,
/RA/
James Delosreyes, Project Manager Non-Power Production and Utilization Facility Licensing Branch Division of Advanced Reactors and Non-Power Production and Utilization Facilities Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket No. 50-186 License No. R-103
Enclosure:
As stated Cc: GovDelivery Subscribers
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION NON-POWER PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION FACILITY LICENSING BRANCH REGULATORY AUDIT PLAN FOR UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH REACTOR VENTILATION SYSTEM UPGRADE DOCKET NO. 50-186
Background
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is currently engaged in a review of the Curators of the University of Missouri (the licensee) request to change the renewed facility operating license R-103, including Appendix A Technical Specifications for the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) related to planned changes to the facility and associated surrounding buildings ventilation exhaust systems. The request was submitted by letter dated November 17, 2025 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
Accession No. ML25321A748) and accepted for review by the NRC staff via email sent on December 8, 2025 (ML25342A297). The proposed ventilation system modifications will add ancillary exhaust ventilation for the three buildings currently under construction and are intended to support continued expansion of radiological activities within the licensee-controlled area. This regulatory audit is intended to assist NRC staff in confirming information submitted as part of the license amendment request.
Regulatory Audit Bases The purpose of this audit is to gain a better understanding of the anticipated continued expansion of the radiological research and isotope production at the MURR facilities, and the corresponding radiological effluent contributions associated with the additional activities. The regulations associated with this review include:
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities, section 50.36, Technical specifications, (TS) which provides the requirements for TS to be included in facility operating licenses, including research reactor licenses.
o 10 CFR 50.36(a)(1), states, in part, that the TS shall include a summary statement of the bases... but [the bases statement] shall not become part of the technical specifications.
o 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2), Limiting conditions for operation, requires that TS include conditions for the lowest functional capability or performance levels of equipment required for safe operation of the facility.
o 10 CFR 50.36(c)(2)(ii)(D), Criterion 4, requires a limiting condition for operation (LCO) for a structure, system or component shown to be significant to public health and safety.
o 10 CFR 50.36(c)(3), Surveillance requirements, requires TS include requirements to assure that the necessary quality of systems and components is maintained, that facility operation will be within safety limits, and that the limiting conditions for operation will be met.
10 CFR 20, Standards for Protection against Radiation, Appendix B, Annual Limits on Intake (ALIs) and Derived Air Concentrations (DACs) of Radionuclides for Occupational Exposure; Effluent Concentrations; Concentrations for Release to Sewerage, Table 2, Effluent Concentrations, Column 1, Air, which provides effluent concentrations applicable to the assessment and control of doses to the public.
10 CFR 20.1301, Dose limits for individual member of the public, which provides radiation dose limits for individual members of the public. 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1) limits the total dose to any member of the public from licensed operations not to exceed 100 mrem in a calendar year.
10 CFR 51.22, Criterion for categorical exclusion; identification of licensing and regulatory actions eligible for categorical exclusion or otherwise not requiring environmental review, which identifies licensing, regulatory, and administrative actions eligible for categorical exclusion from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
NUREG-1537, Part 1, Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power Reactors: Format and Content, Appendix 14.1, Format and Content of Technical Specifications for Non-Power Reactors; Section 3.7.2, Effluents; and NUREG-1537, Part 1, Section 11.1, Radiation Protection, (ADAMS Accession No. ML042430055), which provides guidance to licensees preparing research reactor applications and TS.
NUREG-1537, Part 2, Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Applications for the Licensing of Non-Power Reactors: Standard Review Plan and Acceptance Criteria, Chapter 14, Technical Specification, and Chapter 11 Radiation Protection Program and Waste Management, (ADAMS Accession No. ML042430048), which provides guidance to the NRC staff for performing reviews of the LAR.
American National Standards Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) -15.1-1990 (Revised in 2007), The Development of Technical Specifications for Research Reactors, Section 3.7, Effluent, which provides guidance, used by the NRC staff, including the parameters and operating characteristics of a research reactor that should be included in the TS. Note: since the issuance of NUREG-1537 in 1996, ANSI/ANS-15.1-1990 was revised and the current version is ANSI/ANS-15.1-2007.
However, the Sections of 3.7 involved in this review were not changed.
American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI), Health Physics Society (HPS) standard N13.1-2021, Sampling and Monitoring Releases of Airborne Radioactive Substances from the Stacks and Ducts of Nuclear Facilities, April 9, 2021, section 6.7 Collection of gas and vapor samples, provides guidance related to airborne sampling locations and detection methods. Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.16 Monitoring and Reporting Radioactive Material in Liquid and Gaseous Effluents from Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities, states that licensees should use the guidance in ANSI/HPS N13.1 to establish sampling and monitoring methods for those gaseous effluent points. Since no guidance specific to research reactor effluent monitoring exists, RG 4.16 provides the most relevant information for this review.
Regulatory Audit Scope As part of the audit, the NRC staff will review non-docketed analyses, drawings, and plans related to the planned radiological activities in MURR facilities that are separate from the reactor building or laboratory building. The staff will focus on the ventilation exhaust systems intended to ensure that the radiological safety requirements for MURR personnel and the public remain met.
Information Necessary for the Regulatory Audit MURR should be prepared to have the following information and personnel available to discuss:
The anticipated construction activities related to the three ancillary exhaust systems within the site boundaries.
The offsite dose evaluations that incorporate the Pasquill-Gifford (PG) plume dispersion model to estimate public dose consequences The method described above for determining normal annual effluent for Iodine-131 production hot cell exhaust relocation (PG plume dispersion model factoring for average annual meteorological conditions).
The methodology used to confirm that the 350 AEC limit remains conservative.
The underlying basis supporting the proposed limiting condition for operations and surveillance requirements related to the requested technical specification changes.
Specifically, to discuss the ability to confirm detector operability using a channel check and/or test.
Page numbering, such as changes to numbers, requires a license amendment request reflecting the renumbering.
Team Assignments / Resource Estimates The NRC staff performing this audit will be:
Patrick Boyle (Audit Leader)
James Delosreyes (Project Manager)
Edward Stutzcage (Technical Reviewer)
Jason White (Technical Reviewer)
Sean Meighan (Technical Reviewer)
Jeff Rady (Branch Chief, Licensing)
Logistics To support this audit, NRC staff will conduct virtual meetings at mutually agreed upon times.
The NRC staff may request electronic remote access to files via a secure server which will allow the NRC staff to review relevant information while preventing NRC staff from downloading, copying, or printing the viewed information. If access to an electronic reading room is requested, additional correspondence will be sent confirming individuals authorized to view the information and establishing the necessary protocols related to access control.
Deliverables At the completion of the regulatory audit, NRC staff will prepare a regulatory audit report, which will be issued within 30 days after completion of the audit.