ML061730140

Letter to Dr. Ayman Hawari from Daniel Hughes Issuance of Amendment No. 16 to Facility Operating License No. R-120 - North Carolina State University (Ncsu) Pulstar Nuclear Reactor

ML061730140
Person / Time
Site:	North Carolina State University
Issue date:	08/15/2006
From:	Hughes D E NRC/NRR/ADRA/DPR/PRTA
To:	Hawari A Univ of North Carolina
Schuster W, NRR/ADRA/DPR/PRTA, 415-2614
References
TAC MC8420
Download: ML061730140 (8)

Text

August 15, 2006Dr. Ayman Hawari, DirectorNuclear Reactor Program Department of Nuclear Engineering North Carolina State University Campus Box 7909 Raleigh, NC 27695-7909

SUBJECT:

ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT NO. 16 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-120 - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY PULSTAR NUCLEAR REACTOR (TAC NO. MC 8420)

Dear Dr. Hawari:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 16 toFacility Operating License No. R-120 for the PULSTAR nuclear reactor operated by NorthCarolina State University (NCSU). This amendment is in response to NSCU's letter datedApril 25, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML061220325), which withdraws your request dated Setember 21, 2005 (Accession No.

ML052690085), and makes a new request for amendment.The amendment permits receipt, possession, and use of byproduct material. A copy of thesafety evaluation supporting Amendment No. 16 is also enclosed.Should you have any questions on this amendment, I would be pleased to hear from you. Mytelephone number is (301) 415-1631.Sincerely, /RA/

Daniel E. Hughes, Project ManagerResearch and Test Reactors Branch A Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-297

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 16 2. Safety Evaluationcc w/encls: See next page North Carolina State University (NCSU) Pulstar Nuclear Reactor Docket No. 50-297 cc:

Office of Intergovernmental Relations116 West Jones Street Raleigh, NC 27603Dr. Paul J. Turinsky, HeadNuclear Engineering Department North Carolina State University P.O. Box 7909 Raleigh, NC 27695-7909Beverly Hall, ChiefRadiation Protection Section Department of Environment and Natural Resources 1645 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1645Dr. Nino A. MasnariDean of Engineering North Carolina State University P.O. Box 7909 Raleigh, NC 27695-7909Test, Research, and Training Reactor Newsletter University of Florida 202 Nuclear Sciences Center Gainesville, FL 32611 August 15, 2006Dr. Ayman Hawari, Director Nuclear Reactor Program Department of Nuclear Engineering North Carolina State University Campus Box 7909 Raleigh, NC 27695-7909

SUBJECT:

ISSUANCE OF AMENDMENT NO. 16 TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-120 - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY PULSTAR NUCLEAR REACTOR (TAC NO. MC 8420)

Dear Dr. Hawari:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the enclosed Amendment No. 16 toFacility Operating License No. R-120 for the PULSTAR nuclear reactor operated by NorthCarolina State University (NCSU). This amendment is in response to NSCU's letter datedApril 25, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML061220325), which withdraws your request dated September 21, 2005 (Accession No.

ML052690085), and makes a new request for amendment.The amendment permits receipt, possession, and use of byproduct material. A copy of thesafety evaluation supporting Amendment No. 16 is also enclosed.Should you have any questions on this amendment, I would be pleased to hear from you. Mytelephone number is (301) 415-1631.Sincerely,/RA/ Daniel E. Hughes, Project Manager Research and Test Reactors Branch A Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDocket No. 50-297

Enclosures:

1. Amendment No. 16 2. Safety Evaluationcc w/encls: See next page DISTRIBUTION

PUBLICDPR/PRTA r/fDPR/PRTBGHolahanOGC HNieh GHill (2)AAdamsCBassettPDoyle DHughesEHyltonPIsaacWKennedy MMendoncaJQuichochoWSchusterBThomas JEadsMVothKWittPYoungACCESSION NO.: ML061730140TEMPLATE No.: NRR-106OFFICEPRT:GEPRT:LAPRT:PMOGCPRT:BCNAMEWSchuster:tls*DBaxley:tls*DHughes*SUttal*BThomas:tls*DATE 7/5/20066/23/20067/13/20067/25/20068/15/2006OFFICIAL RECORD COPY NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITYDOCKET NO. 50-297AMENDMENT TO FACILITY OPERATING LICENSEAmendment No. 16 License No. R-1201.The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has found thatA.The application for an amendment to Facility Operating License No. R-120 filedby the North Carolina State University (the licensee) on April 25, 2006, conforms to the standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the regulations of the Commission as stated in Chapter I of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR);B.The facility will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions of theAct, and the rules and regulations of the Commission;C.There is reasonable assurance that (i) the activities authorized by thisamendment can be conducted without endangering the health and safety of the public and (ii) such activities will be conducted in compliance with the regulationsof the Commission;D.The issuance of this amendment will not be inimical to the common defense andsecurity or to the health and safety of the public; E.This amendment is issued in accordance with the regulations of the Commissionas stated in 10 CFR Part 51, and all applicable requirements have been satisfied; and F.Prior notice of this amendment was not required by 10 CFR 2.105 andpublication of a notice for this amendment is not required by 10 CFR 2.106. 2.Accordingly, Facility Operating License No. R-120 is hereby amended, as follows:a.Paragraph 2.B.(4) of the license shall be amended to read as follows:(4)Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 30, "Rules of General Applicabilityto Domestic Licensing of Byproduct Material," to receive, possess, and use in connection with operation of the facility:(a)any amount of byproduct material in the form of reactorcomponents or otherwise integral to the reactor or reactor experimental facility;(b)byproduct material which is to be irradiated in the reactor within 31days of receipt.3.This license amendment is effective as of the date of its issuance. FOR THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIONBrian E. Thomas, ChiefResearch and Test Reactors Branch A Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor RegulationDate of Issuance: August 15, 2006 SAFETY EVALUATION BY THE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATIONSUPPORTING AMENDMENT NO. 16 TOFACILITY OPERATING LICENSE NO. R-120NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITYDOCKET NO. 50-29

71.0 INTRODUCTION

By letter dated April 25, 2006, North Carolina State University (NCSU or the licensee)requested that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) amendFacility Operating License No. R-120 for the PULSTAR Research Reactor. The requestedchanges would modify the byproduct material possession limits established by the facilityoperating license.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The licensee is authorized to operate the PULSTAR Research Reactor at steady-state powerlevels not in excess of 1 megawatt thermal. The reactor is located on the NCSU Campus in Raleigh, NC. The licensee currently is not allowed to receive byproduct material on the reactor license.The licensee has requested authority to receive and possess byproduct material in the form ofreactor components and reactor experimental facilities to be used in the facility. In addition, thelicensee has requested authority to receive and possess byproduct material to be irradiated in the reactor. The licensee is making this request so that the material can be received, possessed, and used under the reactor facility license. The NRC staff's primary concern duringthe review was that North Carolina is an agreement state. In an agreement state, byproductmaterial is normally licensed under a state-issued byproduct materials license. Traditionally, if the licensee can show that the material is for a definite reactor-related research and development purpose, the material can be placed under the reactor license. If the material is in the form of "...reactor components, reactor experimental facilities..." then the use is obvious andrestrictive to that associated with the operation of the facility. However, if byproduct materialdoes not have an obvious and restrictive use associated with the operation of the facility, thenhow it should be licensed is not as clear. In this case the licensee is proposing a time restriction associated with material that fits into the latter category. This license condition would ensure that material possessed on the reactor license is utilized, by irradiation in the reactor, within a reasonable time interval.The issue of how to license byproduct material produced at other facilities was considered bythe NRC staff in the late 1980s (August 18, 1988, memorandum from Dennis M. Crutchfield,Director, Division of Reactor Projects - III, IV, V and Special Projects to Regional Directors of Radiation Safety and Safeguards). The question was how to license byproduct material thatwas to be irradiated in a licensee's reactor. The NRC staff's concern was that the reactor license would become a substitute for a state general byproduct material license by allowing the receipt and possession of byproduct material not related to a licensee's reactor operations or research. The NRC staff addressed this issue by allowing licensees to add a license conditionto their reactor license authorizing receipt, possession, and use of any byproduct material as long as the byproduct material is irradiated in the reactor within 31 days of receipt. A similar request was made by The University of Texas, Docket No. 602. In that case the NRCissued amendment No. 6 to Facility Operating License No. R-129. A copy of the amendmentmay be found at the NRC Public Document Room or the Electronic Reading Room (AccessionNo. ML061320052) on the NRC public website (http://www.nrc.gov

).3.0 EVALUATIONThe licensee has requested the addition of license condition 2.b.(4) as follows:(4)Pursuant to the Act and 10 CFR Part 30, "Rules of General Applicability toDomestic Licensing of Byproduct Material," to receive, possess and use in connection with operation of the facility:(a)any amount of byproduct material in the form of reactor components orotherwise integral to the reactor or reactor experimental facility,(b)byproduct material which is to be irradiated in the reactor within 31 daysof receipt.The licensee requested license condition 2.b.(4)(a) to permit the facility to receive, possess,and use byproduct material in the form of reactor components or reactor experimental facilitiesproduced at other facilities that have a clear reactor related use. The licensee is alsorequesting license condition 2.b.(4)(b) to receive, possess, and use byproduct material produced at other facilities. The licensee is proposing a time restriction specific to this licensecondition to ensure that material possessed on the reactor license is utilized, by irradiation inthe reactor, within 31 days of receipt.The licensee stated that they have extensive controls in place for the safe handling of byproductmaterial, including an approved radiation protection program, health physics procedures, experimental protocols, and as low as reasonably achievable policies. They have also stated that no changes are required to the existing technical specifications (TSs), emergency plan, or security plan.The NRC staff has determined that the licensee has demonstrated a need for the requestedbyproduct material authorization under the reactor license. The addition of a license condition for byproduct material to be irradiated in the reactor within 31 days of receipt is in accordance with the NRC staff's guidance and precedent and, therefore, is acceptable. The NRC hasinspected the licensee's facility and all aspects of their operation at regular intervals. Thelicensee has demonstrated the safe handling of byproduct material. Because the requested materials will be under the terms of the existing license conditions (TSs, security andemergency plans, and facility procedures) and, based on experience, can be safely received, possessed, and used by the licensee, the changes in the byproduct material license limits areacceptable. The staff finds that there is reasonable assurance that this change will notsignificantly impact the health and safety of the public.

4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION

This amendment involves changes in the installation or use of a facility component locatedwithin the restricted area as defined in 10 CFR Part 20. The NRC staff has determined that thisamendment involves no significant hazards consideration, no significant increase in the amounts, and no significant change in the types, of any effluents that may be released off site, and no significant increase in individual or cumulative occupational radiation exposure.

Accordingly, this amendment meets the eligibility criteria for categorical exclusion set forth in10 CFR 51.22(c)(9). Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.22(b), no environmental impact statement or environmental assessment need be prepared in connection with the issuance of this amendment.

5.0 CONCLUSION

The NRC staff has concluded, on the basis of the considerations discussed above, that (1) theamendment does not involve a significant hazards consideration because the amendment doesnot involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of accidents previouslyevaluated, create the possibility of a new kind of accident or a different kind of accident fromany accident previously evaluated, or involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety; (2) there is reasonable assurance that the health and safety of the public will not beendangered by the proposed activities; and (3) such activities will be conducted in compliancewith the Commission's regulations and the issuance of this amendment will not be inimical tothe common defense and security or the health and safety of the public.Principal Contributor: W. Schuster Date: August 15, 2006