ML13112A232

Triga Mark I Reactor Annual Report, Calendar Year 2012

ML13112A232
Person / Time
Site:	General Atomics
Issue date:	03/28/2013
From:	General Atomics
To:	NRC/FSME/DWMEP/DURLD/RDB
Shepherd J
References
Download: ML13112A232 (7)

Text

+GENERAL ATOMICS TRIGA Mark I Reactor ANNUAL REPORT CALENDAR YEAR 2012 prepared to satisfy the requirements of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Facility License R-38 Docket No. 50-89 MARCH 2013

GENERAL ATOMICS TRIGA REACTORS FACILITY TRIGA Mark I Reactor ANNUAL REPORT Calendar Year 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS I Section Page Introduction ..................................................... 1 1 Sum m ary of Facility Activities ..................................................................... 2 1.1 Decommissioning Activities ........ e....................... 2 1.2 Facility S tatus ..................................................................................... 2 1.3 Decom m issioning Schedule ............................................................... 2 1.4 Radioactive Material Shipments ........................................................ 2

2. Maintenance O perations .............................................................................. 2

3. 10CFR50.59 Facility Modifications and Special Experiments ..................... 3

4. Radioactive Effluents Released to the Environs ......................................... 3

5. Environm ental Surveys ................................................................................ 3

6. Summary of Radiation Exposures and Radiological Surveys ................... 4 6.1 General Atomics Staff Whole Body Exposures ................................ 4 6.2 Non-General Atomics Staff Whole Body Exposures ........................ 4 6.3 Routine Wipe Surveys of Mark I Reactor Facility ............................. 4 6.4 Routine Radiation Measurements of Mark I Reactor Facility ....... 5

Introduction This report documents operation of the General Atomics (GA) TRIGA Mark I (Mkl)

Non-Power Reactor for the period January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012. The TRIGA Mkl Reactor, possessed by GA at its San Diego, California facilities, contains no fuel, is being decommissioned, and was not operated for the duration of the reporting period. The TRIGA Mkl Reactor is possessed by GA under License No. R-38 (Amendment No. 36) granted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Docket No.

50-89).

This report is being prepared and submitted to satisfy the requirements of Section 7.6(d) of the R-38 License Technical Specifications, as amended. This report is presented in six parts, consistent with the information required by the applicable Technical Specifications.

TRIGA is a registered trademark of General Atomics 1

I Summary of Facility Activities 1.1 Decommissioning Activities During Calendar Year (CY) 2012, the TRIGA Mark I (Mkl) Reactor was in a standby Decommissioning status. There were no decommissioning activities performed during this period specifically in the TRIGA Mkl Reactor.

1.2 Facility Status 1.2.1 On January 10 - 11, 2012, Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)

Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program (RWAP) engineers conducted an impromptu surveillance of the GA Low-Level Radioactive Waste Certification Program. Two minor observations were noted. Formal notice of acceptance of GA's corrective actions, and reaffirmation of GA's Approved Waste Generator Status, was received on April 23, 2012.

1.2.2 On October 16 - 18, 2012, Dr. G. Schlapper (NRC Region IV visited GA to inspect all aspects of the ongoing GA TRIGAR Reactors Facility (TRF) Decommissioning Project. No Observations or Findings were noted, and an Inspection Report was issued on November 16, 2012.

1.2.3 On February 8, 2013, the CY2012 annual inspection of the GA TRF by the GA Compliance and Radiation Safety Working Group (C&RSWG) was conducted. No problems or issues were noted.

An Inspection Report is forthcoming.

1.3 Decommissioning Schedule Decommissioning of the TRIGA Mkl Reactor is currently on hold, but will resume upon completion of characterization of the TRIGA Mark F Reactor Pit Liner, Biological Shield, and surrounding soil. In this way, efforts to decommission GA's two reactors may be coordinated to better utilize project personnel, equipment, and material.

1.4 Radioactive Material Shipments No radioactive material shipments occurred from the TRIGA Mark I Reactor Facility during this reporting period.

2. Maintenance Operations All maintenance activities, performed during the reporting period, generally fall into three categories: (i) routine preventive maintenance, (ii) routine calibration 2

activities, and (iii) activities associated with replacement of older components and systems due to age. All maintenance activities are recorded in the TRIGA Reactor Facility Decommissioning Logbook. Facility Maintenance Checklists are completed on a regular schedule, at weekly, quarterly, and annual frequencies.

All maintenance operations performed on the TRIGA Mark I Reactor Facility were minor in nature. There were no major maintenance operations performed during the reporting period.

3. 10CFR50.59 Facility Modifications and Special Experiments No applications for Facility Modification under the provisions of 10CFR50.59 were submitted for the R-38 facility during the CY2012 reporting period.

There were no Special Experiments submitted for the R-38 facility during CY2012.

4. Radioactive Effluents Released to the Environs During CY2012, 0.00 millicuries of Argon-41 were discharged from the TRIGA Mark I Reactor Facility ventilation exhaust stack to the atmosphere.

5. Environmental Surveys During CY2012, the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) for the TRIGA Reactors Facility (TRF) remained essentially unchanged from the prior year. The applicable EMP includes the following monitoring equipment and actions:

Five (5) emergency air samplers, situated on the Facility roof and around the TRF perimeter.

Six (6) environmental air samplers, situated adjacent to, and near the GA site perimeter, in accordance with the GA Special Nuclear Material License (SNM-696).

Daily liquid effluent monitoring from the GA Main Sewerage Ouffall Pump House, for gross alpha and beta radioactivity concentrations.

External radiation monitoring of the TRF using five (5) passive area dosimeters, as well as radiation meter surveys conducted periodically.

Since there were no planned decommissioning activities in the Mkl Reactor Facility, the use of the Mkl Continuous Air Monitor (CAM) was discontinued during the reporting period. The Mkl CAM will be placed in operation at any time in the future, when there are active Mkl decommissioning activities occurring which may have the potential for generating airborne radiological contamination.

3

One room air sampler, situated in the Mkl Reactor Room (Rm. 21/102) continually samples room air for radioactivity. The air sampler filters are collected each week and analyzed for radioactivity.

6. Summary of Radiation Exposures and Radiological Surveys The following data summarizes measured personnel occupational radiation exposures and radiological surveys of the TRIGA Reactors Facility during CY2012. Personnel who are listed on the TRIGA Reactors Facility Work Authorization (WA #3410, and as of July 17, 2012, WA #3427) and specific Radiological Work Permits (RWPs) were monitored for radiation exposure. These individuals included 25 General Atomics Staff and 15 Non-General Atomics Staff personnel. The following exposures were primarily as a result of the inspection of irradiated stainless steel items in the TRIGA MkF Reactor pool (unrelated to the Mark I reactor which is the subject of this report), their loading into waste boxes and subsequent waste shipment activities.

6.1 General Atomics Staff Whole Body Exposures 1 Number of individuals monitored: 25 High Exposure: 0.107 REM Low Exposure: 0.000 REM Average Exposure: 0.012 REM 6.2 Non-General Atomics Staff Whole Body Exposures 2 Number of individuals monitored: 15 High Exposure: 0.020 REM Low Exposure: 0.000 REM Average Exposure: 0.005 REM 6.3 Routine Wipe Surveys of Mark I Reactor Facility High Wipe: 73.6 dpm/100 cm 22 Low Wipe: < 1. dpm/100 cm 2

Average Wipe: 2.2 dpm/100 cm I

Includes reactor facility staff and facility support staff authorized to work at the TRIGA Reactor Facility. These personnel may also work routinely at other GA radiation facilities; therefore, this dose represents cumulative exposure at all GA facilities.

2 Includes non-GA sub-contractor personnel who were granted periodic access to the TRIGA Reactor Facility for the performance of work. These personnel may also work routinely at other GA radiation facilities; therefore, this dose represents cumulative exposure at all GA facilities 4

6.4 Routine Radiation Measurements of Mark I Reactor Facility High Measurement: 2.2 mR/hr Low Measurement: < 0.2 mR/hr Average Level: 0.2 mR/hr 5